Weekly Top 5: Organic News You Need to Know #61

Ayesha Curry Invests in Back to the Roots

Back to the Roots formed a partnership with Whole Food with the vision to eventually have an entire section of each market devoted to indoor gardening kits. Beyond Whole Foods, the company has another high profile fan: Ayesha Curry has recently become an investor and adviser in the company.

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Earth BioGenome Project and Agriculture's Future

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering in the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), biology's version of the moonshot, an effort that will yield millions of powerful new solutions to agriculture's challenges. EBP is an international cooperative initiative to sequence during the next 10 years the DNA of more than 1.5 million species—those more complex than bacteria—representing the world's biodiversity.
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Eric Schwartz Named to NOSB Board

On April 25, 2018, USDA announced the appointment of two new members to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Mr. Eric Schwartz has been appointed to fill the open organic handling seat. Dr. James Greenwood from California, has been appointed to fill the open environmental protection and resource conservation seat.

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NatureFresh Farms Expects Strong Year for Organic 

With the season now underway, NatureFresh Farms is looking forward to what is projected to be an extremely successful year for organic produce. An increased focus on growing using certified organic methods and processes means consumers should expect to see a strong increase in organically-grown NatureFresh Farms produce as of this month.

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Chico State Offering Organic Produce

The Chico State University farm, through its Organic Vegetable Project, is now offering produce from its farm for sale through a weekly subscription service. The Organic Vegetable Project, a collaborative effort of students, faculty, farms and community members, will deliver more than 60 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs grown at the farm to recipients of the Community Supported Agriculture program beginning this month.
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“We are continuing to see double digit growth in organics even as sales are flat with conventional bags.  Organics are a very big part of our program.  From July 1 to mid-December we will have a steady supply of organic grapes."

Chance Kirk of Vincent B. Zaninovich & Sons (VBZ)