special report
Rodale Institute Propels Organic Farming into the Future Nonprofit Celebrates 75 Years of Research, Education and Outreach by Sheila Julson
J
erome Irving Rodale was a visionary for his time. Despite the fact that chemically based, industrial farming burgeoned during the post-WWII era, he realized that healthy soil equated to healthy food and ultimately, healthy people. On his farm in Pennsylvania, Rodale began experimenting with growing food without chemicals. In 1947, he founded the Soil and Health Foundation to give farmers solutions beyond chemical farming by using biological growing methods. That project was the genesis of the organization that bears his name today—the Rodale Institute. With nine campuses worldwide, today Rodale Institute is recognized as a leader in the regenerative organic agriculture movement. Jeff Tkach, chief impact officer at Rodale, says the institute’s work has grown exponentially over the last few years. “We’ve seen this incredible acceleration of our work because I believe that the world is finally ready for what we have to offer,” he explains. “For seven decades, we’ve been trying to convince farmers, policy makers and ultimately consumers that regenerative and organic farming is the future.” The political, socioeconomic, human health and climate change crises faced across different segments of society are precipitating a demand for regenerative agriculture, Tkach says. “I think we’re finding ourselves at a real tipping point in history where people are beginning to wake up to this type of farming. They’re seeing what Rodale has to offer as the way of the future.”
Pioneering Research
Rodale Institute has more than 30 active research projects going on at its Pennsylvania headquarters and eight other campuses around the world. They have a team of 85 employees, including 13 Ph.D. scientists, and their research projects show farmers a better way of farming. Areas of focus include chemical-free pest, weed and disease control; mitigating and adapting to climate change; and food insecurity. The Vegetable Systems Trial compares the nutrient density of vegetable crops grown organically versus conventionally. Rodale’s Watershed Impact Trial partners with the Stroud Water Research Center to study the effects of both regenerative and organic farm-
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