SANTA CRUZ, CA - Organic Farming Research Foundation is pleased to announce that Dr. Diana Jerkins, has joined our staff as OFRF’s Research Program Director.
“We are proud and excited that Dr. Jerkins will be directing our research programs,” said OFRF Executive Director Brise Tencer. “She not only has impressive depth of experience in the science of organics, she is bringing innovative ideas, and the energy to take organic farming research to the next level.”
Dr. Jerkins brings to OFRF decades of experience in agricultural research, federal program management, university administration and hands-on farming. She was a National Program Leader with the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) between 2002 and 2014, and also helped implement the agency’s first sustainable and organic agriculture programs. Prior to joining NIFA, Dr. Jerkins directed the Center for Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona.
Dr. Jerkins earned her graduate degrees from the University of Georgia, including an MA in Agronomy, and a PhD in Entomology.
“I have worked with, known, and been informed by the work of OFRF for most of my career,” Dr. Jerkins said. “This is a great opportunity to give back to the organization and to the profession of organic farming at large.”
Dr. Jerkins will take over management of OFRF’s research program, which funds research on organic farming issues, and will begin work on two important research reports. This year OFRF is beginning work on a prestigious research project to evaluate all organic farming research funded by the USDA since 2002. Dr. Jerkins will also lead work on a National Organic Research Agenda, an update of the groundbreaking report OFRF issued in 2007.
Dr. Jerkins will work remotely while continuing management of her historic, 240-acre organic farm in Gordonsville, VA.
“My goals are to find mechanisms to support and enhance organic research that is relevant to all segments of the organic industry, and to provide the research results in an informative and accessible way to farmers and others,” Jerkins said.
OFRF is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of organic farming through research, education and advocacy.
For more information, please contact OFRF at (831) 426-6606, email Executive Director Brise Tencer at brise@ofrf.org, or OFRF Communications Coordinator Maria Gaura at maria@ofrf.org.
