Organic farmer and food activist Jim Gerritsen is coming to the Tallahassee area for a must-listen talk! Don't miss it!

Starting at 3:30 p.m., he will speak about organic farming and growing organic potatoes. Then at 5 p.m., he will talk about building food integrity in the organic community.

A dinner will close out the evening featuring featuring seasonal, locally sourced produce from our local farmers deliciously prepared by Tallahassee’s Indigo Bistro Organic Restaurant.

Gerritsen owns and runs Wood Prairie Family Farm in northern Maine and has been for the past 40 years. Wood Prairie Family Farm  certified organic since the early 1980s produces Maine Certified Seed Potatoes, seed crops, vegetables and grain. 

In addition to farming, Jim has been active in the organic community with NGOs for four decades. He served as President of the educational and research NGO, Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) in Washington State. Additionally, he served for over twenty years on the Certification Committee of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).  Jim helped MOFGA pass the State of Maine’s GMO Labeling law in 2013, the second such law passed in the United States. Jim also serves on the MOFGA Ag Services Committee. 

Jim co-founded and now serves as President of the national farmer-run membership trade organization, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA). OSGATA is headquartered in Washington, Maine and acted as lead plaintiff in the landmark organic community Federal lawsuit, OSGATA et al v. Monsanto. OSGATA’s mission is to develop, promote and protect the organic seed trade and its farmers.

Jim was co-founder of a local Slow Food chapter and co-founded a local chapter of Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA). He has been a frequent speaker at farmer conferences in the United States and beyond. Jim has cooperated in numerous on-farm research trials with scientists, including those from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the University of Maine.

In 2011, Jim was named one of ’25 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World’ by Utne Reader magazine. In January 2014 and January 2016, Jim was a participant in the week long Agrarian Elders Gatherings held in Big Sur, California.  In 2014 he spoke at the United Nations in New York City during the Panel Presentation during the Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on Harmony with Nature.  The theme of the dialogue was "The promotion of a balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development through Harmony with Nature." Jim Gerritsen, an agrarian elder spoke about the advantages of organic farming.

Learn more about the event by visiting www.foginfo.org