Jim Riddle to Present ‘Organic Roots and Branches’ at CT NOFA 2026 Winter Conference as Keynote Speaker
January 7, 2026
CT NOFA is proud to announce that Jim Riddle will be our 2026 Winter Conference Keynote Speaker.
For more than 40 years, Jim Riddle has been a leader in the organic community, as a farmer, inspector, educator, activist, and policy specialist. During our keynote, Jim will discuss the deep roots of the organic movement – what inspired it, how it has evolved, and where it is today – and share scenes from organic farms around the world. Be prepared for an entertaining, enlightening, and thoughtful time, as Jim takes us on a journey through the organic world, near and far.
Jim Riddle grew up with organic values on a small farm in Iowa. He and his wife grew perennial fruits at Blue Fruit Farm in Minnesota and started their local farmers market in the 1980s, before “local food” gained prominence. Jim worked as an organic inspector for 20 years and was founding president of the International Organic Inspectors Association. He has trained organic inspectors and spoken at organic conferences throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Japan, Australia, Russia, Iran, Europe, Jamaica, and more. Jim served as chair of the National Organic Standards Board and originated the organic certification cost share program. Jim and his wife, Joyce Ford, are retired and now live in New Hampshire, where they serve as mentors in the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).
Join CT NOFA for their 44th annual Winter Conference with virtual workshops March 3-5 in the lead-up to an all-day in-person conference on March 7 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, including Jim Riddle’s keynote address.
Click here to learn more about the conference and to register to join the celebration.
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Advocacy News: May 2026
The Good News: CT Senator Chris Murphy has introduced a bill (bipartisan and bicameral) to increase funding for Agricultural Management Assistance to $30 million and to expand the eligible uses for these funds to include “soil health improvements, composting, implementing organic farming, and food safety certification in addition to existing authorized uses such as water management structure and soil erosion control.” Let’s thank Senator Murphy for introducing this bill!
The Bad News: The Farm Bill passed the House of Representatives on April 30, despite 320 food, farm, and conservation organizations, including CT NOFA, voicing our opposition to a bill that does not fix SNAP, does not support new and beginning farmers, and does not adequately support conservation programs or organic agriculture. Now it goes to the Senate and we need to urge both of Connecticut’s Senators to reject this Farm Bill.
Our Vision for a Future of Resilient, Plentiful, Healthy and Locally-Grounded Farming and Food
In concluding its annual retreat, the Northeast Organic Farming Association Interstate Council (NOFA IC) reaffirms the values that have grounded our work for 55 years.
Our vision is that every person is able to live their life with healthy food, clean water and air, community, livelihood, dignity, and purpose within the means of our life-giving planet. We seek that vision on every level, from our households and farms to our communities, states, bioregions, nation, and world. For that vision to be fulfilled, every person, no matter their origin or circumstances, must have all their basic human needs met without degrading the air, water, soil, ecosystems, and climate which we have been given and on which we depend for our lives.