Rodale Institute Bets $139 Million the Private Sector Can Do What Washington Won't

(Photo courtesy of Rodale Institute)

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Rodale Institute — the Pennsylvania nonprofit considered the birthplace of the American organic movement since 1947 — has launched its most ambitious campaign ever.

Unveiled July 20 at the organization’s Annual Organic Field Day, the 10 Million Acre Solution aims to transition 10 million new acres of U.S. farmland to organic and regenerative organic management by 2030, with a $139 million fundraising goal.

While these are staggering numbers, recent developments demand boldness.

• The USDA’s National Organic Program reportedly lost nearly a third of its staff at the end of fiscal year 2025.
• The $100 million Transition to Organic Partnership Program runs dry later this year.
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service, the government’s main soil-health funder, has shed 22% of its workforce.
• U.S. organic acreage has fallen by approximately 1.5 million acres since 2021.
• U.S. organic imports have surged to roughly $5.7 billion in 2024, up from under $1 billion in 2011, as organic exports have stayed below $1 billion, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service.

STEPPING INTO THE FEDERAL VOID

With its initiative, Rodale’s message is unmistakable: farmers can no longer wait for Washington, and the institution that gave organic its scientific foundation intends to lead the response itself.

However, Jeff Tkach, CEO of Rodale Institute, frames the campaign as more than a reaction to the federal pullback.

“Those developments reinforce the importance of this work, but they didn’t create the need,” he said of the shrinking federal programs. “Public programs can play an important role, but farmers also need resources they can count on regardless of changes in funding or policy. The 10 Million Acre Solution is about building a durable support system that helps farmers succeed for the long term.”

The plan pairs Rodale’s research with direct consulting, education and on-farm demonstration, aiming to reach 100,000 farmers, agricultural professionals and consumers by 2030. At its core is a planned $24 million Center for Regenerative Organic Innovation, which recently broke ground with $13.1 million in committed funds.

ALL EYES ARE ON PRIVATE CAPITAL

The campaign’s deeper significance lies in who Rodale is calling on to fund it — an explicit bet on private capital, for-profit and nonprofit alike, to finance a transition the government is abandoning.

And that model is already working.

“The response has been very encouraging,” Tkach said of the corporate reception so far. “More companies recognize that the long-term resilience of their supply chain depends on the health of the farms they source from.”

Holdfast Collective, Patagonia’s nonprofit shareholder, recently renewed its $1.55 million backing of Rodale’s Regenerate Ventura project in California, while firms like Mad Capital and Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT finance transitions on their own.

The soil will not wait.

Rodale is wagering that the private sector won’t, either.

With gratitude, Max Goldberg, Founder