Summary Information
Carmen Fernholz Papers
1976, 1984-2003 (bulk 1988-1993)
Mss 1164; PH 6776
0.4 c.f. (1 archives box) and 1 photograph
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers, mainly 1988-1993, of Carmen Fernholz, organic farmer and researcher, documenting his involvement with the Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA), a Midwestern organic service and certification organization, and other activities on behalf of organic and sustainable agriculture. Included are partial records of the OGBA, including correspondence, board materials, grant files, newsletters, and sample certification forms.
Forms part of the Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Collection.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01164 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Carmen Fernholz was born in 1943. He graduated from St. John's University in 1965, and taught high school English in Sleepy Eye and Madison, Minnesota. In 1972, he and his wife Sally purchased a farm in western Minnesota, which he began operating as an organic farm the next year as A-Frame Farm. He became a certified organic grower in 1974.
Fernholz served as Board president for the Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA), which was formed in 1976 and began offering a certification program in 1978. Fernholz and other OGBA members worked for passage of the Organic Foods Labeling Act which the Minnesota Legislature passed in 1986. He has also served on various boards, including the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA), the Organic Farmers' Agency for Relationship Marketing (OFARM, which he co-founded), Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES), the Lac qui Parle County Resource Commission, and the Lac qui Parle Lake Association. He has been involved with the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota, started the Southwest Minnesota Poultry Coop, and held the University of Minnesota School of Agriculture Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems for one year (1997 May-1998 May). Fernholz currently works on research projects with the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC, where he serves as coordinator of organic research) and other institutions, participates in the Conservation Reserve Program with a prairie restoration and wetlands, and mentors other farmers on organic agriculture methods and marketing.
In 2005 Carmen and Sally Fernholz were named the 2005 Organic Farmers of the Year by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES).
Scope and Content Note
The Fernholz papers provide fragmentary documentation of the activities of an organic farmer and researcher who has been active in organic farming advocacy since the early 1970s. Most of the papers date from 1988 to 1993, and mainly relate to the Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA), the organization that certified organic growers in Minnesota before implementation of national organic standards. Also included is a folder of materials relating to Fernholz's involvement with Organically Grown Week, a national campaign that promoted organics; a folder of background materials on sustainable agriculture research initiatives, including a Center for Rural Affairs report on USDA research policy (1992); the second edition of his publication on sustainable management practices; and one photograph.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Carmen Fernholz, Madison, Minnesota, via Roger Blobaum, March 1, 2014. Accession Number: M2014-063
Processed by Julia Wong, May 2014.
Contents List
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Mss 1164
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Conferences
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Creating a Sustainable Agriculture for the Future, 1988? April 30
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Box
1
Folder
2
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National Conference on Organic/Sustainable Agriculture, 1989 March 16-17
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Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA)
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Box
1
Folder
3
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By-laws, undated
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Board of Directors files, 1989-1990, 1993
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Certification, 1986-1990, 2000-2003
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Grant files, 1989
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Correspondence, 1987-1990
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Box
1
Folder
8
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General, 1984-1990?
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Box
1
Folder
9
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News clippings, background articles, 1976, 1987-1989
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Newsletters: Certified Organic and OGBA news, 1988-1990
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Organically Grown Week materials, 1990 September
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Rural Enterprise Institute (REI), Proposal for a Wildlife Farming Conference, 1986
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Box
1
Folder
13
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Sustainable agriculture research initiatives, 1990, 1992
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Box
1
Folder
14
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SMP's: Sustainable Management Practices for the 21st Century / by Carmen Fernholz, 2nd edition, 1995
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PH 6776
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Photograph: Fernholz? at bill signing (possibly Minnesota Organic Labeling Act, 1986)
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