**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** CHALLENGES FACED BY SOUTHERN ORGANIC FARMERS: ORGANIC FARMING PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN ADDRESSING CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, FOOD SAFETY, AND THE LOCAL/REGIONAL FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN. IN 2022, ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SALES GENERATED $60 BILLION IN REVENUE, ~15% OF ALL US RETAIL PRODUCE SALES. DESPITE THE GROWING DEMAND FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTS BECAUSE OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND HEALTH BENEFITS, IT HAS ITS CHALLENGES THAT ARE MORE PRONOUNCED IN THE SOUTHERN US. CLIMATES AND GEOLOGY RESULT IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOIL NUTRIENT CYCLING THAN THE MIDWEST CAUSING YIELD REDUCTION, INCREASED MARKET PRICE, WEED, PEST, AND PATHOGEN PRESSURE. THE COMPLICATED NATURE OF HISTORIC INEQUALITIES IN THE SOUTH HAS LED TO SOCIOECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE GAPS AND A DEARTH OF CERTIFICATION TRAINING AMONGST SMALL-SCALE, LIMITED RESOURCE, UNDERSERVED, AND SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS, RANCHERS, AND VETERANS (SDFRVS). OTHER CRITICAL NEEDS FOR ORGANIC FARMERS IN THE SOUTH ARE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, A CONSISTENT FLOW OF INFORMATION, AND AN ORGANIC FARMERS' NETWORK TO DISCUSS THE ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY THE SOUTHERN FARMERS.PROBLEM FACED BY SMALL-SCALE, MINORITY, AND UNDERSERVED SOUTHERN FARMERS: THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF STRUCTURAL INEQUITY, ROOTED IN SLAVERY AND PERPETUATED BY JIM CROW LAWS, ARE APPARENT THROUGHOUT SOCIETY, INCLUDING OUR AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. IN THE SOUTHERN US, THE PREPONDERANCE OF SMALL-SCALE FARMS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY OWNED BY SDFRVS. THESE SDFRVS FACE BARRIERS IN ACCESSING RESOURCES SUCH AS, TRAINING PROGRAMS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TECHNOLOGIES, AND SOCIO-CULTURAL NETWORKS ESPECIALLY RELATED TO ORGANIC FARMING. ADDITIONALLY, THESE FARMING COMMUNITIES ARE PREDICTED TO BE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. ORGANIC FARMERS IN THE SOUTHERN US ARE FACED WITH MULTIPLE FARMING ISSUES SUCH AS POOR QUALITY OR DEGRADED SOIL, LOW NUTRIENT HOLDING CAPACITY, HIGH WEED PRESSURE, AND INCREASED PEST AND DISEASE INFESTATION. DUE TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC BARRIERS AND COMPLEX CERTIFICATION PROCESSES, THESE STATED ISSUES ARE MORE PROMINENT FOR SMALL-SCALE, LIMITED RESOURCE, UNDERSERVED, AND SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS, RANCHERS, AND VETERANS (SDFRVS), INCLUDING BLACK AND NATIVE AMERICAN, FEMALE, AND BEGINNING FARMERS. THERE IS A NEED TO ADDRESS THESE COMPLEX ISSUES BY PROVIDING PROPER EDUCATION, CONSISTENT KNOWLEDGE SHARING, REAL-TIME TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND REGION-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE. OUR PROJECT TEAM IS PROPOSING TO BUILD A STRONG, REGIONAL, ORGANIC SDFRV GROWERS' NETWORK TO SHARE IDEAS, INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS TO ADOPTING AN ORGANIC PRODUCTION SYSTEM AT THE FARM LEVEL.THE GOAL OF THIS CONFERENCE PROPOSAL IS TO ENABLE SDFRVS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS THROUGH PAID INCENTIVES THAT ALSO ALLOW THE FARMERS TO ATTEND THE SOWTH CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY GEORGIA ORGANICS. WE WILL LEVERAGE OUR STRONG INSTITUTIONAL CONNECTION THROUGH THE 1890S (HBCU) COOPERATIVE EXTENSION AND SMALL FARM RESOU,RCE AND INNOVATION CENTER OF NCA&AMP;T, THE INAUGURAL SOWTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE BY GEORGIA ORGANICS, AND THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT CLIMATE-SMART PROJECT BY RODALE INSTITUTE. WE WILL PROVIDE FOUR BILATERAL AND INTERACTIVE AND FARMER PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOPS FOR SOUTHERN ORGANIC GROWERS ON (I) CLIMATE-SMART ORGANIC PRODUCTION, (II) MARKETING STRATEGIES AND POLICY RELEVANCE, (III) SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT, (IV) ORGANIC CERTIFICATION. OUR TEAM WILL PROVIDE REAL-TIME TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THROUGH A SPEED DATING EVENT ON: (I) SOIL AND NUTRIENTS, (II) WEED, (III) PEST AND DISEASE PRESSURE, (IV) INTEGRATED LIVESTOCK, (V) ORGANIC CERTIFICATION. THE OUTCOMES FROM THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE THE USDA WITH EVIDENCE-BASED, FARMER-LED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND MARKETING SUPPORT TO SDFRVS THAT WILL PROMOTE SMALL-SCALE ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHERN US.