Our Story: MOSES to Marbleseed

Marbleseed is a prairie plant – Onosmodium molle occidentale – with a deep taproot that thrives in areas grazed by cattle. Part of the borage family, it is one of the first plants to return after a fire. This drought-tolerant, perennial plant is often used in prairie restoration efforts, providing nectar and pollen as rewards for bumblebees, butterflies, and other insects. Although it is native, today it can be difficult to find.

Naming

After years of being known as the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), in 2021 we sought a name that better represented the organization into which we've evolved. We were inspired by this plant's qualities:

Self-seeding.
Adaptable.
Resilient.
A member of a complex eco-system.

Our staff and Board of Directors unanymously chose “Marbleseed” and the tagline “farmer-led, rooted in organic.”

Our Roots

MOSES was first incorporated in 1995, after six years of growing what had become known as the MOSES Organic Farming Conference, the largest organic farming conference in the United States. With the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) authorized by the 1990 Farm Bill, there was a great need for farmer education and technical assistance. Increasing use of production methods that improved soil health, along with an emerging certification process created a dynamic and exciting environment for farmers who were on the frontline advocating for organic standards that could support the burgeoning organic farming movement.

Today, that need for farmer education and technical assistance continues, and so does Marbleseed’s commitment to provide it. But the organic farming landscape has changed greatly in the past three decades. Growing environmental awareness and consumer demand for organics has increased, but market capture by industrialized food and agriculture means little of that demand is reaching small and mid-scale farmers. Instead, the barriers to enter into organic farming, and the challenges of staying in business, remain prohibitively high for small and mid-scale farmers, especially farmers of color, veteran farmers, and LGBTQ farmers.

The future we choose

When we set about the work of choosing a new name and logo, we sought a name that could reflect not only the founding of the organization, but its future and place in a broader and more inclusive organic movement. As the organic food and farming landscape continues to evolve, we remain committed to growing the number of thriving regenerative and organic farming operations. These farms are one piece of a holistic puzzle that holds the power to feed communities and address food insecurity; and to provide economic justice through parity pricing for farmers and fair wages for farmer-workers.

As we move this work forward, we remain committed to the roots of the organic movement that birthed this organization: care for the planet, nourishment for communities, and support for farmers who are working in relationship with the ecosystems that sustain us. Farmer-led, rooted in organic. That’s Marbleseed.