The Rodale Institute is the heartbeat of organic and regenerative organic agriculture; the Rodale family coined those very terms.
Nearly 80 years since its founding, the nonprofit continues its tradition of working to transform our food system by breaking ground on its Center for Regenerative Organic Innovation on its historic 386-acre campus headquarters in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
The new $24 million educational hub, set to open in Spring of 2028, will become an international mecca for advancing the practical and economic solutions that regenerative organic agriculture presents.
At a time when industrial agriculture has become over-reliant on synthetic chemical inputs and stripping our food of nutrient density and quality, Rodale Institute is not waiting any longer to take meaningful action. The Center will build upon Rodale’s years of research, education and real-world application in agriculture to help farmers build soil health through farming without synthetic chemicals.
“It’s a historic moment for Rodale’s mission,” says Jeff Tkach, Rodale Institute CEO. “Our historic campus lacks facilities and modern buildings to conduct our mission. The renovation marks the first phase of a multi-phased infrastructure project to update our campus to prepare for the next 78 years.”
It will be housed in the historic Siegfried Building, a Pennsylvania Dutch Bank barn built in 1819, then a hub for technological innovation. The new Center will honor that history, the barn acting as the facade of the new center, with modern advancements, like cutting-edge architectural design latched on–regenerating the building to reach the organization’s fullest potential, as feels most appropriate on this ground.
Along with several classrooms and workspaces, the building will be a model for modern green architecture, featuring a geothermal HVAC system and a roof capture system to repurpose rainwater. The entire building will be solar powered, completely electric and will be Rodale’s first net-zero energy building.
The groundbreaking marks the start of a $139 million campaign called the 10 Million Acre Solution–Rodale’s flagship goal–beginning to transitioning 10 million acres of industrial farmland in the direction of regenerative organic. This would nearly triple the amount of Certified Organic land in the United States.
“It’s all going to happen through this building,” says Jeff Tkach, CEO of Rodale Institute. “We are going to do it by building on our 45 years of science. We're going to set up ten long-term research trials, some of which are well underway, and that science is going to be the catalyst that allows us to educate 100,000 farmers and workforce professionals by 2030.”
The average age of the American farmer, according to the USDA, is 58 years old. Rodale is actively working on creating programs for high school students, veterans, existing farmers and those looking for career changes to see organic farming as a potential and viable career path. “We believe it’s time for Rodale to have a louder voice,” Tkach says. “This building is going to serve as an education hub to train tomorrow's farmers.”
The new Center is a gateway from the foundation of Rodale Institute, which was originally called the Soil and Health Foundation, to modern day science, expressing that soil health and human health are inextricably linked. “JI Rodale said that healthy soil equals healthy food equals healthy people,” Tkach describes. “He was trying to warn us, as farmers and consumers, not to get too far from the health of the soil.”
Part of that foundation it is further advancing is the education and research Rodale Institute has already been at the forefront of, including its Farmer Training Program for veterans, Regenerative Healthcare Conference, one-on-one consulting services on top of dozens of long-term research projects focusing on carbon sequestration, clean water and and improving farming economics.
“[This] groundbreaking is about much more than a building,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding says. “It’s a commitment to the people, to the farmers, to the researchers, educators and the next generation of those who will shape agriculture in Pennsylvania.”
It’s a full circle moment for Pennsylvania State Senator Judy Schwank, who represents the district Rodale is located in. She was inspired by Rodale Institute itself to earn her degree in Horticulture and Agriculture Education at Pennsylvania State University. “This place is close to my heart,” she says. “I take great pride in having Rodale in my district.”
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has contributed $4 million towards this project. Rodale is still looking for about $10 million in contributions toward the Center.
“This is an investment that demonstrates our commitment not only to Rodale, but to ensuring that Pennsylvania remains among our nation’s leaders in agriculture, but certainly in regenerative organic agriculture,” she says. “If a place like this had been available when I was just starting out, it would've opened doors that I didn't even know were here..We need a way to be able to help them learn how to do things in a way that people interested can make a living wage, but also bring food to all of us that are desiring this food. We have to do things in a different way.”
Rodale Institute has led the regenerative organic movement for decades. A major milestone came in 2017 when it joined forces with Dr. Bronner’s and Patagonia to create the Regenerative Organic Alliance, which grants the industry gold-standard Regenerative Organic Certification to farms and packaged goods products. Establishing the Center for Regenerative Organic Innovation is the latest chapter in this storied history. “The movement is gaining a lot of momentum and our mission is overwhelmed by demand,” Tkach says.
Part of Rodale’s success stems from being situated at such integral geography, connecting the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. As one of the nation’s top producers of organic agriculture, and goals to be the sole leader, Pennsylvania is truly at the forefront of innovation in agriculture, highlighted by Rodale Institute and leading regenerative organic brands today like Pocono Organics, Folkland Foods and Painterland Sisters.
Stephanie Painter, cofounder of Painterland Sisters, the darling Pennsylvania Preferred skyr yogurt brand, touts Rodale’s continued efforts in expanding regenerative organic agriculture to lift the Commonwealth to this platform.
“It's important to have that in-person energy and a place in Pennsylvania–where ‘organic’ was coined, where ‘regenerative’ was coined–to showcase that we're here to dig our roots deep, and then to flourish,” Painter tells me.
“Pennsylvania has such an old agriculture industry with a lot of Indigenous wisdom. It is important to have Rodale positioned here in some of the most fertile land in the country, at this intersection, especially in Kutztown, in a place where we can connect the city, rural agriculture, food and planet,” she adds. “It really is the Keystone State.”
At the heart of the Center for Regenerative Organic Innovation will be community–something farmers often lack while working every day in the field. It will be a home that its students and anyone intrigued with alleviating our damaged food system will come for resources, making integral connections long after programs are complete to move the movement forward and use the powerful knowledge gained to create better lives for themselves, their families and their own communities back home.
“Regenerative organic agriculture presents the most innovative, hopeful solution on planet earth. It’s the most resilient agricultural system,” Tkach says. “We can turn things around quickly when we begin to embrace the methodologies and the science of Rodale Institute, and it feels like our time has come.”