The Rodale Institute

Rodale Institute is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports research into organic farming. The Institute was founded in 1947 by author J.I. Rodale in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. When he died in 1971, his son Robert purchased 333 acres and moved the farm to its current site in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

The Rodale Institute pursues a sustainable, “Greener Revolution,” which is defined as meeting universal needs of proper nutrition, famine prevention and biologically sustainable solutions to climate change. To meet this goal, the Rodale Institute emphasizes sound agronomic practices, farmer participation and resourceful techniques to increase food security at all levels. An undercurrent to the Institute’s work is the need for productive agricultural alternatives to increasingly expensive pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, which various studies have shown to have many dangerous and unpredictable effects on biological systems.

Collaborations with farmers and agricultural science peers throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as nationally and internationally, enable Institute researchers to replicate experiments across different geographical regions and benefit farmers with opportunities to test new approaches to organic production. In addition, the Institute allies with national and state-level organic certification programs, industry leaders and elected officials to help shape policy. Furthermore, the Institute partners strategically with U.S. and foreign government entities, businesses and organizations to promote regenerative organic farming opportunities and to expand the benefits of organic agriculture to more people.

Strongly influenced by the writings of Sir Albert Howard, J.I. Rodale became an important force in popularizing organic farming as a social movement in the United States. Starting in 1942, Rodale began publishing his views and practical advice in his startup magazine, Organic Farming and Gardening. In the magazine, he avidly promoted a holistic, whole-systems approach to agriculture.

J.I. Rodale died in 1971 at the age of 72. His son Robert (Bob) Rodale expanded his father’s agriculture- and health-related pursuits with the purchase of a farm east of Kutztown, Pennsylvania. At the Kutztown site, Bob and Ardath, his wife, established what is now known as the Rodale Institute to begin an era of regenerative, organic farm-scale research. The Kutztown site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also known as the Siegfried's Dale Farm.

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