Organic Trade Assoc. drives move toward voluntary organic check-off
The Organic Trade Assoc. (OTA) has announced a plan to move forward with a voluntary industry-invested organic research, promotion, and education check-off program that will be collaboratively designed and implemented by organic stakeholders across the organic supply chain.
The Organic Trade Assoc. (OTA) has announced a plan to move forward with a voluntary industry-invested organic research, promotion, and education check-off program that will be collaboratively designed and implemented by organic stakeholders across the organic supply chain. This comes after the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) in May terminated its proposed rule to establish a national research and promotion program for certified organic products because of what it termed a “split within the industry.”
“The Organic Trade Assoc. recognizes great demand for coordinated organic research and promotion, and the organic sector is ready to work together on innovative solutions that will have key benefits for organic,” said Laura Batcha, CEO and executive director for the OTA. “There is a critical need to educate consumers about organic, for more technical assistance to help more farmers transition to organic, and to loudly promote the organic brand. Responding to that need, we are launching a two-track effort to develop a voluntary governance approach and to also advance initiatives that will deliver immediate big wins for the organic sector.”
The trade association has formed a steering committee to coordinate and lead the efforts. The committee is charged with addressing the governance questions around a voluntary program to maximize good participation and decision making, and to bring together multi-pronged private efforts to foster coordinated organic research and promotion.
The steering committee established two subcommittees to guide the process—a governance subcommittee and an immediate programming subcommittee. To gain the best thinking from stakeholders about some of the critical questions that need to be addressed regarding how to maximize participation in a voluntary program and how to make the best decisions on investments, the governance subcommittee will open a comment period this fall for interested parties to provide comments.
The immediate programming subcommittee will identify programs to advance organic and coordinate and fund those programs immediately. These prototype programs will invest in critical needs and serve as proven projects for investment when a formal voluntary program rolls out.
The OTA submitted an application to the USDA in May 2015 to consider implementing an organic check-off program. The USDA in January 2017 officially proposed a nationwide organic check-off program, opening the process for public comments. Last May, the agency abruptly terminated the rulemaking process despite comments in support of the program from more than 12,000 individuals and businesses, including thousands of organic farmers, ranchers, and business stakeholders.