Investing in communities and people improves lives …
and makes for good business

Good things are happening around the world:

After many years of dialog, there is a proposed research and promotion check-off program designed just for ORGANIC. All that’s needed now is YOUR comment to USDA supporting this game-changing initiative.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on January 17 announced it is seeking public comments to a proposal for a nationwide research and promotion check-off program organic.

Business Milestones

Ardent Mills has expanded its producer program to a total of seven U.S. states and a Canadian Province while adding more organic certified milling and packaging locations along with storage since announcing efforts to help U.S. wheat growers double organic wheat acres last December.

Farmers Advisory Council

The Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) Farmers Advisory Council (FAC) is growing its organizational and direct member participation. Numerous farmer organizations across the country have expressed interest in joining FAC, and OTA looks forward to working with each organization in facilitating their involvement. Similarly, as OTA continues to grow its direct farmer membership, we expect participation on FAC to develop in both its breadth and depth.

If all goes as planned, by September 2017 California will join nine states in restricting pesticide use near schools. Of the states with regulations, California’s will be the most restrictive as far as chemical use and application methods, says Brian Leahy, Director of California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR).

Nine years ago, Paul Quinn College, a college on the south side of Dallas, TX, was financially struggling. Its graduation rate was a dismal one percent. Michael Sorrell, the new college president, decided it was time to make some big changes.

If you’re looking for social media content to showcase the value of organic, you’ve come to the right place. Despite organic sales reaching all-time highs, the organic community is still often asked to prove the value of organic and defend it from innacurate claims. We have all heard the misleading statements that organic cannot feed the world, or that it’s not really better for your health. To combat this misinformation, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) has created a collection of visually engaging graphics that are chock-full of facts proving organic is worth it.

Information collected from U.S. accredited organic certifying agents for 2014 and 2015 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released in December 2016 showed 14,861 U.S. organic farms in operation in 2015, with 5.3 million acres farmed organically. Of that total, slightly more than 2.1 million acres were used for certified organic pasture and rangeland.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in January published the final rule on animal welfare standards for organic livestock and poultry in the Federal Register. The Office of Management and Budget had been reviewing the rule since a public comment period ended in July.

Based on recommendations from the National Organic Standards Board, the final rule: