Laura Batcha
The Organic Center’s Jessica Shade Heads to USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
After nine years of leading The Organic Center (TOC) as Director of Science Programs, Jessica Shade, Ph.D., has accepted a position with the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) as national program leader. At NIFA, Shade’s experience will be put to great use in supporting innovative programs that advance agriculture-related sciences. “We could […]
Organic Trade Association Launches Search for New CEO
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has announced the launch of a nationwide search for a new CEO and executive director. After more than a decade of service to OTA and the organic community, current CEO Laura Batcha plans to step down in spring 2022. “If there’s one thing I’m feeling right now, it’s confident,” said Batcha. “Confident in […]
OTA Announces Plans for 2022 Organic Week
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has announced that it will be hosting its 2022 Organic Week early next year in the nation’s capital. The event, which will run from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, is themed “The Future of Organic” and promises organic stakeholders an unparalleled opportunity to help advance organic policy priorities and to protect […]
Momentum for Advancing Organic Standards Builds in Congress
Reflecting gaining momentum for the bipartisan Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Organic Standards Act (CIAO) introduced in the House earlier this year, a diverse group of organic farmers, businesses and associations from throughout the country visited with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on July 20 regarding the critical need to support the legislation […]
USDA Awards OTA Nearly $850,000 for 2018 Market Promotion
First-time exposure on a new continent, sponsored activities in five new countries and the creation of a host of new organic exporters – these are some of the benchmarks achieved by the Organic Trade Association’s robust export promotion efforts in 2017. That string of success promises to continue in 2018 with the award of $847,000 […]
OTA Files Lawsuit Against USDA Over Livestock Standards
Taking action to defend the organic seal and organic standards, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) on September 13 filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its failure to put into effect new organic livestock standards. “We are standing up on behalf of the entire organic sector to protect organic integrity, advance […]
U.S. Organic Sales Post New Record of $43.3 Billion
The U.S. organic industry posted new records in 2015, with total organic product sales hitting a new benchmark of $43.3 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year’s record level and far outstripping the overall food market’s growth rate of 3 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey. The industry saw […]
OTA Reaching Out to More Organic Farmers
The Franklin family has been farming in southern Vermont for nine generations and the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is making sure their soil stays fresh. A family operation with one son helping full-time and two others pitching in on weekends, the certified organic dairy farm stays busy raising and milking some 52 dairy cows, […]
OTA to Highlight Key Organic Issues at Expo East
It’s been a busy year for the organic industry, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), with record sales in the U.S., intensifying competition for the attention of the increasingly savvy organic consumer, and a dogged debate over what organic really stands for. Officials with the OTA will deliver a timely and important two-day conference […]
OTA to Throw First-Ever #OrganicFestival on Social Media
It’s party time at the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and for 10 straight days everyone’s invited, according to the Washington-D.C. based nonprofit group. September is “Organic Month,” and OTA and its member companies are teaming up with other leading organic influencers to throw “Organic-Palooza,” a first-ever, 10-day social media festival that begins today and celebrates the benefits […]
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