USDA announces regional networks for Transition to Organic Partnership Program

Farmers seeking to transition to organic production will soon get more help.

The USDA has announced it is establishing cooperative agreements in six regions across the U.S. for the Organic Transition Initiative, Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). 

Organizations participating in the partnership network will work together to establish and administer a farmer-to-farmer mentorship program providing direct farmer training, education and outreach activities, according to a news release.

The outreach activities will help transitioning and recently transitioned producers who face technical, cultural and market shifts during the transition period and the first few years of organic certification, the release said.

“The organic community is known for strong local collaboration and providing farmer-to-farmer support,” USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt said in a news release. “TOPP will build on this spirit, while bringing organic to new communities of farmers and consumers.”

The Organic Transition Initiative was launched in August 2022 as part of USDA’s food system transformation effort to support local and regional food systems, expand access to markets to more producers and increase the affordable food supply for more Americans, while promoting climate-smart agriculture and ensuring equity for all producers. The program gives comprehensive support for farmers transitioning to organic production and will deliver technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring; provide direct support through conservation financial assistance and additional crop insurance assistance; and support market development projects in targeted markets, according to the release.

The TOPP partnership network covers six regions: the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Northwest and West/Southwest, the release said. Organizations in these regions are actively forming partnerships to serve transitioning and existing organic farmers. Partnerships will provide mentoring services, technical assistance, community building and organic workforce development, according to the release.

USDA is also announcing an upcoming listening session on Nov. 15, which will gather stakeholder input about another OTI program, Organic Pinpointed Market Development Program. The event will seek feedback about the pinpointed market development investments needed to expand the organic agricultural supply chain. This initiative will develop new and expanded organic markets by providing more resources and certainty in the organic market for producers and processors transitioning to organic or initiating new organic production and processing capacity. Event information is available from the Organic Transition Initiative webpage.