Rebuffed by the Trump administration, the Organic Trade Association turned to the public on Monday for ideas on how to design a voluntary checkoff program to raise research-and-promotion money for the sector and where to put the money. “The need for more investment in organic is widely agreed upon,” said OTA chief executive Laura Batcha.
The trade group set a six-month period through April 30 for gathering ideas for the checkoff, which it calls “GRO Organic,” for Generate Results and Ideas for Organic. The group is looking for initiatives that would deliver “immediate big wins” for the sector on issues such as how to bring new farmers into organic production, how to increase research in organic production, and consumer education.
The OTA spent years in developing a proposal for a mandatory checkoff and submitted its proposal in May 2015. The USDA, which oversees two dozen checkoff programs, asked for public comments on the proposal in final weeks of the Obama administration. Then the Trump administration terminated the rulemaking process in May. The trade group decided during the summer to create a voluntary checkoff.