Organic Industry Event

Seoul Food & Hotel 2019 will return to the Kintex Expo Center in Seoul on May 21-24 and already looks set to expand on its record breaking year in 2018. Seoul Food & Hotel provides participating companies with an opportunity to meet with key importers, distributors and industry buyers from retail, catering and hospitality trade across the of Korea. As a nation of ever-evolving tastes and with a variety of developing food trends, Korea is one of Asia's most important nations for launching new and innovative products.

Registration is now open to participate in the Organic Trade Association booth at Seoul Food and Hotel 2019! Expected arrival for participants in Seoul is May 19. The cost is $600 for new exhibitors to SFH, and $1,000 for return participants. Sign-ups will be taken on a first come, first serve basis with priority given to new exhibitors. The deadline to register is Monday, March 4th 2019. Sign up here: http://www.cvent.com/d/c6qlgr/4W. For more information, contact Alexis Carey. 

Registration includes:

- Tabletop in OTA booth

- 1 round trip economy transportation to and from Seoul, booked through OTA’s travel agent (excluding airport transfers)

- Hotel stay for 1 for the duration of the activity

- Fascia and counter graphics

- 1 Group dinner, and buyer dinner support

Note: Travel to and from the airport is at the participant’s own cost.

DISCLAIMER: For all USDA MAP programs, all of the products you promote must be USDA certified organic, produced in the USA, and made of 51% or more of U.S. based ingredients either by value (cost of the ingredients) or volume (against overall weight of the product).  It’s the federal USDA regulation for participation and part of declaration you agree to when signing up for OTA activities. 

Trade Show Information: 

May 21-24, 2019

Seoul, Korea

SIAL Canada is now the only event of its scale in Canada, with more than 850 national and international exhibitors from 50 countries hosting over 15,000 buyers from Canada, the U.S., and 60 other countries. SIAL Canada is the only national trade show that offers a complete range of food products under one roof to meet your customers’ expectations. Whether you work in the retail, catering or food processing industry, or you’re simply looking for new and innovative products or regional specialties from around the world, you’ll find exactly what you need right here.

The Organic Trade Association will exhibit at SIAL Canada for the first time this spring, and registration is now open to co-exhibit with us! The show will take place in Toronto from April 30th – May 2nd. The registration fee is $600 and includes one single hotel room for the duration of the activity, a table top counter display in the Organic Trade Association booth, logo screening and other marketing materials. Participants are in charge of their own travel expenses and other related costs. Space is extremely limited for this show, and participants will be taken on a first come, first serve basis. Please note that you would be expected to arrive in Toronto on April 28th. Sign up here: http://www.cvent.com/d/0bqhx3/4W

Disclaimer: For all USDA MAP programs, the products you promote must be produced in the United States and contain at least 51% or more U.S. produced ingredients either by value (cost of the ingredients) or volume (against overall weight of the product).  It’s the federal USDA regulation for participation and part of declaration you agree to when signing up for OTA activities.

Trade Show Information: 

April 30, 2019 - May 2, 2019

Toronto, Canada

The BPIA 2019 Annual Meeting and Symposium will be taking place March 11-15 in Portland, OR. BPIA includes several committees that bring together the resources and the focus necessary to achieve the organization’s many objectives. BPIA routinely engages with key regulators at USEPA, USDA, Canada’s PMRA, and the states including the California DPR; individual members officially represent BPIA on the PRIA Coalition and EPA’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC); other members cover key stakeholder meetings and often provide comments on behalf of the industry. Click here for the full Symposium agenda. 

Cassandra Christine, Organic Trade Association's Director of Industry Relations, Membership, and Development, will be speaking on the following panel during the Symposium. For more information, contact Cassandra Christine. 

Biological Products and Organics | 11:00am - 12:30pm

Moderator: Cindy Smith, Conn & Smith

Speakers: Sam Schaefer-Joel, WSDA; Doug Currier, OMRI; Cassandra Christine, OTA; and Bill Wolf, Wolf, DiMatteo  and Associates

Meeting Information:

March 11-15, 2019

Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront Hotel

Portland, OR

The Organic Egg Farmers of America 9th Annual Symposium will be taking place in Minneapolis, MN on Tuesday, March 12. The organization will bring in a number of industry experts to touch on an assortment of topics relating to organic egg production.

Johanna Mirenda, Organic Trade Association's Farm Policy Director, will be speaking at the Symposium about policy issues that are relevant to the organic poultry industry. For more information, contact Johanna Mirenda. 

Symposium Information: 

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 | 9:00am - 5:00pm

Minneapolis Convention Center

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Annual Meeting will take place in Izmir, Turkey from February 18-20, 2019. 

The GOTS Regional Seminar will take place on Monday, February 18 from 9:30am - 5:30pm. Through focused and challenging discussions, this one-day seminar shall address pressing issues relevant to the organic textiles industry. It shall equip participants with best practices and know-how relating to the biggest opportunities – and challenges – help to transform their supply chains to achieve efficiency through sustainability. Along with speakers from the international GOTS team, it will also bring together top business leaders, brands, social and chemical compliance experts and practitioners, certification bodies and manufacturers, offering the exciting opportunity for a thorough exchange of experience and ideas.

The Organic Trade Association's VP of Regulatory and Technical Affairs, Gwendolyn Wyard, as well as the Organic Trade Association's Farm Policy Director, Johanna Mirenda, will be attending the meeting. For more information, contact Johanna Mirenda. 

Meeting Information: 

February 18-20, 2019 

Movenpick Hotel

Izmir, Turkey 

The 2019 NOP/ACA Professional Development Training will take place in Greenville, South Carolina, January 29-31, 2019. 

Gwendolyn Wyard, Organic Trade Association's Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Affairs, will present the following session at the training on January 30, 2019. 

Traceback and Supply Chain Verification

Speakers: Kyla Smith (Pennsylvania Certified Organic), Gwendolyn Wyard (Organic Trade Association), and Jessica Walden (Quality Assurance International)

What is Global Organic Supply Chain Integrity (GOSCI) and where does the Organic Trade Association’s Fraud Prevention Program stand? What is the certifier's and inspector's role when it comes to supply chain integrity? We'll look at some examples of traceability gaps and methods to address them. 

Event Information:

January 29-31, 2019

Greenville, South Carolina 

Seoul Food & Hotel 2019 will return to Kintex, Seoul and already looks set to expand on its record breaking year in 2018. Seoul Food & Hotel provides participating companies with an opportunity to meet with key importers, distributors and industry buyers from retail, catering and hospitality trade across the of Korea. As a nation of ever-evolving tastes and with a variety of developing food trends, Korea is one of Asia's most important nations for launching new and innovative products.

The Organic Trade Association will host a pavilion of 8 US organic companies at the trade show. For more information, contact Alexis Carey.

Trade Show Information:

May 21-24, 2019

Seoul, Korea

SIAL Canada is now the only event of its scale in Canada, with more than 850 national and international exhibitors from 50 countries hosting over 15,000 buyers from Canada, the U.S., and 60 other countries. SIAL Canada is the only national trade show that offers a complete range of food products under one roof to meet your customers’ expectations. 

Organic Trade Association will host a pavilion of 4 companies at the tradeshow. For more information, contact Alexis Carey. 

Trade Show Information:

April 30 - May 2

Toronto, Canada 

The Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) will host the 2019 MOSES Organic Farming Conference February 21-23 in La Crosse, WI. This Conference is the largest event in the U.S. about organic and sustainable farming, offering 66 workshops over 6 sessions, inspiring keynotes, engaging roundtables, and a resource-packed exhibit hall with over 170 vendors. Organic University, day 1 of the conference, provides full-day courses that dig deeper into specific farming topics.

Melody Meyer, founder of Source Organic, will present the following sessions at the Conference on behalf of the Organic Trade Association. 

International Trade | Friday, February 22, 3:30pm

Speaker: Melody Meyer

The global organic marketplace is constantly shifting, making your farm products more or less desirable. Gain an understanding of the global marketplace and learn how to interpret its forecast so you can make better decisions about what to grow and market.

Organic Check-Off | Saturday, February 23, 8:30am

Speakers: Melody Meyer, Jim Riddle, Kathleen Delate

Since the USDA halted a mandatory organic check-off to fund research and promotion of organic, members of the organic sector are looking at a voluntary check-off program called GRO Organic. Learn about this option and hear different perspectives on the need for organic research, promotion, and consumer education. Weigh in with your own “big idea” to advance organic.

The Organic Center's Science Project Manager, Amber Sciligo, will be presenting the following session at the Conference:

Beyond Till vs No-Till | Saturday, February 23, 10:30am

Speaker: Amber Sciligo

Intensive agriculture practices have depleted our soils and accelerated climate change, but the good news is practices employed by organic farmers can rebuild soil. Learn about cutting-edge research on organic’s soil-building potential and strategies you can use on your farm to help mitigate climate change.

For more information, contact Adrienne Messe.

Conference Information: 

February 21-23, 2019

La Crosse Center

La Crosse, WI