Organic Industry Event

The Provender Alliance Conference will be held on October 14-16 in Hood River, Oregon. OTA staff will attend the conference and serve as speakers in two workshops. To learn more, contact Gwendolyn Wyard. 

October 16, 1:30 to 3:00pm | Workshop Session 2

Back to the Basics: We Can't Promote Organic if We Don't Know What it Means

Speaker(s): Gwendolyn Wyard, Organic Trade Association; Nathaniel Lewis, Organic Trade Association, Gage Mitchel, Modern Species LLC

Are you in the business of selling or promoting organic products? Can all of your employees accurately answer in-store questions about the benefits of purchasing organic food and/or fiber? How well do you really know the organic regulations? This workshop will revisit the core requirements for all USDA National Organic Program certified products and discuss why organic should be the most trusted eco-label in the marketplace. Participants will gain a solid foundation for answering basic questions about organic and how it is enforced. GMO and natural label claims will also be demystified. A discussion about the needs and opportunities for developing on-going employee education and promotion campaigns for organic will be explored.

October 16, 3:30 to 5:00pm | Workshop Session 3

Know Your Organic Label! Requirements for Processors and Retailers

Speaker(s): Gwendolyn Wyard, Organic Trade Association; Brian Scheel, Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO). 

This workshop will give you new insight into the most common mistakes companies make when formulating organic products and creating organic labels. The content will include current information and resources on how to ensure product labels, in-store labels and other marketing materials comply with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standards. After this workshop, you will understand the relevance of product composition to your product claim, the process for staying current with the NOP National List of Allowed and Prohibited Ingredients, and the labeling requirements associated with certified and non-certified retail food establishments.

Back to the Basics is a recommended prerequisite for this session

Perdue Agribusiness, an OTA member ingredient supplier, invites OTA members for its annual Ag Field Days starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, August 12. Join OTA staff at the Perdue AgriBusiness Organic Knowledge Plot in Hurlock, MD, to learn more about techniques geared toward increasing yields in organic production. RSVP by Thursday, July 30, to 302-855-5696 or goagpartners@perdue.com.

The 13th Annual Montana Organic Association (MOA) Conference, "Cultivating Soils, Opportunities and Relationships,"will be held December 3-5 at the Holiday Inn in Bozeman, Montana. OTA's Senior Crops and Livestock Specialist, Nate Lewis, will be speaking on regulatory updates, the Organic Check-off program, and national organic policy issues on December 4th. Please contact Nate to learn more. 

The Fall 2015 National Organic Standard Board (NOSB) meeting will be held in Stowe, Vermont from October 26-29. Contact Gwendolyn Wyard and check back often as details unfold to learn more about the meeting.