OTA Hosted Event

The Organic Trade Association will host a virtual trade event dedicated to organic food ingredients March 22-24, 2021. Meetings will take place 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST, but please note that some meetings could take place outside of these regular business hours to accommodate buyer time zones.

As a result of member feedback, invited buyers will participate from countries across Asia, including the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Ingredients with best prospects for this trade mission include: raw grains, pulses, dairy ingredients, processed fruits and vegetables (frozen, dried, powder, juices, or concentrates), nuts, oils, organic food additives, and bakery items.

The cost to participate is $75 per company for OTA to register you with the online platform and schedule meetings for you with interested buyers. You will receive profiles of the participating buyers including contact information prior to your meetings. Please note we will be scheduling meetings based on buyer preferences and time zones, and your meetings could be held outside regular business hours. 

Contact Alexis Carey, OTA's International Trade Manager, if you have questions. Click here to register! 

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).  This is the federal USDA regulation for participation and part of declaration you agree to when signing up for Organic Trade Association activities.  All supplier participants must complete Organic Trade Association’s online evaluation following the activity and a 6 month follow-up evaluation. All participants must also agree to be available online for the entire meeting window. 

The 2020 elections will be among the most consequential in U.S. history. What will the outcomes mean for organic? Join CEO Laura Batcha and Director of Legislative Affairs Megan DeBates for this exclusive webinar where we will discuss the outcomes of key House and Senate races including how organic champions fared and what it means for the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Laura and Megan will be joined by Darci Vetter, Global Lead Public Affairs & Vice Chair, Agriculture, Food at Edelman Public Affairs. We will talk about what the incoming Biden administration could mean for organic priorities, and the transition that occurs at USDA and other agencies.

Prior to the election, Congress left town with a lengthy to-do list including cutting a deal on COVID relief and funding the federal government for Fiscal Year 2021. What can we expect from the lame-duck session this year? What will the top priorities be for the next Congress in 2021? We will explore all these topics and more. Registration for this webinar is limited to current Organic PAC donors and those that have given prior approval. To find out more about Organic PAC you can visit our website. All confirmed registrants will be given an exclusive copy of OTA’s post-election guide after the webinar's completion.

• Esteemed Panelists:
• Ambassador Darci Vetter, Global Lead Public Affairs & Vice Chair, Agriculture, Food | Edelman Public Affairs 
• Laura Batcha, CEO / Executive Director | Organic Trade Association
• Megan DeBates, Director of Legislative Affairs & Coalitions | Organic Trade Association

This webinar will be recorded. Register to be updated when the recording is available. Registration closes at 1 pm Eastern. If you register after 1 pm, we will provide you access to view the recording within 48 hours of its completion. For information about registering for this webinar, please reach out to Douglas Korb. 

REGISTER

2020 has been an eventful year for the organic industry. This is true from an agricultural and market perspective, but also in the realms of regulatory and legislative affairs – where progress is not always a linear process. Join Organic Trade Association’s Government Affairs team for a live webinar that clarifies the processes and entities that govern organic, and to receive an update on actions taken in 2020, as well potential developments and trade association priorities for 2021. 

• Esteemed Panelists:
• Megan DeBates, Director of Legislative Affairs and Coalitions | Organic Trade Association
• Johanna Mirenda, Farm Policy Director | Organic Trade Association

Complimentary to OTA members 

Not-yet member registrations: $149

This webinar will be recorded. Register to be updated when the recording is available. 

Registration closes at 12 pm Eastern. If you register after 12 pm, we will provide you access to view the recording within 24 hours of its completion. 

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Last year, The Organic Center partnered with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) to hold a convening examining research areas that would have the most impact on advancing the organic sector, explore avenues for private-public partnerships, and identify areas where the industry is interested in investing in research. The convening’s objective was to identify high-impact research areas that could have a substantial positive impact on advancing organic production systems, build partnerships in support of scientific collaborations, and provide a venue for cross-sector sharing of ideas and priorities. This webinar will present the outcomes from that convening, share information about FFAR funding, and gather your input on research needs that are critical for advancing the organic sector.

• Esteemed Panelists:
• Brise Tencer, Executive Director | Organic Farming Research Foundation (Q&A participant)
• Amber Sciligo, PhD, Asst. Director of Science Programs | The Organic Center
• Jessica Shade, PhD, Director of Science Programs | The Organic Center
• LaKisha Odom, PhD, Scientific Program Director | Foundation

You can download the full outcomes from the convening here, and we are soliciting comments on the outcome document here.

Click here to learn more about the project. 

Open to all

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Wondering what happened with organic at the farm level in the past few years? Join us to hear a presentation of results from the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) 2019 Organic Survey. You’ll hear about changes in acreage, production, and sales data for a variety of organic crop and livestock commodities as well as organic marketing and agricultural practices. NASS released the results from the 2017 Census of Agriculture in April 2019. The results include national and state level organic farm count and value of production data. In early 2020, NASS began data collection for the 2019 Organic Survey, a follow-on special study to the 2017 Census of Agriculture. This will be the sixth comprehensive organic survey NASS has conducted and the first since the 2016 Organic Survey. Join NASS researchers Daphne Schauber and Virginia Harris for a presentation, accompanied by a discussion and Q&A session led by Kellee James, CEO of Mercaris and member of Organic Trade Association’s Board of Directors. 

• Esteemed Panelists:
• Kellee James, CEO | Mercaris & member of the Organic Trade Association's Board of Directors (Discussion Leader)
• Daphne Schauber, Statistician | USDA's Research, Education, and Economics Resources (REE)'s National Agricultural Statistics Services
• Virginia Harris, Statistician | USDA's Research, Education, and Economics Resources (REE)'s National Agricultural Statistics Services

Complimentary to OTA members 

Not-yet member registrations: $149

This webinar will be recorded. Register to be updated when the recording is available. Registration closes at 12 pm Eastern. If you register after 12 pm, we will provide you access to view the recording within 24 hours of its completion. 

REGISTER

Among the areas where organic businesses are innovating is how they finance their operations and growth. From employee and family ownership, to novel legal structures, and working with socially-minded investors, organic companies are rethinking standard models to the benefit of their operations and their larger communities. Join us for insight and inspiration from business leaders and investors who have brought new thinking to the old challenge of how to best structure and capitalize organic organizations.

• Esteemed Panelists:
• Sara Eckhouse, Executive Director | Foodshot
• Matt McLean, Founder | Uncle Matt's Organic
• Natalie Reitman-White, Mission Advocacy | Organically Grown Company & Alternative Ownership Advisors
• Robyn O'Brien, Co-Founder | rePlant Capital (Discussion Leader)

Complimentary to OTA members 

Not-yet member registrations: $149

This webinar will be recorded. Register to be updated when the recording is available. 

Registration closes at 2 pm Eastern. If you register after 2 pm, we will provide you access to view the recording within 24 hours of its completion. 

REGISTER