Jun 27, 2024

UPDATED: Organic Trade Association receives USDA market promotion funds

UPDATED: The U.S. organic industry is among the commodity groups and trade associations receiving federal funds for promotion and market development funding.

The Organic Trade Association is receiving $2.5 million in funding.

The funding in Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) consists of matching funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand organic markets through consumer education and promotion.  The funds provided by USDA match those provided by the OTA, The Organic Center and Organic Voices for a three-year project totaling $4.4 million.

The joint project by the trade association and The Organic Center is designed to stimulate the demand for and increase the sales of organic products by promoting the science-backed benefits of USDA certified organic products and farming to consumers. The project will be done in collaboration with Organic Voices and an Industry Advisory Committee, according to a news release.

“We thank USDA for making this project possible with this important funding. Consumers lack information about all that the USDA Organic label stands for and all the benefits it delivers for human health, the environment, and businesses,” OTA’s co-CEO Tom Chapman said in the release. “Our project aims to increase the consumption of organic by giving consumers access to more credible information about what organic production and processing means, and the advantages it provides.”

The funding is part of $300 million allocated to 66 U.S. organizations under the USDA’s new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), designed to build demand for American food and farm exports in high-potential markets worldwide.

Other groups receiving funding include:

• California Fresh Fruit Association, $1 million
• California Agricultural Export Council, $1 million
• Washington State Fruit Commission, $900,000
• National Potato Promotion Board, $6.5 million
• Washington Apple Commission, $7 million
• Pear Bureau Northwest, $4 million
• U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, $1.3 million,
• California Table Grape Commission, $3.3 million

The full list of recipients is here.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack authorized $1.2 billion in Commodity Credit Corp. funding in launching RAPP to help U.S. exporters expand their customer base beyond established markets, focusing on regions including Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.