The Organic Trade Association intends to ask USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service to establish a “transitional” organic designation for farmers who are converting their land to organic production. OTA Executive Director Laura Batcha says OTA would ask AMS to manage the transitional designation under its “Process Verified Program.” The designation, she added, would be a clear signal to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, that a farmer is committed to the transition and worthy of the assistance NRCS can provide, according to the Hagstrom Report. Under the proposal, Farmers must not use prohibited chemicals on their land for three years before their production can be declared organic. During this time farmers have to use organic production methods while selling their crops as conventional, which usually means lower prices and incomes than certified organic producers get. Batcha also said that OTA expects AMS to give its application for an organic checkoff “a judicious review,” but hopes for approval in 2016.
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