USDA Bails on Organic Checkoff

May 15, 2018 03:03 PM

US Department of Agriculture headquarters

May 15, 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn (RFD-TV) The effort to launch an organic check-off program has come to a halt. The USDA says the decision to pull the plug is based on “uncertain industry support for and outstanding substantive issues with the proposed program.”

The process to develop the promotion and research effort began three years ago, to the day, when the Organic Trade Association submitted its proposal to the USDA on May 15, 2015. Earlier this year, USDA published the proposed rule in the Federal Register, and received nearly 15,000 comments.

According to the Organic Trade Association, their proposal incorporated input from organic stakeholders throughout the country, including over 1,200 certified organic operators. OTA CEO Laura Batcha disagrees with the decision saying, “There is no question we need promotion for organic as consumers continue to demand food transparency.“

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