Last year, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s National Organic Program (NOP) made awards to 14 organizations to support the Sound and Sensible Initiative. Since then, these 14 groups have worked with hundreds of farmers and livestock handlers nationwide to help them simplify and streamline organic certification and compliance. Now, USDA is ready to share the results of these projects, including an array of valuable tools and resources – templates, decision-making tools, trainings, guides, tip sheets, and videos – with the entire organic community, from certifying agents to certified organic operations, to producers who are considering organic certification for the first time.
Over the next several months, the NOP will release more than 40 tools and resources in several phases, grouped by theme and audience. With these valuable tools and resources, farmers will be better able to understand the benefits of organic certification and decide whether organic certification is right for them.
Launch Summary
LAUNCH 1 (October 26): Organic Value Proposition—Why Go Organic and Where to Start
Exploring the Organic Option
- Interactive Video: “The Road to Organic Certification”
- Consumer Guide and Videos “5 Reasons to be Certified Organic”
Planning the Path Forward