By Kate Quackenbush

Organic Products Retailer spoke with some of OTA’s board members, past leaders and current partners to highlight the organization’s accomplishments and to see where it’s headed in the future:
• Katherine DiMatteo – first executive director of OTA and senior associate of Wolf, DiMatteo and Associates
• Caren Wilcox – current executive director of OTA
• K. Jesse Singerman – president of Prairie Ventures, Inc. (Iowa City, IA), OTA board president
• Theresa Marquez – serving her third term on the OTA board of directors and liaison to the Organic Center
• Matt McLean – owner/operator of Uncle Matt’s Organics (Clermont, FL) and OTA board member since 2005

Leadership Through Good Times and Bad
Through it all, OTA has sought strong individuals to aid in its mission: to protect and promote the organic industry.

As the organization’s first executive director, DiMatteo was charged with administering the work of the then-infant association.

“It would have been a stretch to call it an industry at that time,” she said. “It was not unified nationally, businesses and farms were mostly small to medium-size. It was a niche market and, as an agricultural production system, it was not recognized by the USDA.”

Some of the initiatives accomplished during her tenure included building a national trade association with a unified voice, establishing a market identity with integrity and attracting positive media coverage about organic farming and products.

“In 1990, consumer interest was very high because of the NRDC ‘Alar’ report [the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, investigated Alar, a chemical sprayed on apples that was later deemed ‘probable human carcinogens’ by Environmental Protection Agency and eventually withdrawn from the market], but it did not last long. OTA had to build consumer awareness through positive public relations campaigns. It initiated a retail promotion campaign—Organic Harvest Month—which was successful, although limited in scope and outreach in the early 1990s.” 

When DiMatteo was initially tapped to take on the role in June, it was just before Congress’ vote on the Organic Foods Production Act as part of the 1990 Farm Bill in September.

“OTA was active in the campaign to pass the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990. Since USDA and the House Agriculture Committee did not support this section of the Farm Bill, OTA and many other grass-roots organizations lobbied Congress to pass this law,” said DiMatteo.

Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. It was a victory, but one that has required OTA’s constant attention to protect what was achieved. The OTA continued to push for national organic standards that were finally implemented in October 2002. OTA played a key part in what is considered a breakthrough in the industry.

“OTA continues to be present today in Washington, DC, to lobby for funding for the USDA National Organic Program and other programs that support organic farming, to lobby for legislation that would support organic farming in the 1995 and 2002 Farm Bills, and to protect the standards set in the 1990 Farm Bill,” said DiMatteo.

After building a strong foundation for the association, DiMatteo stepped down from her post in 2006.
“I had reached a point where I had done a lot in terms of building the organization and could foresee its needs would move into another phase,” she said. “It was a good time for me to go.”

With OTA’s foot firmly planted in the government’s door, it needed to build on the foundation that DiMatteo had laid. Enter Caren Wilcox, the second executive director for OTA. Up to that point, Wilcox’s career was centered on the food industry as well as trade associations. Most importantly, her work in the department under food safety for the USDA gave her a familiarity with the industry and the regulatory process.

“I had a different skill set than Katherine,” said Wilcox. “I brought my experiences with budgeting and project skills that were very useful to OTA. And the organization wanted someone with legislative and regulatory experience. Having reviewed the USDA rule three times, I had that in spades.”

During Wilcox’s terms as executive director, OTA was invited to testify before Congressional committees on agricultural issues.

“We set a lot of precedence for attention to domestic supply, crop insurance for farmers and data gathering,” said Wilcox. “It’s been really critical to get this done. Those efforts will stand the industry in good stead if the Farm Bill passes this year or a longer-term extension.

“We’ve educated a lot of members of Congress and it’s been a significant effort for the industry,” she added.

A Voice for the Industry
OTA is not just about its leaders; it’s about representing the gamut of the organic industry. This is where the organization’s board of directors comes heavily into play.

OTA’s board of directors has 15 seats and it’s intended to advise and counsel, bringing experience and expertise from people in different parts of the supply chain.

“One of the great things about OTA is that it represents the entire organic business community—from farm to manufacturer to retailer and through to consumers,” said Singerman. “That combination of perspective and different expertise is one of the most gratifying things about this association. You get to hear the whole spectrum of peoples’ perspectives; a farmer might weigh in one way and a processor might weigh in another. Membership to OTA provides a voice to the entire spectrum.”

Matt McLean, an organic grower, joined OTA in 2001 and became a member of its board in 2005 because, he said, he could see that its mission lined up with his own: to further grow the organic industry.

“I first heard about OTA by going to trade shows and reading the trade journals. It was in the media as a leader in the industry—out there for the organic consumer, manufacturers and growers,” said McLean. “I could see the association had the same mission I had about moving forward with the growth of the industry, and I wanted to be a part of that.

“There are a lot of influential people in the industry that are part of the organization, and OTA provides great networking opportunities to connect with companies big and small,” McLean added.
McLean chairs the community relations committee, which recommends recipients for the OTA Leadership Awards every year. Once on board, he was committed to making sure a farmer was recognized every year along with an industry individual.

“[The farmers] are the real champions battling everyday and learning everyday on the job,” said McLean. “I wanted to make sure they were acknowledged for their efforts.”

The Organic Center
According to Marquez, in 2002 a number of OTA members wanted more research to “scientifically prove” that organic was better. But as a trade association, conducting that research would defeat its credibility—it needed peer-reviewed, credible, university-conducted research. OTA partnered with those researchers, which marked the beginning of The Organic Center.

“OTA birthed The Organic Center to put science behind organics and the results are fantastic,” said Marquez. “Organic is about continual improvement, so we want to research where we are so we can better our agricultural production process and show how organic products benefit human health and environmental quality.”

The Colorado-based research group has released new evidence settling a lingering question: Is organic food more nutritious than conventionally grown foods? The answer: Yes, by at least 25 percent, according to the findings in its State of Science study, “New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-based Organic Foods.”

“The pioneers of this industry believe in the common sense about food and did not need a huge body of research,” Marquez continued. “Soil impacts the food we eat, which is a major theme for all organic companies. To back this, The Organic Center has released a study with Washington State University on the correlation of nutrient density and soil health.”

Over the last 18 months, The Organic Center has collected and reviewed hundreds of studies from all over the world. At the Expo West meeting in Anaheim, The Organic Center produced a CD with all the Center’s research on it, in the hopes of spreading the message and solid information.

“We need to manage the organic message,” said Marquez. “We meet every month and at every major trade show—inviting companies to review new messaging and old messaging to get everyone on the same page.”

Accomplishments Create Goals
OTA has been so effective in spreading the organic message that it has led to increased consumer awareness. This, in turn, has created a need to increase the domestic supply to meet the ever-growing domestic demand.

“Increasing domestic organic supply is a key issue for the industry,” said Wilcox. “With consumers continuing to become interested in organic consumption, we have to find farmers that will grow those products.”

To meet this new increased demand, OTA has been trying to provide as much information as possible to farmers looking to convert to organic methods.

“This year we launched a website available to everyone in the world with no membership required—www.howtogoorganic™.com. It’s intended to provide handlers with as much information as they might need when thinking about going organic,” said Wilcox. Information provided includes production practices, provisions in the rule, mentors, certifiers, what crops work in what region and what professors that are working in local land grants can give insight. The site is also sortable, so users can scan through by state or crop interest or many other options.

“OTA doesn’t certify farms and we don’t try to be an individual advisor to companies going organic, but we are trying to point them in the right direction,” Wilcox added.

And to further enhance the allure of organic farming, OTA is working diligently on the Farm Bill, which is about to be finalized in Congress. OTA is lobbying for increased appropriations to organic programs, which are very under funded, according to Singerman. (“I always joke that the organic program operates with less than the budget of the Iowa City public library,” she said.) It’s also checking to see that resources for research are included.

“Organic should get its fair share,” said Singerman. “In terms of agronomic research through the USDA, conventional agriculture gets lots of dollars, but very little goes to organic. Organic farmers shouldn’t have to do all their own research.”

The Future of the OTA
While Wilcox will be resigning from her post as of June 30, the end of the fiscal year for OTA, the organization is prepping to acquire a new leader to meet the needs of the organization in 2008 and beyond.

But it will be a lot of the same for OTA.

“The main thing that strikes me is how similar it is today to over 20 years ago. OTA continues to be a home for emerging and new organic initiatives, with both regulatory and legislative concerns,” said Singerman. “The mission to promote and protect remains the same; a lot of what we’re doing now is what we’ve always done.”

Regardless of the strides the OTA has made, organic still represents a very small percentage of US total food sales and acres under agricultural production. But OTA’s success is reflected in its membership.

“The companies involved with OTA now are larger due to growth and consolidation. However, it’s important to understand that 55 percent of OTA’s members have annual organic revenues less than $100,000, and only 23 percent have gross organic revenues that reach over $1 million. We continue to be an organization for the smaller company,” said Singerman. OPR