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Voluntary organic checkoff would be less restrictive

The head of the Organic Trade Association says a private, industry-led organic checkoff will allow more flexibility within a program.

CEO Laura Batcha tells Brownfield a mandatory organic checkoff was estimated to collect between $35 and $40 million dollars annually.  Startup donations for a voluntary program are currently being collected from industry which Batcha says could reach about two million dollars in the short-term.  “We’ll need to build in ways to encourage participation.  The flip side of not being mandatory is what you can do with the dollars is much more flexible in a voluntary, private program than it would be in a USDA program.”

She says it will be up to stakeholders to decide if dollars can be used to lobby for organic priorities, but they would be able to because a voluntary program is not held to the same restrictions as a USDA checkoff.

Batcha says a steering committee is working to develop a governance model at the same time an immediate investment is being made into organic promotion, education and research.

She says they’re studying foundations, voluntary specialty crop orders and a voluntary organic checkoff in Canada to see what kind of model the industry could use for the program.

AUDIO: Interview with Laura Batcha