California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) has announced it will serve as the hub for the West/Southwest region of the USDA’s new Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).

Via an extensive partnership network of organizations throughout the US, TOPP will provide farmer-to-farmer mentorship, training, education, and outreach activities for transitioning-to-organic and recently transitioned farmers. The program is part of USDA’s $300 million Organic Transition Initiative (OTI), which was launched in August of this year.

Jessy Beckett Parr, Chief Programs Officer, CCOF

“CCOF has been a leader in organic for nearly 50 years, and we’re proud to serve as a regional hub for this groundbreaking USDA initiative,” said CCOF Chief Programs Officer Jessy Beckett Parr. “Farmers transitioning to organic will benefit from a unique suite of support as they learn new practices and reimagine their business models.”

TOPP is divided into six regions—Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Northwest, and West/Southwest—and CCOF has been chosen to head up the latter.

“Farmers transitioning to organic will benefit from a unique suite of support as they learn new practices and reimagine their business models.” - Jessy Beckett Parr

“The organic community is known for strong local collaboration and providing farmer-to-farmer support,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “TOPP will build on this spirit, while bringing organic to new communities of farmers and consumers.”

Jenny Lester Moffitt, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, USDA

The West/Southwest region of the TOPP program includes seven states: California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Hawaii. CCOF will work with community-based public, private, and nonprofit organizations in these states to help support transitioning and recently transitioned growers.

CCOF is currently connecting with local organizations and farmers in each state to learn about their challenges related to transitioning to organic ag.

“The organic community is known for strong local collaboration and providing farmer-to-farmer support. TOPP will build on this spirit, while bringing organic to new communities of farmers and consumers.” - Jenny Lester Moffitt

“We will focus state-by-state to determine the needs and interests of the local agricultural community, then encourage organic transition where markets can support this new influx of growers,” said Parr.

Recent tour of Queen of Vegetables Organic Farm (a 2022 CCOF transition grant awardee) in Hollister, CA

CCOF brings a long history of supporting transitioning farmers to its TOPP regional leadership role.

“CCOF has done organic transition work for decades—it’s in our core,” Parr said. “There have been many iterations of this work. For example in 2020, we worked with Anheuser Busch to conduct internal trainings for their farmers and agronomists—and gave away $500,000 in grants, transitioning 100,000 acres.”

Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, Salinas, CA (photo credit: Bobby Harding)

Most recently, CCOF has been awarding three-year transition grants ($10,000 per year) to California farms in a program that was initiated with the support of Rustic Canyon Family, a Santa Monica-based restaurant group that prioritizes sourcing from organic farmers. This program is currently administered by CCOF in collaboration with the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), Kitchen Table Advisors (KTA), and California FarmLink.

“CCOF has done organic transition work for decades—it’s in our core.” - Jessy Beckett Parr

“Our organic transition grants are currently focused on small-scale farms owned by socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers here in the Central Coast and Central Valley of California,” said Parr of the Rustic Canyon Family-inspired transition program. “We support these farmers with grants, technical assistance, and mentorship to succeed in the transition. We gave 12 grants this year to this community and have another 8-plus planned for Q1 of 2023—bringing the total number in this grant program to 20. These $10,000 grants, given each year for three years, support small farmers to successfully transition to organic growing.”

Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, Salinas, CA (photo credit: Bobby Harding)

As the TOPP regional hub for the West/Southwest, CCOF will be able to greatly expand its transition work over the next five years.

“We’ll combine our wealth of experience supporting organic transition in our CCOF Foundation programs with the expertise offered by the dozens of organizations participating in the regional network,” said Parr. “Organic is, at its core, a community of like-minded farmers, and these regional networks will amplify the work of many partners as they support those transitioning to organic.”