OTA Launches Free Resource to Help More Businesses Enter Organic Supply Chain

The Organic Trade Association has launched a new free educational platform designed to make organic certification and compliance easier for handlers and processors, addressing what the association sees as an important gap in the growing organic supply chain.

OrganicHandlers.org provides practical guidance for companies already handling certified organic products as well as businesses considering entering organic or operating facilities that handle both conventional and organic products.

“After spending a career sourcing more than 1 billion pounds in organic ingredients across a wide range of commodities, I’ve learned something important: organic doesn’t have to be that hard, if you know what to do and where to look,” said Tom Chapman, co-CEO of the Organic Trade Association.

The site was launched Sept. 29 and was highlighted by OTA during an Oct. 30 educational webinar.

OrganicHandlers.org includes 13 chapters covering topics including certification, inspections, sanitation and pest control, storage and transportation, supplier management, product formulation, labeling and packaging, organic imports, fraud prevention and recordkeeping.

The platform also offers checklists, flowcharts, templates, videos and other materials intended to translate federal organic rules into information businesses can apply to daily operations.

“No endless searching. No costs. No consultant required,” is how OTA describes the goal.

The need extends beyond making certification easier for individual businesses.

U.S. certified organic product sales reached a record $76.6 billion in 2025, increasing 6.8% from the previous year. Organic food sales totaled $70.1 billion.

Fresh produce remains the biggest organic category, generating $22.7 billion in 2025 sales and accounting for nearly 30% of the organic market. Organic produce sales increased 5.3%, with berries reaching $4.4 billion, citrus sales rising 18.1% and organic banana sales growing 12.6% to reach $1 billion.

Continued growth requires more than additional organic acreage. Crops also need certified businesses capable of receiving, storing, packing, processing and marketing them.

OTA says increasing domestic organic production creates a corresponding need for regional handling and processing infrastructure capable of moving those products through the supply chain.

OrganicHandlers.org is intended to help address that issue by lowering the educational barrier for businesses interested in organic.

The platform can be used by large consumer packaged goods companies training employees as well as smaller operations exploring organic certification, expansion or split conventional-organic facilities.

It was developed with support from USDA’s National Organic Program and educational leadership from the Organic Agronomy Training Service and other industry partners. OTA says the content was also informed by interviews with organic professionals about challenges they encounter in day-to-day operations.

The goal is to make compliance less intimidating while creating additional opportunities for organic farmers and businesses.

For the produce industry, that could mean strengthening an often less-visible part of organic expansion: making sure there are enough companies prepared to handle the additional fruit and vegetables growers are being encouraged to produce.