{"id":53534,"date":"2025-04-22T20:41:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T20:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/?p=53534"},"modified":"2025-10-22T17:16:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:16:59","slug":"topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/","title":{"rendered":"Historias de \u00e9xito TOPP - Conozca a Bob Whitney"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bob Whitney working on organic corn breeding<\/em><\/p>\n

Bob Whitney is the Extension Organic Program Specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. With decades of experience in agriculture and a focus on agronomy, he began working with the CCOF Foundation Western and Southwestern Regional Center for Organic Transition through the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP)<\/a> at its inception in 2023. This nationwide initiative provides support to both transitioning and existing organic producers across six geographic regions of the U.S. CCOF leads the West\/Southwest region.<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas is unique in that we don\u2019t have a lot of organized organic efforts,\u201d Whitney says, noting that his current position at Texas A&M is a recent university expansion. \u201cWe have 448 certified organic growers and 610 organic handlers in the state. We\u2019re approaching a $2 billion industry. It\u2019s big and a lot of fun for us. [TOPP] is an opportunity to expand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitney had already built strong connections with organic producers through his work in cotton, peanuts, dairy, and more. As a result, when TOPP began, he had a healthy network of growers looking for support as they pursued voluntary organic certification. \u201cI had focused efforts on improving existing organic producers, helping them solve fertility issues, weed control, and various aspects of organic production,\u201d he says. \u201cTOPP helped me give more focus to bringing in new growers. We\u2019re going through a rapid expansion of organic production in Texas and TOPP\u2019s efforts, such as hiring a program coordinator, have allowed us to do things we couldn\u2019t have done without the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitney\u2019s ability to connect people is where the TOPP program in Texas\u2014a state so big it\u2019s 16 hours across\u2014 really shines. \u201cFor example, if someone\u2019s having an issue with their cotton, I\u2019m going to tell them, \u2018Call Carl Pepper, he\u2019s got a good way of dealing with that problem.\u2019 Juan and Shakera Raygoza are my vegetable people, along with a host of other great crop people I can depend on,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Organic sales and consumer demand have outpaced<\/a> organic farmland growth in the U.S. for the past 25 years, creating a major opportunity for American farmers looking for a competitive market advantage through organic certification. TOPP is helping growers seize this faster. Jason Patterson, who started his organic transition a few years ago, recently told Whitney that after connecting with his mentor Carl Pepper, he\u2019s now planning to plant new cotton varieties. \u201cThat wouldn\u2019t have happened without the TOPP program,\u201d Whitney observes. \u201cJason thought he was still three or four years down the road from transitioning. I told him, \u2018I know your place. You\u2019ve got some land that can start immediately. Carl worked with him on the right equipment to buy, and now he\u2019s already got organic contracts with buyers. That\u2019s impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koti Narra, another success story, will be transitioning her organic vineyard at the end of this year. \u201cShe\u2019s super excited,\u201d Whitney says. \u201cShe works with Rob Warren and Henry Frost as mentors. I was able to hook them up as part of this program. Now she\u2019s running sheep because she saw other farmers try it. This year, organic vineyards were able to sell their grapes at a higher price while conventional grapes were sitting on the vine. She\u2019s very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caleb Duty, a newly transitioned grower of hay, corn, and sorghum from Central Texas, was connected with a dairy operation through the TOPP program and now has a dedicated buyer for his crops. He is planning to transition more land to organic production soon.<\/p>\n

An organic dairy producer in East Texas is putting in a bid to transition the Tarleton State University Dairy Center into a premiere training facility for organic dairy in the United States. Through TOPP, he\u2019s now connected with investors and other partners to put his plan into action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest benefit of TOPP is the excitement it generates,\u201d Whitney says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got it coming from a national level, the Southwest regional level, state levels, and it flows out to local levels. People hear about organic opportunities through the programs I run\u2014my first few slides are always about TOPP\u2014and then they read the magazine stories, they go on tours and meet the new transition farmers. It all generates more interest in organic and keeps the excitement level forefront.\u201d\u00a0 Whitney adds, \u201cIt keeps the excitement forefront for me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rural counties with high concentrations of organic farming tend to have lower poverty rates because the organic supply chain is more localized, keeping money within the community. As organic spreads through Texas and beyond, these farmers are helping drive rural economic growth while making organic food and products more accessible to all Americans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

NRCS training for TOPP on cover crops<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

New TOPP training class at a nursery<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interested in participating in TOPP mentorship<\/a>? This program is funded through 2026 by TOPP.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bob Whitney trabaja en la mejora gen\u00e9tica del ma\u00edz org\u00e1nico Bob Whitney es el ...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":53536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"0","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"64059,63896,55674,63554,33974,63535,63588,56480,51477,51663","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"class_list":["post-53534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foundation-news","foundation_topics-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney - CCOF.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney - CCOF.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bob Whitney working on organic corn breeding Bob Whitney is the Extension Organic …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CCOF.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CCOForganic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-22T20:41:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T00:16:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"721\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"959\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christina Adams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christina Adams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Christina Adams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be78be4fc4c4ac424b7d0539932eb93a\"},\"headline\":\"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-22T20:41:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-23T00:16:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":837,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Picture1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Foundation News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/\",\"name\":\"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney - CCOF.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Picture1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-22T20:41:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-23T00:16:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Picture1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Picture1.png\",\"width\":721,\"height\":959},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/news\\\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"CCOF.org\",\"description\":\"Help make organic the norm!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"CCOF.org\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/ccof-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/ccof-logo.svg\",\"width\":85,\"height\":111,\"caption\":\"CCOF.org\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/CCOForganic\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/c\\\/CCOForganic\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/ccoforganic\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ccof.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be78be4fc4c4ac424b7d0539932eb93a\",\"name\":\"Christina Adams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es-MX\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/97a9dad4a34fe7ba713b85b6b43161f9cea856349f498b009f695467264d5b3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/97a9dad4a34fe7ba713b85b6b43161f9cea856349f498b009f695467264d5b3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/97a9dad4a34fe7ba713b85b6b43161f9cea856349f498b009f695467264d5b3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Christina Adams\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Historias de \u00e9xito del TOPP - Conozca a Bob Whitney - CCOF.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney - CCOF.org","og_description":"Bob Whitney working on organic corn breeding Bob Whitney is the Extension Organic …","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/","og_site_name":"CCOF.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CCOForganic","article_published_time":"2025-04-22T20:41:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-23T00:16:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":721,"height":959,"url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Christina Adams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Christina Adams","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/"},"author":{"name":"Christina Adams","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be78be4fc4c4ac424b7d0539932eb93a"},"headline":"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney","datePublished":"2025-04-22T20:41:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-23T00:16:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/"},"wordCount":837,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture1.png","articleSection":["Foundation News"],"inLanguage":"es-MX"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/","name":"Historias de \u00e9xito del TOPP - Conozca a Bob Whitney - CCOF.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture1.png","datePublished":"2025-04-22T20:41:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-23T00:16:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es-MX","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es-MX","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture1.png","width":721,"height":959},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/news\/topp-success-stories-meet-bob-whitney\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TOPP Success Stories \u2013 Meet Bob Whitney"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/","name":"CCOF.org","description":"\u00a1Ayude a que lo org\u00e1nico sea la norma!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es-MX"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#organization","name":"CCOF.org","url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es-MX","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ccof-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ccof-logo.svg","width":85,"height":111,"caption":"CCOF.org"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CCOForganic","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CCOForganic","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ccoforganic\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be78be4fc4c4ac424b7d0539932eb93a","name":"Christina Adams","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es-MX","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/97a9dad4a34fe7ba713b85b6b43161f9cea856349f498b009f695467264d5b3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/97a9dad4a34fe7ba713b85b6b43161f9cea856349f498b009f695467264d5b3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/97a9dad4a34fe7ba713b85b6b43161f9cea856349f498b009f695467264d5b3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Christina Adams"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53534"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64086,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53534\/revisions\/64086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccof.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}