Growing the Organic Workforce: Creation, Adoption, and Promotion of Organic Inspector and Reviewer Certificate Modules
The USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) was launched in the fall of 2022 to provide technical assistance and support for transitioning and existing organic farmers, and to a limited extent processor/handlers. TOPP is a collaborative national effort involving partners working together towards a common goal of transitioning conventional producers to organic production. The TOPP network covers six regions: the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Northwest, and West/Southwest. In each geographic area, there is one “Regional Lead” responsible for program coordination and forming partnerships with organizations to serve transitioning and existing organic farmers. Find more information about the TOPP on USDA’s website and on the TOPP website. TOPP is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseen by the National Organic Program.
Collectively, the six regional leads are seeking a consultant to support the “Workforce Development” component of TOPP. The regional leads recently worked with a consultant to explore a large challenge facing the continued success of the organic sector—a shortage of qualified inspectors and reviewers. Through a survey, interviews and additional research, the consultants, Nexight Group, identified challenges and developed recommendations to support the growth of the organic sector by addressing the shortage of inspectors and reviewers. The findings of this work are outlined in the 2025 report entitled “Workforce Development Needs Assessment for the Organic Industry.”
