Farm group awarded funds to expand organic markets By Caitlin Fillmore To expand markets and boost demand
California’s then-nascent organic farming sector is now planning an advertising cam- paign. The effort, which begins in 2025, seeks to promote organic produce while building brand loyalty for farm products bearing the “USDA organic” label. “This is the last chance for organic to clarify why it’s so important,” said Michael Recco, marketing director of CCOF. He said it is “a make-or-break moment” for promoting recognition of certified-organic products and determining if organic cer- tification “will survive and set out what it wanted to achieve 50 years ago.” Nationally, the Organic Market Development Grant program awarded $40.5 million to 60 organic programs that seek to “further our goals of creating and expanding markets for producers,” said
Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA underecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. CCOF has a three-part strategy for its funding. A marketing toolkit will provide templates and messages for organic farm- ers to implement, with a particular focus on digital marketing and e-commerce. “These are people who definitely don’t have marketing departments to do all of those things on their own,” Recco said. CCOF plans to enhance its member di- rectory as an interactive resource large re- tailers could use to source organic produce close to their distribution centers. The advertising campaign will also fo- cus on television streaming services. It will air on services such as Roku, Peacock and YouTube TV.
“People are spending their time and attention on streaming, and if it’s targeted correctly and strategically, it works, and you can learn from it,” Recco said. Previous marketing campaigns were grassroots efforts limited to the Central Coast. Today, the organization conducts ex- tensive market research and selects market- ing agencies, adopting strategies a Fortune 500 company would use, Recco said. “This is the first amount of money I’ve seen and those in the industry have seen like this,” he said. CCOF serves more than 4,500 mem- ber-farmers in the U.S. and Canada as “one of the largest, if not the largest, North American certifiers,” Recco said. The organization provides third-party organic certification services and resourc- es to growers. Grant funds are targeted to assist farmers who meet USDA’s definition of underserved, including veterans, and low-income and beginning farmers. The new advertising investment comes at a critical time, Recco said. He noted that labels such non-GMO, all-natural and regenerative have created consumer confusion, potentially diluting the appeal of the USDA organic label. “People are trusting less and under- standing less what organic actually is,” Recco said. “Things are not defined. People are confused. We have to get in front of it so organic farming lasts and can fulfill the promise made over the last 50 years.” More than 200 CCOF members have expressed interest in being featured in planned documentaries and advertise- ments, he said. “All of these members and organic pro- ducers who want to create content will get the visibility they wouldn’t have gotten be- fore,” Recco said. (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)
for organic produce, a California marketing and certification or- ganization for organic farmers is planning a nationwide advertising campaign, aided by an infusion of grant funding. Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers was awarded $3 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Organic Market Grant program. It also exceeded a 50% funding match required by the program by raising an additional $1.7 million. As a result, the nonprofit organization founded a half-century ago to promote
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