Laura Batcha

The Organic Trade Association announced Tuesday that Tom Chapman will become the organization's next CEO and Executive Director. The announcement was made during OTA’s 2022 Organic Week, which Chapman attended. Chapman’s hiring concludes a year-long planned succession process that began in 2021. Chapman wi ...

Earlier this week, the Organic Trade Association announced the launch of a nationwide search for a new CEO and Executive Director. After more than a decade with OTA and the organic community, current CEO Laura Batcha plans to step down in spring 2022 ...

The Organic Trade Association requested the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to issue a stay of proceedings. The Hagstrom Report says that means they’re calling for a halt to further legal processing in its animal welfare lawsuit against the USDA until President-elect Joe Biden takes office. T ...

The Organic Trade Association is looking for the “best and brightest ideas” from organic stakeholders on how to put together a voluntary “checkoff-like” program for the organic sector.  Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue decided last May that the USDA wouldn’t move forward on a mandatory checkoff for the organic industry.  As a result, the private sector initi...

The Organic Trade Association announced a plan to move the industry toward a voluntary industry-invested organic research, promotion, and education checkoff program.  It will be put together and in place by stakeholders across the organic supply chain.   ...

The USDA recently withdrew its organic livestock and checkoff rules, which signals that the agency likely won’t be setting any higher standards for the organic seal. Laura Batcha, CEO of the Organic Trade Association, said it’s up to the industry to take over from here.  At the OT...