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About OTCO
Oregon Tilth provides nearly five decades of hard-earned credibility for businesses that want to be sustainability leaders.
We got started in 1974, planning and failing and learning how to create our own organic standards from the ground up. Years later, our founders slept on hotel room floors in Washington, D.C. with other organic pioneers to help create the national organic label we see in households today.
Throughout it all, we’ve built a reputation for quality, validation, and dependability. Our certification services help you demonstrate a commitment to the highest global standards in food and farming.
Beyond certification, why we’re unique
Oregon Tilth is a leading certifier, educator, and advocate for a brighter food future. We’re a team of regulatory experts, biologists, farmers, technical specialists, horticulturalists, communicators, administrators, inspectors, advocates, certification specialists, and educators working together to make our food and agriculture system socially equitable and biologically sound.
We’re honored to serve hardworking farmers, ranchers, handlers, and operators who empower consumers.
Sharing technical know-how
- No one can know everything. Our client service delivery teams connect the right people with your certified business’s needs.
- Our educational services develop and share resources to elevate success across the organic supply chain. From sharing tools to increase farm viability to crash courses on transitioning to organic, we help businesses tackle production issues and questions.
- A multi-year partnership with Oregon State University identifies needs and supports innovation through a premier organic extension program.
- Through our partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), we develop organic-focused technical resources for NRCS staff and support farmers access to conservation assistance programs and education.
Protecting organic integrity
- We provide in-the-field feedback with the National Organic Standards Board and Accredited Certifiers Association to push for rigorous and sensible changes that maintain the integrity of organic products.
- As a member of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, we work alongside an alliance of more than 100 grassroots organizations to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities in the U.S.
- Our participation as members and affiliation with the Oregon Organic Coalition and National Organic Coalition ensure the preservation of organic integrity.
Growing sustainable marketplaces
- We offer additional certification services such as Bee Better Certified and Global Organic Textiles Exchange to transform the food industry and others to more sustainable places of business.
- An Oregon Tilth certification provides access to marketing support, from our well-known logos of assurance and credibility to tools for direct market connection with consumers.
- We provide ongoing campaigns on how organic benefits biodiversity, conserves natural resources and fights climate change.
Our Credibility
Oregon Tilth is accredited by multiple accreditation bodies and recognized by government authorities to lend credibility and confidence in our abilities to provide prestigious services to a variety of organic certification programs.
USDA National Organic Program (NOP)
Certificate Number: 815
The NOP Accreditation and International Activities Division (AIA) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for accreditation of OTCO activities in the countries of the United States and Mexico with accordance to the National Organic Program (NOP) regulations.
IOAS
Registration Number: 65
The IOAS is a public authority that is responsible for accreditation of OTCO activities in the country of the United States in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity Assessment -Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services for operating in accordance with the private standards offered by the Global Organic Textiles (GOTS) program and the NSF/ANSI 305 Personal Care Products program.
The Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants (CAEQ)
The CAEQ is a public authority in the Province of Quebec responsible for accreditation of OTCO activities in the country of Mexico in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity Assessment -Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services for operating the Mexico Ley de Productores de Organicos (LPO) regulations and the regulations for recognition under Article 33(2) and (3) of Council regulation (EC) -for the purpose of importing organic products with the European Union, and in the United States in accordance with the Mexico Ley de Productores de Organicos (LPO) for all imports entering the Mexico. Respectively, these programs are recognized by government authorities, the SADER/SENASICA and the European Commission.