What TOPP Built: Connections, Capacity, and a Path Forward

On March 11, 2026, the National Organic Coalition brought together 74 Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) participants to reflect on TOPP’s impact and discuss what comes next as we embark on TOPP’s fourth and final year. Panelists representing TOPP regions and nationally-led projects shared what additional capacity their organizations were able to add, what proved most impactful, and where they plan to focus their final year. Here’s what surfaced:

Freedom to think outside of the box 

TOPP created space: space to talk openly about structural barriers to certification, to foster new relationships, and to get creative. That space gave rise to approaches whose impact will outlast the program: a technical assistance hotline, virtual Buyer-Seller mixers, farmer and inspector mentorship opportunities, a podcast, and the development of organic collaborators within established systems like University extension.

By meeting people where they are on their organic journey and developing resources in their language, tailored to their needs, TOPP participants were able to expand organic opportunities to communities historically underrepresented in the movement.

The work continues

TOPP built infrastructure. Regular convenings, shared knowledge of who’s doing what across each region, and a whole new network of colleagues to call on. These structures now exist and can carry the work forward long after the program ends. 

The result

The numbers matter: thousands of acres transitioning to organic, hundreds of mentor-mentee relationships, and hundreds more organic-curious farmers. But what may be most inspiring about what TOPP built is something harder to measure: the connections—between organizations doing complementary work within regions, and among farmers themselves—that are helping move collaboration forward and reduce the sense of isolation often felt by those pursuing organic in a landscape where they are still in the minority. 

The connections, cultivated deliberately and sustained by the relationship TOPP helped forge, is sure to be a lasting legacy.

Thank you to representatives from Florida Organic Growers, MOFGA Certification Services, Kansas Black Farmers Association, Tilth Alliance, California Certified Organic Farmers, Organic Trade Association, and Organic Farmers Association for acting as panelists and sharing your thoughtful insights and firsthand experiences.