At the Organic Trade Association’s 2014 Organic Leadership Awards celebration Sept. 17 in Baltimore, three organic visionaries will receive awards.

“These outstanding visionaries have made invaluable contributions to demonstrating how organic practices can change our world for the better,” Laura Batcha, OTA’s executive director and chief executive officer, said in an Aug. 7 press release. “We are excited to honor these three individuals who were nominated by their peers and chosen unanimously by OTA’s board of directors.”

She stated that the award winners include a pioneer and tireless teacher of the organic way for more than 40 years, an organic farmer dedicated to making his farming operation a compelling example of a better way to farm and an environmental engineer who triggered an organic revolution in the mattress and bedding industry.

Marty Mesh, executive director of Florida Certified Organic Growers & Consumers, will receive the Growing the Organic Industry Award.

Mesh has dedicated more than 40 years to organic agriculture. In 1973, he started growing organic produce and helped start a cooperative so people could purchase organic food. He founded Bellevue Gardens Organic Farm in Archer, FL, and for 25 years worked with his hands in the soil, learning the methods that would later become organic standards. He also worked with other farmers to create a certification program to differentiate organic products in the marketplace. In 1989, Mesh helped form Florida Certified Organic Growers & Consumers Inc., and he has served as its executive director since 1995. FOG’s certification arm, Quality Certification Services, now certifies over 900 farm and handling operations in the U.S. and abroad.

The Organic Farmer of the Year Award will go to Doug Crabtree, farmer and organic farm trainer for Vilicus Farms in Havre, Montana.

Growing up on a conventional managed farm in Ohio, Crabtree never imagined he’d be anything but a farmer. Over time he has also become a passionate advocate of organic farming and a steward in helping others become organic farmers.

Crabtree first worked with an investment firm interested in organic farming. This experience confirmed that organic farming was not just economically viable but also economically advantageous over conventional farming. He subsequently served as an independent organic inspector for five years, gaining perspective on the challenges facing organic farmers, and later joined the Montana Department of Agriculture in 2001 as organic certification manager.

In 2009, he and his wife and partner, Anna Jones-Crabtree, purchased their first organic acreage in northern Hill County, Montana. They chose the name Vilicus Farms — meaning “steward” in Latin — for their farming operation. Since then, they have actively farmed while setting up a mentoring apprenticeship program to actively engage new farmers in growing organically, giving them hands-on skills needed to farm successfully.

Barry A. Cik, technical director for Naturpedic Organic Mattresses, will receive the Rising Star Award.

As the founder and technical director of Naturepedic Organic Mattresses, Cik has a lifelong interest in preserving the environment for future generations. A professionally trained environmental engineer, Cik combines his passion for improving quality of life with his technical knowledge.

The OTA also reported great success of the inaugural Farmers Advisory Council Summit held at OTA’s Policy Conference this past May in Washington, DC.

This inaugural summit saw a flurry of activity as organizations struck strategic alliances with OTA, and membership stepped up to the plate to participate in the council. A number of conference calls were held to solidify the council, which drafted a self-directed work plan.

The FAC summit provided the ideal opportunity for FAC to engage with stakeholders all across the supply chain and tackle the real and immediate issue of inadequate domestic supply of organic grains.

Outcomes from the FAC summit have directed OTA to engage in policies that affect farmers, such as making crop insurance products work for organic producers, and dedicating resources for an economic analysis of factors that affect the growth of domestic organic acreage. In addition, OTA staff has started identifying partners and outlining key scopes of work for this project so the analysis provides meaningful tools to organic farmers looking to expand and to farmers considering transitioning to organic production.

FAC’s effectiveness hinges on broad representation of organic farmers across regions and across production sectors.

Broadening FAC’s reach remains a high priority, and OTA staff and board members are actively recruiting additional organizations and individuals so that FAC’s broad and diverse base accurately represents the diversity of the organic farming sector.

OTA has also launched a new membership category for small-scale organic farmers who may have previously seen OTA membership dues as cost-prohibitive.

The “Farmstead Membership” enables organic farmers whose annual income from organic sales is less than $250,000 and who also have current membership with one of the participating organizations to obtain a full OTA membership with all associated benefits for a fee of $50 per year.

The OTA is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. It represents over 6,500 organic businesses across 49 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others.