Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP)
Farmers who are transitioning their operations to organic production will be paired with experienced certified organic farmers in their region. Mentors will be compensated to provide one-on-one support to the mentee farmer during transition.
Field days, workshops and other events will be held across the region to provide education on organic agronomy, certification, regulations, market and business support and other topics.
Virtual and in-person networking and resource hubs will be built to connect producers, agricultural professionals, and others.
TOPP will help build organically-focused workforce training and education to expand the supply chain’s knowledge of organic.
NOFA/Mass is proud to be a Core Partner in the Northeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program.
What is TOPP?
An investment of up to $100 million in cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations, sponsored by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. It will continue through September 30, 2026.
Community Building
Virtual and in-person networking and resource hubs will be built to connect producers, agricultural professionals, and others. Be on the lookout for more networking opportunities!
Click here for the full list of events for the Northeast / Mid-Atlantic.
Technical Assistance
We’ve finished matching mentors for the remainder of the TOPP Program, but you can still apply for technical assistance through the TOPP website.
TOPP is helping NOFA/Mass provide the Technical Assistance you need to run your ideal organic farm full of biologically active soils and smooth systems. Check out our various services:
Need help with certification? Our certification specialists at NOFA/Mass can help you navigate the process and make sure you have what you need to be a certified organic farm, including your Organic Systems Plan (OSP), navigating paperwork, and keeping the right records. Look forward to an organized system that’s easy to renew each year! See more below.
NOFA/Mass offers Soil Health Services to help farmers not only read and diagnose their soil tests, but also provides recommendations and live biological assessments.
Keep an eye out for our ongoing educational and technical assistance opportunities by subscribing to our newsletter, or visiting our Events page.Â
Farmer to Farmer Mentoring
We have finished pairing our last cohort of mentors and mentees for the remainder of 2026.Â
Thank you all who have participated.
Though this component of the program is coming to an end, all resources generated through the duration of the program are available on organictransition.org/resources/
Read stories from our TOPP Mentors and Mentees in our newsletter, Be a Better Grower.
National Impact
Since TOPP launched in late 2022, six regional leads, two national partners, and hundreds of state and local partner organizations have made significant progress across TOPP’s five key program areas.  This includes hosting more than 2,400 events in the form of field days, conference presentations, and technical assistance workshops, reaching more than 135,500 people. Approximately 5,800 people have received technical assistance, and 3,131 mentoring pairs have been established since the start of the program.
TOPP mentees represent farms having 137,827 acres available to transition, with more than 77,600 acres now certified. Top 5 crops raised, based on data supplied by TOPP mentees: mixed vegetables, berries, tree fruit, corn, and grain. Top 5 livestock raised: beef cattle, poultry for eggs, livestock for dairy, sheep, and goats. These data are as of December 31, 2025
Workforce Development and Training
TOPP will help build organically-focused workforce training and education to expand the supply chain’s knowledge of organic. Keep an eye out for more updates as the program grows and expands.
Watch our latest series Beyond the Harvest: Value-Added Product Development & the Path to Organic
Who benefits from this partnership?
The Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership for Organic Transition:
Connects transitioning farmers with farmer mentors
Provides community building opportunities, including workshops and field days
Creates technical assistance resources
Supports the organic workforce through training and education
Helps producers overcome technical, cultural, and financial shifts during and after organic certification
Visit the PCO website for more information on our region’s program, including other NOFA chapters.
Why Certify?
Stuck on portions of the organic application for certification? New to your farm and want to start your farming career as certified organic? Don’t let the myths of organic certification prevent you from giving your customers the confidence they have come to expect in the certified organic label.
NOFA/Mass has been around for more than 30 years educating organic farming techniques and once upon a time prior to 2002 they use to certify farms as well. We leave the certifying and inspecting up to Baystate Organic Certifiers. Because they are a regulatory body, they cannot consult, educate, advise you on certification as much as they would like to. So they trained NOFA/Mass on the ins and outs of the organic system plans and enabled us to help you. Continued education with Baystate will also address any gaps in knowledge we may experience along the way. So if we don’t have the answer, rest assured we will find one.
There are many more tools and resources that have been developed by other farming and certifying organizations throughout the country. Check out our resources page.
Questions about Organic Certification? The NOFA Summer Conference has some answers!
Who is answering my emails?
Laura Davis is a NOFA/Mass Board Member and the Certification Assistance Coordinator and is owner and farmer at Long Life Farm in Hopkinton, MA a diversified vegetable farm that was certified organic in April 2013 by Baystate Organic Certifiers. Laura is also an Organic Inspector of farms and processors. Please see an article that appeared in the NOFA/Mass newsletter about why I chose to certify. Please email lauradavis@nofamass.dreamhosters.com or call 508-596-1651 with your inquiries. I look forward to hearing from you!