Real Organic Project Partnership

The Real Organic Project (ROP) is a farmer-led movement and an add-on certification label. It was created to distinguish soil-grown and pasture-raised products under USDA organic certification, in response to USDA’s lack of enforcement of original organic principles such as, “feed the soil, not the plant.” Across the U.S., 1,100 farms are certified with ROP in addition to USDA National Organic Program certification. Some of those farms are also certified by OEFFA!

Like ROP, OEFFA enforces the NOP standards requiring soil health and animal welfare. We collaborated with ROP and other certifiers on a public statement about soil in 2023 (action.oeffa.org/soil).

Starting in 2025, OEFFA will be officially partnering with ROP! If your farm is certified by both OEFFA and ROP, our inspector will conduct both inspections on a single visit – keeping costs down and saving you time. You do not need to do anything special to make it happen – just being certified (or applying) for organic certification with OEFFA and ROP is enough; we’ll coordinate the rest.

Applying for ROP certification is free to farmers, thanks to ROP’s generous donors. To apply for ROP certification, visit realorganicproject.org/apply.

APPLY

If you are unfamiliar with ROP, visit their website: realorganicproject.org. In addition to their add-on label, they provide a wealth of educational and community-building resources related to organic farming, including an annual conference and a podcast.

Questions? Contact OEFFA or ROP!

(614) 262-2022
organic@oeffa.org

certifications@
realorganicproject.org