Organic handlers in focus

This USDA Economic Research Service report could be valuable to organic growers and marketers. Here is a description of the report, called "Procurement and Contracting by Organic Handlers":

The vast majority of organic commodities pass through the hands of at least one middleman, also called a handler, on the way from the farmer to the consumer. Certified organic handlers are certified to handle organic products in accordance with National Organic Standards. Organic handlers perform numerous functions, including packing and shipping, manufacturing and processing, and brokering, wholesaling, or distributing.
The ERS organic handler database contains select results from the 2004 Nationwide Survey of Organic Manufacturers, Processors, and Distributors, administered by Washington State University, Social and Economic Sciences Research Center. The survey covered a variety of topics related to the procurement and contracting of organic products and ingredients. Data are available on 9 commodity groups, such as fruit and nuts, and 45 commodities, such as berries and citrus. The procurement data include information from 1,038 facilities; the contracts data include information from 686 facilities that use contracts.


TK: Especially interesting, I think, are procurement and contract data the USDA has compiled.

USDA description about procurement practices:
An interactive dataset that provides information about the procurement practices of organic handlers. Search by commodity or location (national, region, and State). Find details about basic characteristics of organic handlers, their purchasing characteristics, and information about their relationship with suppliers, including important supplier attributes.


USDA description of contract data:
An interactive dataset that provides information about use of written and verbal contracts between organic handlers and their suppliers. Search by commodity. Find out about common contract provisions such as compensation methods and pricing mechanisms