May 22/Santa Cruz, Calif./Press Release -- California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and Oregon Tilth, two leading U.S.-based organic certification groups, announced plans to merge by October 31, 2012. Under the new name CCOF Tilth, the organization will strengthen the voice and visibility of organic agriculture, and promote certifications and development of the organic sector of U.S. agriculture.

CCOF executive director Cathy Calfo, said CCOF Tilth will be “supported by a trade association of nearly 4,000 certified farmers, ranchers, and processors and a robust educational foundation."

The two organizations have a history of collaboration, including their formation in the 1980s of the Western Alliance of Certifying Organizations to ensure reliability and consistency in organic certification. In the 1990s, they helped form the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), which determines allowable use of input products in organic production and processing.

A new CCOF Tilth label will be released in Fall 2012; farmers and food processors who currently use CCOF or Oregon Tilth labels on their product will be allowed to continue to do so.

 From the May 23, 2012, Prepared Foods’ Daily News