Bob Whitney working on organic corn breeding
Bob Whitney is the Extension Organic Program Specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. With decades of experience in agriculture and a focus on agronomy, he began working with the CCOF Foundation Western and Southwestern Regional Center for Organic Transition through the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) at its inception in 2023. This nationwide initiative provides support to both transitioning and existing organic producers.
“Texas is unique in that we don’t have a lot of organized organic efforts,” Whitney says, noting that his current position at Texas A&M is a recent university expansion. “We have 448 certified organic growers and 610 organic handlers in the state. We’re approaching a $2 billion industry. It’s big and a lot of fun for us. [TOPP] is an opportunity to expand.”
Whitney had already built strong connections with organic producers through his work in cotton, peanuts, dairy, and more. As a result, when TOPP began, he had a healthy network of growers looking for support as they pursued voluntary organic certification. “I had focused efforts on improving existing organic producers, helping them solve fertility issues, weed control, and various aspects of organic production,” he says. “TOPP helped me give more focus to bringing in new growers. We’re going through a rapid expansion of organic production in Texas and TOPP’s efforts, such as hiring a program coordinator, have allowed us to do things we couldn’t have done without the program.”
Whitney’s ability to connect people is where the TOPP program in Texas—a state so big it’s 16 hours across— really shines. “For example, if someone’s having an issue with their cotton, I’m going to tell them, ‘Call Carl Pepper, he’s got a good way of dealing with that problem.’ Juan and Shakera Raygoza are my vegetable people, along with a host of other great crop people I can depend on,” he says.
Organic sales and consumer demand have outpaced organic farmland growth in the U.S. for the past 25 years, creating a major opportunity for American farmers looking for a competitive market advantage through organic certification. TOPP is helping growers seize this faster. Jason Patterson, who started his organic transition a few years ago, recently told Whitney that after connecting with his mentor Carl Pepper, he’s now planning to plant new cotton varieties. “That wouldn’t have happened without the TOPP program,” Whitney observes. “Jason thought he was still three or four years down the road from transitioning. I told him, ‘I know your place. You’ve got some land that can start immediately. Carl worked with him on the right equipment to buy, and now he’s already got organic contracts with buyers. That’s impressive.”
Koti Narra, another success story, will be transitioning her organic vineyard at the end of this year. “She’s super excited,” Whitney says. “She works with Rob Warren and Henry Frost as mentors. I was able to hook them up as part of this program. Now she’s running sheep because she saw other farmers try it. This year, organic vineyards were able to sell their grapes at a higher price while conventional grapes were sitting on the vine. She’s very happy.”
Caleb Duty, a newly transitioned grower of hay, corn, and sorghum from Central Texas, was connected with a dairy operation through the TOPP program and now has a dedicated buyer for his crops. He is planning to transition more land to organic production soon.
An organic dairy producer in East Texas is putting in a bid to transition the Tarleton State University Dairy Center into a premiere training facility for organic dairy in the United States. Through TOPP, he’s now connected with investors and other partners to put his plan into action.
“The biggest benefit of TOPP is the excitement it generates,” Whitney says. “You’ve got it coming from a national level, the Southwest regional level, state levels, and it flows out to local levels. People hear about organic opportunities through the programs I run—my first few slides are always about TOPP—and then they read the magazine stories, they go on tours and meet the new transition farmers. It all generates more interest in organic and keeps the excitement level forefront.” Whitney adds, “It keeps the excitement forefront for me, too.”
Rural counties with high concentrations of organic farming tend to have lower poverty rates because the organic supply chain is more localized, keeping money within the community. As organic spreads through Texas and beyond, these farmers are helping drive rural economic growth while making organic food and products more accessible to all Americans.
NRCS training for TOPP on cover crops
New TOPP training class at a nursery
