Overview
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 and 2007 Nationwide Surveys of Organic Manufacturers,
Processors, and Distributors, administered by Washington State
University, Social and Economic Sciences Research Center and funded
by USDA's Risk Management Agency. The surveys 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 in 2004 and 1,013 facilities in 2007; the contracts data
include information from 686 facilities in 2004 and 620 facilities
in 2007 that use contracts.