This year's agenda includes updates about the newly created Center for Organic Excellence, PA Preferred Organic, and Graph Retrieval-Based Agentic Supply Chain Systems (GRASS).
The keynote presentation, "Processor and the Pennsylvania Producer-Organic Supply in Pennsylvania" and discussion will be led by Johanna Phillips, Director of Business Development & Technical Affairs with Strengthening Organic Systems. Johanna will provide an overview or dairy transition requirements and Strengthening Organic Enforcement, among other relevant topics. She will also lead a discussion leveraging the expertise in the room on how PA can increase its organic milk production and processing capacity.
Johanna Phillips is a nationally recognized authority in organic certification and regulatory compliance, bringing over 20 years of food and agricultural expertise with a specialized foundation in livestock, dairy systems, and production agriculture. Holding a degree in Animal Science and a lifetime of hands-on agricultural experience, Johanna bridges the gap between farm-level livestock operations and complex regulatory frameworks across the entire supply chain.
Her career includes 15 years dedicated to high-level enforcement and regulatory oversight. Early in her career, Johanna managed the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Organic Program through record-breaking growth and high demand for organic dairy production. She subsequently served as Technical Director for a major global certifier, Ecocert, serving NOP policy and compliance expert for their global team and US offices. During this time, she also served on the board of the Organic Trade Association. Currently serving as Director of Business Development and Technical Affairs at Strengthening Organic Systems, LLC, Johanna leverages her deep technical understanding of USDA National Organic Program (NOP) livestock standards, supply chain traceability, and fraud prevention to deliver strategic guidance, education, and market development for organic producers and processors nationwide. SOS is working under agreement with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to strengthen the middle supply chain under a USDA RFSI Project.
Contact Zach Myers to RSVP by Oct. 23rd, 2026: zamyers@pa.gov