During Organic Month 2026 at the Canada Organic Trade Association’s (COTA) Organic Gala and Leadership Awards, COG’s Regenerative Organic Oats (ROO) program was honoured to receive the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Leader of the Year Award.
COG works alongside our partners from across the supply chain – Nature’s Path, Riverside Natural Foods (producers of the snack brand MadeGood), and MGM Seed and Grain/Bay State Milling – in pre-competitive collaboration to support ROO’s prairie-based organic oat farmers as they transition to regenerative organic farm management, driving their farms towards improved soil health and lasting climate resilience. Central to that work has been creating spaces where diverse perspectives are welcomed, farmer voices are central to guiding decision-making, and learning is shared openly.
The JEDI Leader of the Year Award recognizes “individuals and organizations in the organic sector that demonstrate exemplary best practices in advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within their workplace and networks to drive meaningful change.” For us, this award recognizes a core principle of the ROO Program: that progress is accelerated when barriers are removed and opportunities are shared. We are proud to work alongside organic farmers and partners across the value chain to build a more collaborative, inclusive, and resilient future for organic agriculture.
Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion look different in every context. For COG, it’s about ensuring farmers have a seat at the table, reducing barriers within agriculture, and building a sense of trust and belonging across the entire value chain. We’ve learned that when people feel valued and included, meaningful change becomes possible.
On behalf of COG, our ROO program partners, and the regenerative organic farmers across the Prairies who make the program’s impact meaningful by championing regenerative organic systems on their farms, we are so grateful to the Canadian Organic Trade Association for this recognition.
COG and our program partners hope this recognition serves as inspiration, but also as an invitation to other organic, values-led organizations looking to shape a sustainable, resilient, regenerative organic future. If this sounds like you, please reach out to COG’s Extension and Outreach Manager, Julia Kulczynska at julia.kulczynska@cog.ca.
The ROO program continues to grow with the support and collaboration of our partners as well as the ROO producers and alumni who are on the frontline of regenerative organic farming, making a difference in the health of our soils every day. Feeling inspired? We invite you to learn more about ROO.