November 11, 2022
On October 24, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced cooperative agreements in six regions across the country for the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP will invest up to $100 million over five years in cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations to provide technical assistance to transitioning and existing organic farmers.
September 15, 2022
The Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) is USDA’s recent program aimed at helping “build new and better markets and streams of income” for organic farmers and producers, by providing producers with technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring, financial assistance for conservation and crop insurance, and support developing markets.
August 22, 2022
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued a comment applauding today’s announcement of an up to $300 million investment into the new Organic Transition Initiative.
July 29, 2022
Organic agriculture continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors of American agriculture, yet during the COVID-19 pandemic, certified organic and transitional operations faced challenges including loss of markets, increased costs, labor shortages, and expenses related to obtaining or renewing their organic certification. Producers who are certified organic, along with producers who are transitioning to organic production, can now apply for USDA’s Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) and Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) to help cover the cost of organic certification, along with other related expenses. Applications for OTECP and OCCSP are both due October 31, 2022.
June 23, 2022
“The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the House Appropriations Committee members for voting to support robust funding for Conservation Operations and a significant increase in Conservation Technical Assistance that farmers and ranchers need to adopt new conservation practices that improve the sustainability and profitability of their family farms.”
November 19, 2021
Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will provide $20 million in pandemic assistance to cover certification, education, and other expenses for agricultural producers who are certified organic or transitioning to organic.
September 24, 2020
Research underpins the success of every farm – not least of all for organic agriculture. Cutting-edge innovations and science-based studies continue to advance this multi-billion dollar industry, at times with funding from the federal government. The National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced over $20 million in research investments to support organic farmers […]
April 4, 2019
On the heels of the publication of the Request for Applications (RFA) for the the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has also just released this year’s RFA for the Organic Transitions Program (ORG). Like they did with OREI, NIFA has […]
October 19, 2018
When Congress allowed the 2014 Farm Bill to expire on September 30, 2018, a host of important food and farm programs lost their authority to operate, their funding, or both. Among the programs thrown into farm bill limbo by this delay are two competitive organic research grant programs that recently announced what could be their […]
October 27, 2017
Editor’s Note: This blog was written in partnership with our member organization, the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced more than $20 million in competitive grant awards to support one of agriculture’s fastest growing sectors – organics. The funding was […]