Producers and handlers can now apply for federal reimbursement to assist with the cost of receiving and maintaining organic certification. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is offering two organic certification cost share programs through which organic operations may receive up to 75 percent of their certification costs paid between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017:

• National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP): This option applies to producers and handlers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Organic Certification Cost Share Program: This option applies to certified organic producers (crop and livestock operators only) in 16 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Producers and handlers can apply to a participating state agency or directly to one of the USDA’s 2,124 county offices. The reimbursement cap is $750 per certification scope.

For more information on the Cost Share Program, visit the USDA’s site.