Deadline Extended to Apply for Organic and Transitioning Farms Pandemic Assistance
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the deadline to apply for the Organic and Transitional education and Certification Program to February 4, 2022. This program provides eligible applicants with pandemic assistance to cover expenses associated with organic certification and/or transitioning to organic production during the 2020, 2021 and 2002 fiscal years.
Eligible applicants must:
- Have paid eligible expenses during fiscal year 2020, 2021, 2022 (expenses prior to October 1, 2019 are not eligible). Expenses that have been incurred, but not paid, are not eligible.
- Be either a certified organic or transitional operation at the time of application.
Eligible producers can work directly with a Farm Service Agency office to apply or, if they have an eAuthentication account, they may apply via the online OTECP Application Portal.
Eligible expenses and payments for certified organic operations include:
- Application fees
- Inspection fees
- USDA organic certification expenses
- State organic program fees
- User fees or certifier sales assessments
- Postage
- Soil testing required by the USDA National Organic Program
- Educational event registration fees
Eligible expenses and payments for transitional operations include:
- Certifying agent fees or consultant pre-certification inspection fees
- Soil testing required by the USDA National Organic Program
- Educational event registration fees
For complete details concerning potential payment amounts and the application process, visit the USDA OTECP website.
