For 2017 funds are available to defray cost of operations, certification and assessments needed to maintain organic certification from the US Department of Agriculture Farm Services Agency.
A majority of the funds allocated as part of the 2002 allotment and the 2014 update have gone unused as the funds moved from the Agricultural Service to The Farm Services Agency.
From the Farm Service Agency of the US Department of Agriculture website
“Beginning January 2017, certified organic producers and handlers can visit one of USDA’s 2,124 local county offices to receive a reimbursement for up to 75% of certification costs each year up to $750 per certification scope.
There are also funds available to assist with:
- Establishing conservation buffer zones
- Crop losses due to natural disasters
- Interim financing after harvest
- Loans for storage facilities
- Low-interest Loans
- Services such as field boundary mapping and reporting organic acreage needed for crop insurance and organic certification
Get more information from the agency’s brochure for organic services.
