US government encourages organic farming transition with new support package

17 May 2024 --- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is bolstering support for organic farmers through new programs, partnerships, grant awards and an additional US$10 million in funding. The programs will support the development of new and better markets for domestic organic products, provide hands-on training to producers transitioning to organic production and ease the financial burden of obtaining organic certification.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who announced the plans, says that offsetting farmers’ costs as they transition to organic will help them achieve higher margins quicker while giving US consumers more access to high-demand organic products.

“The partnerships and technical support we offer will ease the transition for producers, and the investments in grant projects we are announcing will reduce the organic industry’s reliance on imports, lower cost barriers for businesses transitioning to organic and address crucial infrastructure needs,” he explains.

“Together, these resources ensure small and mid-sized producers can gain access to new, profitable markets and further our commitment to maximize American farmers’ share of the food dollar.”

Growing governmental support
The announcement builds on USDA’s support for local and regional food systems, expanding market access to more producers and increasing the affordable food supply for more US consumers while promoting climate-smart agriculture and ensuring equity for all producers. 

USDA says it recognizes that smaller and mid-sized food and farm businesses are essential to a strengthened food supply chain. Launched in 2022, the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) offers a suite of programs and resources to help organic farmers and those transitioning to organic production and processing. 

Other efforts under OTI include the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) National Organic Program’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP builds mentorship relationships between transitioning and existing organic farmers to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support in six US regions.

Additionally, USDA’s Risk Management Agency administers federal crop insurance products, including Whole Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm, which “may be good options for organic producers.”USDA wants to expand organic market access to more producers and US consumers.

New organic opportunities
This week, AMS awarded approximately US$24.8 million for 23 grant projects through the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) program. These projects will support the development of new and existing organic markets to increase the consumption of domestic organic agricultural products. The projects funded through this program so far are anticipated to benefit more than 49,000 producers and over 118 million consumers by increasing organic market opportunities.

With today’s announcement, AMS has awarded a total of US$75.2 million to 93 projects across the country through the OMDG program to increase the availability and demand for domestically produced organic agricultural products and address the need for additional markets.

USDA has made an additional US$10 million available through the program. Awards for this funding will be selected from the existing applicants and announced this summer.

This round of awards is aimed at market development and promotion, simplified equipment-only and processing capacity expansion project types, funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation.

In Europe, organic farmers have protested over diminished returns from organic sales, warning about mounting pressures from stricter environmental rules that have left many members of the sector feeling unfairly burdened by costs along the supply chain.

Edited by Joshua Poole