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CCOF Works on Farm Bill 2012
CCOF continues our work on the upcoming Farm Bill authorization for 2012 with other organizations,
including:
The Organic Trade Association (OTA)
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)
California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN)
National
Organic Coalition (NOC)
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Center for Food Safety
If you have questions or want to become involved in Farm Bill work, contact CCOF Policy/Program
Director, Claudia Reid, at policy@ccof.org. If you're not
already a supporting member of CCOF, join today
and get involved!
Finding Your Elected Representative
Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code
on the right of the page. Click on your Senator's name and then on the "contact" tab for their phone
number. You can also call the capitol switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator's
office: (202) 224-3121.
Sign Up for Farm Bill Programs
CCOF members and others who are interested in accessing any of the Farm Bill programs administered by
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) should the go to their local NRCS
offices to sign up. Applications for programs administered by NRCS may be submitted at any time
during the year. The first step for taking advantage of any program is to sign up, even if the current
year's allocation has been distributed. Programs administered by NRCS include the popular
Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP), organic conversion and transition programs, and the
Conservation Stewardship
Program (CSP). The Organic Farming Research
Foundation (OFRF) has a
CSP resource and information page for organic farmers. There are many other USDA Farm Bill
programs that can also be accessed by visiting your local USDA office.
Other programs that provide funding for organic farmers include the
Organic Certification Cost Share program and the Crop
Insurance Reform for Organic Farms program that is admistered by the
Risk Management Agency (RMA). Many of these
programs, including the cost share program, are slated to be cut all together or to have their budgets
slashed significantly. Contact your elected representative (see above) to let them know how important
these programs are for your operation.
More information on funding opportunities can be found in
classifieds.
Organic Certification Cost Share Funds Available
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced September 18, 2008, that $22 million in federal funds
are available for organic certification cost assistance. These funds are available for producers and
handlers of organic agricultural products in any state of the United States of America, its
territories, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The National Organic
Certification Cost-Share Program, authorized by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 6523), will allocate funds in proportion to the number of organic producers and handlers
within each state. The states, in turn, will reimburse each eligible producer or handler up to 75% of
its organic certification costs, not to exceed $750.
A new round of available funding for 2011 has been announced in California. Operations that receive
organic certification on or between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011, may apply for
reimbursement. Deadline for receipt of applications is November 30, 2011. CCOF has provided our
members with detailed information and instructions on how to apply for
funds.
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