(May 12, 2023) Santa Cruz, CA – The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is making federal funding available to assist California’s agricultural producers transition to organic production.
Through the new Organic Transition Initiative (OTI), NRCS California is accepting applications until June 15, 2023 from interested landowners for eligible conservation practices.
CCOF announces an exciting opportunity for our members – AMS will issue up to $75 million in competitive grants (between $100,000 and $3,000,000) to fund projects designed to expand and improve markets for domestically produced organic products.
Organic inspectors are essential to ensuring organic integrity, and CCOF has a history of providing apprenticeships to new, prospective organic inspectors. Thanks to a grant from the National Organic Program (NOP) Human Capital Capacity Building Initiative, we were able to formalize our inspector apprenticeship in the CCOF Organic Inspector Mentorship Pilot Program.
In the coming months the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service will be releasing an RFP focusing on Pinpointed Organic Market Development as part of their Organic Transition Initiative. This program will develop new and expanded markets for targeted domestic organic products by providing more resources and market certainty for producers and processors transitioning to organic or initiating new organic production and processing capacity.
The newest CCOF Foundation supporter Anaerobe Systems has partnered with University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) to launch a research project featuring their organic input, approved by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
The CCOF Foundation offers direct financial and technical assistance to organic farmers across the United States, regardless of their certifier affiliation.
It may come as no surprise to learn that those in the CCOF community are often connected through multiple generations of organic farming and community. It is never easy to say goodbye to a member of our community, but it is easy to honor the life and legacy they leave behind.
