2019 Organic Survey and More News

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Taylor in Uncategorized // 0 Comments

Today’s news from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) features, Funding for Conservation Innovation Trials, Organic Cost Share Program News, and an Update and Recommendations on the 2019 Organic Survey.

CONSERVATION NEWS

$25 Million Available for On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the availability of $25 million in annual funding to advance the adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation practices on agricultural lands. The funding for on-farm trials is available as a sub-program of the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill. CIGs are designed to support collaboration between NRCS and partners to implement innovative, on-the-ground conservation activities and then evaluate their impacts. Participating farmers and ranchers will receive payments to offset the risk and investments for testing out new and innovative conservation approaches. NRCS is accepting proposals through July 15, 2019.

ORGANICS

Organic Cost Share Funding Makes Organic Certification More Affordable

Organic certification under the National Organic Program (NOP) can provide significant benefits to farmers by opening new market opportunities and increasing the takeaway profit for sales; it can also, however, be a prohibitively costly process. For producers and handlers interested in certification who require cost share assistance, the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) is an excellent resource. Eligible organic producers and handlers can apply for the cost-share program to cover up to 75 percent of their certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 annually. Applications are open until October 31, 2019.

2019 Organic Survey: Update and Recommendations

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is preparing to survey the nation’s organic farmers in an effort to collect data on acreage, production, and sales for a variety of organic crop and livestock commodities. Earlier this year, NASS announced that it would begin soliciting feedback on its proposal for the 2019 Organic Survey, which the agency anticipates should be underway by the end of the year. In advance of each organic survey, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s (NSAC) provides recommendations to NASS on how to improve the format and contents of the survey in order to best capture important trends in organic agriculture.