On September 3, 2026, the Organic Farmers Association, in conjunction with the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Association and the Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, released a guidance document and fillable form related to the Temporary Variance provisions in the organic regulations at 205.290. This resource provides details on how an operation can request a temporary…
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August 5, 2026 Dear Maine-based MOFGA Certified Producer, MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) has been closely monitoring the organic cost share program and funding availability. In our last communication on July 9th, we recommended that Maine-based organic producers not apply through their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) for the cost share, because MOFGA works…
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On Monday, July 6, 2026, USDA published rulemaking that releases organic cost share funds for the 2025 and 2026 calendar years. This means that producers will begin receiving payments in the next several months. Read the full rule here. FSA has also moved the deadline to apply to December 31st of each year. However,…
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2025 USDA Organic Cost Share Rebate – Update As we have reported to you over the last several months, MCS and MOFGA continue working to understand the timing and distribution of the 2025 Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), provided annually by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), due to the delay in Congressional…
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USDA Designates Maine Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas – The designation, announced Friday 11/21, opens up emergency loans to primary and contiguous counties as outlined below. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme…
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Organic Certification of Maple Syrup Webinar January 13 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Free – $15 Join MOFGA Certification Service (MCS)’s Lead Maple Certification Specialist, Kristen Walker, to learn everything you need to know about organic certification of maple syrup. We’ll discuss the annual certification cycle, applicant deadlines, organic system plans, MCS maple guidelines, recordkeeping, materials inputs, and MCS…
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Join us over Zoom on December 10 from 2 to 3:30 pm ET for a virtual interactive session that will put the focus on farmers, creating space to share firsthand experiences and practical strategies for streamlining recordkeeping and reducing the stress of compliance. Recordkeeping is one of the biggest hurdles in organic certification, and for…
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Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources We are sharing the following information provided by Tommy Higgins, State Executive Director, Maine Farm Service Agency. As of Thursday, September 18, six counties in Maine are now classified as D3 (Extreme Drought): Cumberland, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Franklin, Somerset, and Oxford. In addition, our coastal counties stretching from Washington to…
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The Spring 2025 issue of The Organic Sprout is here – MOFGA’s biannual newsletter for certified organic producers. Contents include an update on the federal organic cost share program, a rare apple discovery, updates on the latest NOSB meeting, and must more. Remember – back issues of the Sprout can also be accessed from the…
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May 1, 2025 Organic Cost Share Status as of May 2025 As you all may be aware, the national Farm Bill of 2018 expired in the fall of 2023. While Congress has previously funded the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP) through stopgap funding bills since the Farm Bill’s expiration, they failed to include…
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The Fall 2024 issue of The Organic Sprout is here – MOFGA’s biannual newsletter for certified organic producers. Contents include the farm bill update, public policy and NOSB updates, TOPP update and much more. Remember, back issues of the Sprout are always available on the MCS website.
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2023 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today previewed the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) final rule. This new rule establishes clear, strong and consistent standards for organic livestock and poultry production, levels the playing field for organic livestock farmers, ranchers and businesses and promotes fairer, more competitive markets for their products, while…
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