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…
The Risk Management Agency (RMA) is beefing up crop insurance options for specialty crop and organic producers, including rolling out new and expanded options based on feedback from America’s agricultural producers. RMA achieved this by accelerating outreach efforts and hearing directly from producers across the country by hosting in-person and virtual roadshows and making investments…
We would like to formally invite you to a Farm Bill listening session on Monday, July 31, 2023 at 2pm at Freeport High School which is located at 20 Holbrook Street in Freeport, Maine. Congresswoman Pingree, Chairman Thompson and other members of the House Agriculture Committee will have the opportunity to hear from Mainers about the issues…
Organic Market Development Grants OMDG Application Deadline Extended & Webinar The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended the deadline for the Organic Market Development Grants (OMDG) Request for Applications (RFA) to August 8, 2023. Through OMDG, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will issue up to $75 million in competitive grants. Eligible entities include businesses…
As many of you know, MCS works with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) to administer the USDA organic cost share rebate for certified producers located in Maine. This long established relationship has been a benefit to producers because MCS provides your certification fee information, and DACF requests the funds from USDA.…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 16, 2022 that it will provide pandemic assistance to cover certification and education expenses to agricultural producers who are certified organic or transitioning to organic. USDA will make $20 million available through the new Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) as part of USDA’s…
Maine Officials Respond to Avian Influenza Detected in Knox County 02/22/2022 09:32 AM EST Read the USDA APHIS press release (Feb 20) regarding this incident. *H5N1 strain presents low risk to the public, bird owners urged to take steps to prevent disease* AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Animal…
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2021— The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended the deadline for agricultural producers who are certified organic, or transitioning to organic, to apply for the Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP). This program provides pandemic assistance to cover certification and education expenses. The deadline to apply for 2020 and 2021 eligible expenses is now Feb. 4, 2022, rather than the original deadline…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on November 4, 2021 that it will provide pandemic assistance to cover certification and education expenses to agricultural producers who are certified organic or transitioning to organic. USDA will make $20 million available through the new Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) as part of USDA’s broader Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, which…
The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network – Northeast (FRSAN-NE) is a community of service providers across the Northeast region working to better support farmers through stress and connect them with stress assistance programs. A cohort of Maine service providers in the FRSAN-NE are focused on alleviating farmer stress related to potential PFAS contamination with…
May 19, 2021 SAN FRANCISCO—Yesterday, Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a coalition of organic farms, certifier, and organic stakeholder groups, filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, appealing a district court’s ruling issued this March that authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue certifying soil-less hydroponic operations as organic under the Organic label. In the lower court case, CFS had argued that hydroponic operations cannot comply with federal organic standards…
USDA Also Informs Dairy Producers and Processors about New Dairy Donation Program The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of more than $330 million to help agricultural producers and organizations in the food supply chain recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding announced is part of USDA’s Pandemic…