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,…
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…
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.
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…
USDA Offers Assistance to Help Organic Dairy Producers Cover Increased Costs On May 19, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced assistance for dairy producers with the new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP). ODMAP is established to help mitigate market volatility, higher input and transportation costs, and unstable feed supply and prices that have…
August 5, 2019 Governor Janet Mills and DACF Commissioner Amanda Beal are calling on USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue to finalize the proposed Origin of Livestock rules to maintain important markets for Maine organic dairy farmers. Because of a lack of clarity in current regulation, some farms outside of Maine have been allowed by their organic…
On Monday, May 6th, the Federal District Court in San Francisco agreed with organic farmers, consumers, and animal welfare advocates that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cannot hide communications and documents that led up to the controversial decision by the Trump administration to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule (OLPP), which…
MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) has new resources for its certified organic producers – an Organic Marketing menu which features newly developed Certified Organic IS Non-GMO labels, an organic certification and non-GMO label comparison checklist, as well as access to the Organic Valley (OV) Organic Is Always Non-GMO label. MCS is providing these materials for certified…
The Real Organic Project provisional standards for a new add-on label were created in Winter 2018 by the Real Organic Standards Board. The standards are based on the principal that healthy soil is the foundation of organic farming. The Real Organic Project is asking the organic community to provide feedback on its crop and livestock…