Funding Resources

• Recipients must be certified organic under the National Organic Program (NOP) to receive cost share assistance.
• Organic farmers and handlers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are eligible to participate.
• Certified organic producers and handlers who have paid certification fees during the 2023 program year may apply for reimbursement of the incurred costs.
• Operations with suspended or revoked certifications are ineligible for reimbursement.
• For the program year 2023, OCCSP covers expenses paid from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
• The deadline to apply is October 31, 2024.
• The Application can be found here.

• Completed organic cost share reimbursement application form
  • FSA Application here or contact your participating state agency.
• Proof of Certification
  • Organic certificate with date, certification number and name of certifier.
  • Operations with suspended or revoked certifications are ineligible for reimbursement.
• Itemized invoice detailing certification fees that have been marked "paid"
  • Eligible Fees: application fees, inspection costs, fees related to equivalency agreement/arrangement requirements, travel/per diem for inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage.
  • Ineligible Fees: equipment, materials, supplies, transitional certification fees, late fees and inspections necessary to address National Organic Program regulatory violations.
  • If applying to PDA and NYSDAM, they will contact PCO to submit proof of payment and a copy of your certification on your behalf; you will not need to include copies of paid invoices as an attachment with your application
• Financial forms as required by FSA

• Apply through your local FSA office or provided state agency
  • You can find an FSA county office near you with the Service Center Locator.
• Postmark deadline for receipt of applications is October 31, 2023.
• If your operation is in Pennsylvania or New York, an application will be mailed directly from Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) or New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) by the end of September. Once they receive your application, PDA and NYSDAM will contact PCO to submit proof of payment and a copy of your certification on your behalf; you will not need to include copies of paid invoices as an attachment with your application.
• OCCSP funds are limited and applications are paid on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications received after all funds are obligated will not be paid.
• PCO does not accept or process cost share applications. The applicant must complete and submit their own application. Do not send applications to PCO.

The RMA provides data on the number of organic acres insured compared to conventional acres. While conventional crops still dominate in terms of total insured acreage, organic acreage under insurance has been growing. For instance, as of recent data:

• Organic insured acres make up a smaller proportion of total insured acres, but their growth rate is higher as organic farming expands.
• Certified organic and transitional organic acreage insured has increased year over year, driven by rising consumer demand for organic products

Farmers can purchase insurance policies at a subsidized rate under the Federal Crop Insurance Program. In the event of below-average yields or revenue, depending on the policy purchased, the policy makes indemnity payments to farmers.

Crop insurance agents sell policies through private insurance companies. The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) subsidizes the insurance premiums and a portion of the companies’ administrative and operating expenses, and also shares underwriting gains and losses with the companies. This is a unique private-public partnership that is tax-payer funded, and on average, farmers are paying around 40% of their premiums.

When seeking out crop insurance options, organic, transitioning to organic, and “organic curious” producers should keep in mind that different crop insurance options exist for different types of producers. For example, multi-peril, or “traditional” crop insurance might work well for some of the crops grown by row crop farmers, whereas specialty crop insurance might work better for a vegetable grower that specializes in a larger volume of a few main crops. Highly diversified producers might be better served through the Whole Farm Revenue Protection program, and forage producers might be best served through a Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance policy plan.

You should also know that sometimes, something you grow might not be well covered through existing crop insurance options, but this doesn’t mean you can’t insure it. There is a process to seek insurance for something not currently offered in your county, called a written agreement– more on that below.

Most of the information available to farmers about crop insurance options, deadlines, and details filters through a crop insurance agent, so it’s important to work with an agent who has previously served, or is interested in learning about the unique needs and challenges of organic and transitioning to organic producers. Some crop insurance agents specialize in organic farming. Since you’re not limited by location, choose an agent who understands your needs. Ask plenty of questions to gauge their experience with diverse farming operations.

• RMA Agent Locator can help you find a crop insurance agent near you.
• WFRP Agent Locator: Use this tool to find a crop insurance agent with experience working with Whole Farm Revenue Protection (more on that below).
• Contact your crop insurance agent for important dates for your crop. Be sure to submit your application by the Sales Closing Date and report your acreage by the Acreage Reporting Date. These dates vary by crop, state, and county. RMA’s Actuarial Information Browser provides applicable program dates by crop year.

• Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI)
  The oldest and most common form of crop insurance, MPCI is available both as revenue protection (losses related to below-average revenue) and yield protection (losses related to below-average yields).
  • Multi-peril crop insurance is for farmers and ranchers hoping to insure crops against natural perils.
  • It works by allowing producers to insure a historical amount of documented crop production.
  • The reliance on annual production history (APH) can be tricky for beginning, transitioning to organic, and organic producers because the APH starts over each time a farmer engages in a new practice.
  • It’s also hard for organic producers to access the full benefits of a system based on APH because of their diverse crop rotations.
  • Available for major commodities
  • Protects against crop yield losses by insuring a percentage of historical crop production

• Contract Price Option
  • Allows the farmer to insure specific crops based on the contracted price rather than the organic premium price election set by RMA
  • This works for both organic producers and transitional producers who have secured a higher price for crops through a contract
  • Useful when the contract price is higher than the organic price election
  • Useful when there is no organic price election for a specific crop

• Other Options or Endorsements
  • Depending on the type of policy, a producer can choose an additional option or endorsement, to strengthen coverage.
  • Example: Malting Barley Endorsement (MBE)
    • If barley for grain is included as a crop as part of a rotation, and the farmer has a contract for malting barley, it can be insured to the higher price listed in the contract.

If coverage for a specific crop is not available in a given county, the farmer can work with their crop insurance agent to apply for a written agreement.

• This is a special request for a case-by-case agreement with RMA for coverage
• Farmers must supply information like:
  • Planting and harvest dates
  • 3 years of the producer’s production history of that crop or a similar crop
  • Information about a county where this crop is covered
• Coverage begins at the later of two dates
  • When RMA accepts the farmer’s application
  • Crop planting date

Specialty Crops Include: A full list of currently covered specialty crops

• This coverage is ideal for an individual crop (produced in quantity)
• Whole Farm Revenue Protection (for diversified operations)
• Written agreements (special request to cover a crop not otherwise covered in a state)
• Example of farmers utilizing this program.

WFRP was an idea hatched by the sustainable agriculture community as a way to provide crop insurance for diversified operations. It’s still pretty new and, like all crop insurance, is evolving. It was first piloted in the 2014 Farm Bill.

• This coverage plan is ideal for diversified operations
• For a farm with up to $17 million in insured revenue
• Covers multiple crops and livestock under one policy
• Available in all counties
• Insures based on the whole revenue of the operation rather than on yield history
• Includes re-plant coverage for annual crops (except Industrial Hemp or those covered by another policy)
• Offers a range of coverage levels from 50-85%
• WFRP Agent Locator: Use this tool to find a crop insurance agent who has experience working with WFRP.
• How it works:
  • Gather the following information:
    • 5 years of Schedule F Tax Records
    • Farm Plan for the year, including what will be produced and anticipated yields (your Organic System Plan)
    • Organic certificate for organic items
    • Sales records, including direct market sales records
    • Summaries of coverage for any other insurance policies
    • Inventory information for commodities
    • Accounts receivable and payable
  • Find an agent. Use the WFRP Agent Locator
  • Purchase the policy
  • Submit a notice of loss: If the revenue for the policy year is below the insured revenue, farmers must submit a notice of loss within 72 hours
  • Make a claim: Farmers must file a claim within 60 days after submitting farm tax forms to the IRS
  • For more information, consult the WFRP Handbook for the policy year in question.

Micro Farm is a sub-program of Whole Farm Revenue Protection oriented towards farms with up to $350,000 in insured revenue. It works pretty similarly.

• This subprogram of WFRP is designed for diversified operations.
• MicroFarm minimizes underwriting and recordkeeping requirements, and producers do not have to report expenses on individual commodities.
• The farm cannot have more than 50% of total revenue from commodities purchased for resale.
• Producers can include post-production activities as revenue, such as washing and packaging commodities or value-added products.
• Example:
  • Jill and her family run a small CSA. In addition to the CSA, they raise pastured poultry and make jam out of a ¼ acre raspberry patch. MicroFarm would enable Jill to insure the revenue from all of these enterprises in one policy.

Transitioning to organic can be a particularly risky time for producers. Currently, different producers use different strategies when transitioning. Some farmers transition ground in hay or forage and utilize Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance. Others crop the land, and utilize enterprise units to insure transitional ground separately from other crops. Still, others insure transitional ground as part of a Whole Farm Revenue Protection plan. We look forward to the development of additional risk management tools designed specifically for transitional producers.

Producers who have crop insurance coverage on crops in transition to organic are eligible for premium assistance from USDA. To receive crop insurance at organic rates as a transitional grower:

• You need a Transitional Production Plan (listed below).
• A certification entity must review your OSP or TPP and approve your operation as transitional.
  • Transitional Production Plan for Crops
  • Transitional Production Plan for Livestock
  • Find a certification agency to review the TPP through the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program

Producers who choose to transition their land to organic production in the form of pasture, rangeland, or forage, could use PRF insurance during transition. It can also be used to insure pasture, rangeland and forage for both non-organic and organic producers. This program works a little differently, and is based on a rainfall index.

• This program is based on a rainfall index, rather than actual losses, since moisture will be a predictor of yield.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA CPC) has a grid system which the Rainfall Index uses to determine precipitation amounts within an area.
• Insured acres are assigned to one or more grid areas based on location
• Producers do not need to file a claim or submit documentation for a loss.
• Payments are made after rainfall data is collected and shared with RMA for each 2-month index interval.

A recent improvement to crop insurance for organic producers is the extension of enterprise units by practice type to organic and transitional production types. Enterprise Units by practice type are a unit structure that allows farmers to separate insured crops into different “buckets” of insurance. “Buckets” can be differentiated by irrigation practice, cropping practice, and now, organic or transitional status, and coverage can be purchased accordingly.

Organic Price Elections

• • Cover an individual organic crop with an organic price election- “organic premium price elections,” set by RMA, account for organic values and can be applied to the following two types of coverage
    • Eligibility is based on location and crop
    • Organic premium price elections available by commodity
    • Yield Protection- covers the operation in case of low yields due to weather, pests, disease issues

NAP is not insurance. It is disaster assistance. Still, it can be part of a farmer’s risk management calculation.

• NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, inventory loss, or prevented planting occurs due to natural disasters.
• Farmers can participate in WFRP and Micro Farm, and still participate in the NAP program.
  • If the NAP payment exceeds the WFRP or Micro Farm deductible, the amount over the deductible will be considered revenue-to-count for WFRP or Micro Farm indemnity determinations.
• Beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and qualifying veteran farmers are eligible for a waiver of the service fee and a 50% NAP premium reduction.
• Examples:
  • Sal’s strawberry field is damaged by a severe drought. NAP will cover the loss of income to Sal due to the drought, but it won’t cover the damage to the plants themselves. Re-planting cost will be Sal’s cost to bear.
  • Rhea experienced a loss to her honeybee colony due to a hurricane. NAP covers the loss of income to Rhea, but does not cover the loss of the bees.

For access to a quick guide to federal farm and food-related programs and grants from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, visit their website to learn more here at this link.

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program – This program provides grants to individual state departments of agriculture to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops (defined as: fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and nursery crops (including floriculture)). The state departments of agriculture then distribute their grant funds to individual producers of specialty crops in their state.

Contact your State Department of Agriculture for information on these or other programs available in your state.

EQIP Organic Initiative Program – The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works with landowners through conservation planning and assistance designed to benefit the soil, water, air, plants and animals that result in productive lands and healthy ecosystems. Funds are available for those transitioning to organic and currently certified organic producers through EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program). For further information and to apply, visit: www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/organic.

Visit www.nrcs/usda/gov/programs for information on additional funding programs that may apply to your operation, including:

• Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program
• Grassland Reserve Program
• Health Forests Reserve Program
• Agricultural Management Assistance Program

More information on these and other NRCS programs can be found at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs or by contacting your State NRCS Office.