Take Action! Organic Certification Cost Share is at Risk
NOTE on 11.22.23: Thanks to the advocacy of the organic community, legislation to avert a government shutdown and extend the 2018 Farm Bill includes $8 million in funding for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program! This is a big win. Learn more. Below is the action alert NOC issued on November 2 encouraging the organic community to take action to secure this funding.
The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023. Rather than passing a new Farm Bill, Congress has indicated that they plan to extend the current Farm Bill. Unlike larger Farm Bill programs which are automatically included in a Farm Bill extension, the Organic Certification Cost Share Program is too small to have ‘permanent baseline’ funding status. The Organic Certification Cost Share Program is at risk!
Without Congressional action, the Cost Share Program will expire, leaving thousands of organic farmers with a huge net increase in their annual certification costs. The Organic Certification Cost Share Program will disappear unless Congress specifically allocates stopgap funding for it!
TAKE ACTION
Contact your Senators and Representative today and ask them to fund the Organic Certification Cost Share Program in 2024. Click here to automatically send a message to your Members of Congress.