Organic Certification Cost Share Program Could be at Risk

The House and Senate have left for their summer recess and won’t return to D.C. until September 9. With Congress out for the next month and then again for much of the fall due to the election, getting the five-year Farm Bill completed before the end of 2024 is becoming less and less likely.

NOC remains very concerned about how another Farm Bill extension will impact key organic programs including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program. This program will be at risk if Congress fails to pass a new Farm Bill in 2024! 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.

In the 2023 Farm Bill extension, we secured additional funding for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program. We will need to do that again to ensure funding for the program in 2025 if the Farm Bill is once again extended. We will need your help this fall. Stay tuned!