Organic Conversion Assistance

Supporting organic production and transition to organic production

Program Basics
Agricultural producers can receive conservation financial and technical assistance for organic systems through the USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Prior to the 2008 Farm Bill, a few pioneering states had been using their EQIP programs to provide special assistance to organic producers for years.

The 2008 Farm Bill now authorizes nationwide use of EQIP funding for organic production and transition to organic production. Farmers who are embracing organic production for the first time, as well as farmers who are expanding their organic crop production or increasing the size of organically-managed livestock or poultry operations, are eligible for the EQIP assistance.

Application and Financial Information
In Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) made $50 million available for this initiative. Despite a short application timeframe, 3,700 organic or transitioning farmers applied by the initial deadline. As of this writing, it is unknown what amount of funding will be available in FY10.

Funding under the organic conversion section of the 2008 Farm Bill is capped at not more than $20,000 per farm per year, and not more than $80,000 per farm in any 6-year period. Organic farmers may opt to compete in this special pool, with the tighter payment caps, or may opt instead to compete in the regular EQIP pool for which the 6-year cap is $300,000.

During the first, 2009, application period, EQIP offered six core conservation practices (conservation crop rotation, cover cropping, integrated pest management, nutrient management, rotational grazing, and forage harvest management) for which financial and technical assistance could be funded by this program to transitioning organic farmers on a nationwide basis. Each state could then also add a variety of "facilitating" conservation practices specific to the type of agriculture in their region. Check with NRCS to see the practices for which transitioning farmers can receive assistance in future years.

Website
The NRCS website for EQIP is:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/PROGRAMS/EQIP/

Contact Information
From the national NRCS website you can access your state's NRCS office and from there the location of your nearest NRCS field office. Most states also have a specific person who is in charge of EQIP in that state, and their contact information can usually be found on the state website.