CDFA NOW ACCEPTING BLOCK GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR NEW ORGANIC TRANSITION PILOT PROGRAM

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SACRAMENTO, July 24, 2023 – The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI) is now accepting applications for its new Organic Transition Pilot Program. 

The program will award block grants to organizations that support farmers and ranchers managing acres they intend to transition to organic operations. Awardees will assist farmers and ranchers with services like on-farm organic management consultation, translation, business planning, and their organic certification applications.  

The program will accept applications through September 15, 2023. Organizations eligible to apply include non-profits, resource conservation districts, universities in the University of California network, organizations within the University of California Cooperative Extension, California State Universities, California Community Colleges, and California Native American Tribes. 

“The process of transitioning land into organic production can be difficult,” said Judith Redmond, member of the Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel, and co-owner of Full Belly Ranch, a certified organic 350-acre farm in northern California. “It’s a lot of work to learn new procedures, and market-price benefits aren’t available until the transition is complete and organic certification has been achieved. Farmers and ranchers need support during this challenging period of change, and that’s why this new Organic Transition Program is so important.” 

Minimum awards for block grants are set at $500,000, with a maximum award of up to $2 million per applicant organization. Grant terms may not exceed three years. Fifty percent of the funding awarded should benefit socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers as defined by California Assembly Bill 1348 (2017), the Farmer Equity Act. Lead applicants are encouraged to collaborate and network with organizations that support this group of farmers and ranchers. 

Application materials and additional information can be found on the program website at the following link: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/otp/

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