WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new programs, partnerships, and grants that would include an additional $10 million in funding to increase the markets for organic products.

The programs are also designed to provide hands-on training for producers to transition to organic production to assist with the financial burden of organic certification.

“Offsetting the costs for organic transition helps more farmers realize higher margins sooner while giving consumers more access to high-demand organic products,” Vilsack said. “The partnerships and technical support we offer will ease the transition for producers, and the investments in grant projects we are announcing today will reduce the organic industry’s reliance on imports, lower cost barriers for businesses transitioning to organic, and address crucial infrastructure needs.”

In 2022, the agency formed the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), that offers technical assistance, farmer-to-farmer mentorship, conservation financial assistance and additional crop insurance assistance.

Using the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) program the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) awarded $24.8 million for 23 grant projects on May 15. In total, AMS has awarded $75.2 million to 93 projects around the country.

Many different agriculture operations will receive market development and promotion, which includes updates to equipment. 

One meat processing company mentioned by the USDA was North Country Smokehouse in Claremont, NH. The pork company plans to introduce two organic pork products using the OMDG money. North Country will look to install new processing equipment, develop distinctive packaging designs, and coordinate retail merchandising to optimize product visibility. The project expects to increase organic meat production capacity by 175,000 lbs annually.

According to the AMS document provided, the agency will award $600,000 in funding with North Country’s match amount at $713,000.