Ohio has $285,000 for organic cost-share program

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association announced that $285,000 is available through the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program to make organic certification more affordable for organic producers and handlers in Ohio.

This funding covers as much as 75 percent of an individual applicant’s certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 annually per certification scope.

Scrope

Four scopes of certification are eligible for reimbursement: crops, wild crops, livestock, and handler.

Since 2011, the Ohio Department of Agriculture has partnered with the association to administer Ohio’s cost-share program.

Reimbursable costs include application fees, certification fees, travel costs for inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage. The program is currently reimbursing for expenses paid between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018.

Applications for reimbursement must be postmarked by Nov. 15, 2018, although requests are processed monthly.

County Farm Service Agency offices also accept and process requests for cost-share reimbursements.

Apply

Organic farmers and processors in Ohio can access the reimbursement application from the association’s website at http://certification.oeffa.org/costshare or by calling 614-262-2022.

Certified organic producers and handlers outside of Ohio can find the contact information for their administrating agencies at www.ams.usda.gov/NOPCostSharing.