additional funding and provisions. Like
the previous programs, REAP offers grants
and loans for energy conservation and
provides grants to agencies and groups to
assist farmers with energy audits and assessments. The new Farm Bill, however,
raises the amount of the maximum loan
guarantee from $10 million to $25 million. The bill also raises the amount of the
guaranteed loan from 50 percent of total
eligible project costs to 75 percent, and increases the maximum combined amount
of a grant and a loan guaranteed under
REAP from 50 percent to 75 percent of
total eligible project costs. The new Rural Energy for
Also, a new provision reserves 20 per-
America Program could
help fund your renewable
cent of REAP funding for grants of less
energy project.
than $20,000 until June 30 of each fiscal
year. Farmers and processors located in rural areas are eligible for
this funding, which can provide assistance with everything from installing solar panels and wind turbines, to helping replace inefficient,
energy-sapping machines.
Direct Assistance to Support Farmers Producing Organically
In addition to the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program mentioned above, organic processors can help connect producers with several other support programs that are now available to
them as a result of the 2008 Farm Bill. Most noteworthy is the availability of financial and technical assistance to help farmers transition
to organic. Processors with long-range plans for developing domestic
supplies of organic agricultural ingredients can leverage these programs to assist the growth and conversion of farm and ranch suppliers. This might include assisting growers with the application process,
or simply publicizing the opportunity for conversion assistance to potential agricultural suppliers.
Another big win for organic farmers is an increase in incentives
for conservation efforts. Successful organic production relies on the
complex interaction of a number of conservation practices and in
the past organic producers have received little assistance from the
federal conservation programs in implementing these practices.
Now, the 2008 Farm Bill rewards these practices, paving the way for
access to the two largest working land conservation programs.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). An important
item in the new Farm Bill is a provision in EQIP that provides assistance to organic producers looking to expand their operations by
converting additional acres and/or producers looking at initial conversion to organic production (Section 2503). Under the program,
producers converting acreage to organic production can receive unlimited technical assistance and up to $20,000 per year to aid in transitioning to organic production, with a maximum of $80,000 in any
6-year period. This is also a huge win for organic processors, especially those looking to source domestically. Due to supply shortages,
many processors have had to step up
and put their own money on the line
to help farmers transition to organic,
but many companies don’t have the
funds to do this. Now, with information about this new funding in hand,
organic processors of all sizes can approach farmers they wish to work with
and help ease the farmer’s conversion
burden without having to invest their
own capital.
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). In addition to the
changes in EQIP, CSP has been
streamlined, making it much more
accessible. CSP was developed to protect and improve the environment for
generations to come by providing
technical and financial assistance to
farmers to help them implement and
manage conservation activities on
agricultural land. This could include
practices to improve soil, water
and/or air quality or to increase biodiversity, as well as programs to sequester carbon or conserve water and
energy. Many organic farmers are already implementing programs such
as this but because of complicated
“red tape,” it was difficult to attain
funding for their efforts. The 2008
Farm Bill helps streamline the application process for organic farmers
who wish to include these sorts of
conservation programs.
Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP). The primary purpose of this
program is to conserve and improve
the soil, water, and wildlife resources
by temporarily removing land from
agricultural production. Now, 10
years after this program was started,
land is coming out of contract and
can be used for production again.
Since no pesticides have been applied
to this land for at least 10 years, there
is a unique and exciting opportunity
to easily transition the land to organic. With the new Farm Bill, this
CRP includes a transition option to
help encourage landowners to return
some or all of the land to production
