Opportunities in Organic Act

Reduced Certification Costs: The Secretary shall pay costs incurred by producers or handlers to obtain organic certification, with payments up to $1,500, though this may be exceeded to ensure certification is not a barrier (Section 2, subsection (c)).

Support for Socially Disadvantaged Groups: The bill allows for higher certification payments for members of socially disadvantaged groups (Section 2, subsection (c)(3)(B)) and prioritizes them for supply chain and technical assistance (Section 2, subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii)).

Capacity Building for Organic Transition: Eligible nonprofit organizations can receive funding to help with various needs such as recruitment, translation of materials, assistance with applications, and financial or farm planning (Section 2, subsection (d)(1)(B)).

Technical Assistance and Mentorship: Funding can be used to facilitate paid mentor-mentee relationships between organic producers and those in transition (Section 2, subsection (d)(1)(B)(vii)).

Infrastructure and Supply Chain Development: Nonprofits can use funds to establish or expand cooperatives, food hubs, and organic processing or storage facilities (Section 2, subsection (d)(1)(B)(ix)).

Increased Land Access: Funding can be used to increase access to land for socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and small to mid-sized farms (Section 2, subsection (d)(1)(B)(xiii)).

One-time Funding Limitation: Funding provided to nonprofit organizations for producer transition and resilience is limited to a term of 4 years, and the Secretary is prohibited from renewing this funding (Section 2, subsection (d)(1)(C)(ii)).

Requirement for Organic System Plans: To receive certain types of transition and resilience funding, operations are required to develop an organic system plan (Section 2, subsection (d)(1)(C)(iv)).