Aug 27, 2024

USDA awards $10 million in organic market development grants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has awarded an additional $9.7 million for 13 grant projects through the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) program.

The funding brings the total amount awarded through the program to $85 million.

The projects will support the development of new and existing organic markets to increase the consumption of domestic organic agricultural products. The projects funded through the program are anticipated to benefit more than 119 million producers, buyers and consumers, according to a news release.

California Certified Organic Farmers was awarded $3 million for market development and promotion to expand economic opportunity for small and underserved farmers. The grant’s goals are to address key obstacles restricting growth in organic sales, which are the lack of consumer clarity on what “organic” means and a perceived lack of consumer confidence in the seal; to create market paths for small and underserved organic producers by linking them with buyers actively looking to source their products; and to educate and provide farmers with tools to talk to consumers and buyers about organic.

The goals will be achieved by launching a multi-channel marketing campaign, creating a marketing toolkit, marketing trainings for farmers, and updating and disseminating an organic sourcing directory to school and retail buyers. The expected outcomes of this project are that consumers and buyers will gain knowledge about organic products and that small and underserved producers will increase organic production to meet the increased demand through direct-market channels and buyer business transactions, according to the release.

The Turning Green, in Sausalito, Calif., will leverage the purchasing scale of the school food sector to grow the organic supply chain by bringing together school food networks, small underserved organic farmers, and local agricultural support organizations. The project will coordinate training and technical support to school food service teams and organic farmers to align planning, implementation, logistics, and metrics to grow the sale of organic products to schools within the state.

A description of other award recipients can be found here.

“This final round of awards through the Organic Market Development Grant program marks an unprecedented investment into our nation’s organic industry and we will see the impacts of this funding for years to come,” USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt said in the release. “The projects awarded through this program are making great strides in expanding market opportunities for organic businesses and ensuring producers and processors have the infrastructure to meet the growing consumer demand for organic products.”

Consumer demand for organically produced goods surpassed $69 billion in the U.S. in 2023, accounting for about 4% of total U.S. food sales. The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes how crucial the organic agricultural industry is to the nation’s economy and the investments needed to meet this incredible consumer demand, according to the release.

There are more than 27,800 organic farms and businesses across the nation producing and handling organic food and products of all kinds. There are more than 47,000 such businesses around the world, providing vital ingredients and fresh foods not produced in the U.S

With the final award announcement, AMS has now awarded nearly $85 million to 106 projects in 36 states across the nation and the District of Columbia through the Organic Market Development Grant program, supporting these organic farmers and investing in the capacity of this growing sector. AMS previously announced awards through this program in January, March,  and May 2024. This final round of awards and all OMDG grants, which are supporting development of new and existing organic markets, is made available through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), according to the release.

The round of awards includes projects for the market development and promotion, simplified equipment-only, and processing capacity expansion project types. The funded projects will increase the availability and demand for domestically produced organic agricultural products and address the need for additional market paths, according to the release.

A full list of awarded projects is available on the OMDG webpage. One additional project is currently under environmental review with AMS.

AMS gave priority consideration to projects addressing specific pinpointed market needs for organic grains and livestock feed, organic dairy, organic fibers, organic legumes and other rotational crops, and organic ingredients currently unavailable in organic form.

The grant program is part of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative (OTI), launched in fall 2022, which offers a suite of programs and resources to help existing organic farmers and those transitioning to organic production and processing.