Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program

 

OTECP provides direct financial assistance to certified organic and transitional operations that incurred costs related to USDA organic certification or renewal, soil testing, or educational event registration in fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Active 10.139 Farm Service Agency, Department of Agriculture D - Direct Payments With Unrestricted Use Not applicable. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Division B, Title I, Pub. L. 116–136;, Public Law - Applicants must be certified USDA organic operations or operations that are transitioning to organic production. Applicants must be located in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Not applicable. Applicants must submit Form FSA-883, Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP). Applicants must also submit AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet, and SF-3881, ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form, if not already on file with FSA. Applicants must provide additional documentation to substantiate the information reported on their application if requested by FSA. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants must submit a complete application to their FSA county office. Any requested supporting documentation must be submitted to their FSA county office no later than 30 days from the date of the request. If the requested documentation is not submitted within the 30 days, the application will not be processed by USDA. The assistance will be approved and awarded by FSA to eligible applicants. Payments to eligible applicants are expected to be made once applications are processed. Payments will be prorated if total calculated payments exceed available funding. Applicants must apply by the deadline of January 7, 2022, for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The deadline for fiscal year 2022 will be October 31, 2022. Any requested supporting documentation must be submitted to the applicant's FSA county office no later than 30 days from the date of the request. From 1 to 15 days. From 15 to 30 days. Applicants may request reconsideration of a decision by the decision authority or appeal such decisions to a higher authority including the county and State FSA committees and the National Appeals Division. Appeal regulations in 7 CFR parts 11 and 780 apply. General eligibility provisions and other matters of general applicability that are not in response to, or result from, an individual set of facts in an individual participant's application for payment are not matters that can be appealed. Not applicable. Not applicable. Unrestricted use. Assistance will be used by certified organic and transitional operations who incurred eligible costs in fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022. Not applicable. Not applicable. If requested by FSA, applicants must submit documentation to verify the information certified on their application. Applicants must retain documentation in support of the application for 3 years after the date of approval. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The application period for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 will be from November 8, 2021, to January 7, 2022. The application period for fiscal year 2022 began on May 16, 2022, to October 31, 2022. Any supporting documentation requested by FSA must be submitted to the applicant's FSA county office no later than 30 days from the date of the request. There are no restrictions placed on the time permitted to spend the money awarded. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. None/Not specified. Kimberly Graham
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250 USA
kimberly.graham@usda.gov
Phone: (202) 720-6825 https://www.farmers.gov/ 12-0115-0-1-351 (Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use) FY 22$2,401,717.00; FY 23 est $908,949.00; FY 24 est $0.00; FY 21$20,000,000.00; FY 20$0.00; - Certified organic operations may receive 25 percent of their eligible costs, up to a maximum of $250, for each category of USDA organic certification (crops, wild crops, livestock, and processing/handling) and for State organic program fees. Transitional operations may receive 75 percent of their costs, up to a maximum of $750, for eligible transitional expenses. All applicants may receive 75 percent, up to a maximum of $100, for the cost of soil testing, and 75 percent, up to a maximum of $200, for educational event registration fees. The program will be administered as provided in the Notice of Funds Availability published in the Federal Register. The procedural handbook is available from county FSA offices. Not applicable.