U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the availability of $1 million to defray annual organic certification costs in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

This funding is particularly important to smaller producers so that they can meet the voluntary uniform standards set forth by the National Organic Program regulations for the production of organic products that are to be labeled as “100 percent organic,” “organic” or “made with organic ingredients.”

The Agricultural Management Assistance Program, authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524); will allocate funds to the 15 states in proportion to the number of organic producers in each state. The states, in turn, will reimburse each eligible producer for up to 75 percent of its organic certification costs, not to exceed $500. Each state is allowed to retain 4 percent of the total amount granted as an administration fee.

This program is in addition to and separate from the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, which also is administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The National program, part of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, received one-time funding of $5 million, which was obligated to participating states through cooperative agreements.

In order to be eligible for reimbursement, an organic production operation must be located within one of the 15 designated states, meet the USDA national organic standards for organic production, and have received certification or update of certification by a USDA-accredited certifying agent during the period of Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008.