The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is requesting applications from certified organic and transitioning producers and handlers, as well as nonprofit entities, tribal entities, certified benefit corporations, and state/tribal/local government entities, to the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) Program.
Donor Name: Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/11/2023
Size of the Grant: $3,000,000
Grant Duration: 36 months
Details:
This program will support the development of new and expanded organic markets by providing additional resources for businesses transitioning to organic or initiating new organic production and processing capacity. These investments in certified organic infrastructure, expanding capacity for aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, distribution, or consumer markets, and supporting activities which develop new markets, are anticipated to increase demand for domestically produced organic agricultural products and provide additional market paths. Domestic organic producers and handlers have identified the development of new and expanded organic infrastructure, capacity, and markets as critical needs through public comments and listening sessions
Implementation of the Organic Market Development Grants program is intended to align with numerous policy goals and objectives across government, including, but not limited to:
- Ensure equitable access to USDA programs and benefits from USDA-funded projects and support the policies of Executive Order 13985
- Contribute to the resilience of the food and agricultural supply chains through support for diversified, value-added agriculture such as organic production and support the policies of Executive Order 14017 .
- Promote competition in the organic sector and support the policies of Executive Order 14036.
- Implement the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act.
The Organic Market Development Program supports projects that:
- Increase domestic organic supply chain capacity for producers, handlers, suppliers, and processors;
- Facilitate market development for domestically produced organic food products;
- Demonstrate a clear benefit to organic communities in defined regions; and
- Remove barriers to entry to organic certification for historically underserved entities.
- Expand capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers;
- Modernize manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems specific to the purposes of this program, such as process control or organic ingredient tracking systems;
- Improve the capacity of entities to comply with regulatory requirements or quality standards required to access markets, such as food safety and organic certification; and
- Market and promotional activities that help build commercial markets for U.S. organic agricultural products and commodities. This program focuses on investments which will aid in the expansion of new and additional markets for U.S. organic commodities, opening markets for producers and/or addressing inadequate capacity in certified organic processing, storage, and handling/shipping. Capacity in the middle of the organic supply chain has not kept pace with the growth in organic crops or the demand for organic products, and it therefore limits market access for transforming domestic organic crops into organic feed grains or consumer products. Expanded processing capacity will increase consumption of domestic organic commodities through increased manufacturing of finished products for human food, animal feed, and fiber.
USDA encourages projects which are targeted to specific production regions or crops to ensure meaningful impacts that facilitate the movement of agricultural products in key markets.
AMS will give priority consideration to projects addressing the specific pinpointed markets needs below, identified through organic stakeholder comments and feedback.
- Organic grains and livestock feed, building domestic supply of organic grain and feed and associated processing capacity to respond to growing demand and reduce reliance on imports.
- Organic dairy, targeting investments in specialized organic dairy processing infrastructure.
- Organic fibers, the largest and fastest-growing non-food sector in organic – yet where less than 1% of domestic production acreage is certified organic.
- Organic legumes and other rotational crops, including but not limited to processing capacity and consumer product development for peanuts, oats, beans, field peas, barley, and lentils.
- Organic ingredients currently unavailable in commercial form, as evidenced either by inclusion on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances or by data cited in the application. The Organic Foods Production Act envisioned “sunsetting” such allowances, but such ingredients are often in short supply.
Project Types
OMDG offers three project types:
- Market Development and Promotion
- Processing Capacity Expansion
- Simplified Equipment-Only
Funding Information
- Market Development & Promotion
- Minimum Award: $100,000
- Maximum Award: $3,000,00
- Duration (Months): 36
- Processing Capacity Expansion
- Minimum Award: $100,000
- Maximum Award: $3,000,000
- Duration (Months): 36
- Simplified Equipment -Only
- Minimum Award: $10,000
- Maximum Award: $100,000
- Duration (Months): 24
Eligible Activities
Activities or tasks that could be a part of such projects might include, but are not limited to:
- Modernizing equipment or facilities through upgrades, repairs, or retooling; (e.g., adapting product lines for institutional procurement or adding parallel processing capacity to prevent commingling of organic and non-organic products);
- Expanding processing capacities to increase production volumes, process additional organic crops or animal products, or add new value-added product types;
- Installation of holding pens, wastewater management systems, or other improvements that do not require breaking new ground or constructing new facilities;
- Consumer advertising, public relations, point-of-sale demonstrations, participation in trade fairs and exhibits, and value chain coordination; or
- Specialized equipment purchases, such as processing components, sorting equipment (e.g., equipment which prevents commingling between organic and non-organic products), packing and labeling equipment, or delivery vehicles.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants for Organic Market Development grants include business entities (regardless of legal structure) who produce or handle organic foods. Producer and handler applicants must either be certified to the USDA organic standards or in transition to organic certification, consistent with 7 C.F.R. §205. Such applicants must be registered in the Organic INTEGRITY Database before the date of the Notice of Award. This requirement does not apply to non-profit or government entities. Eligible applicants also include non-profit or government entities. Eligible government entities include but are not limited to tribal, state, territory, and local government entities such as economic development authorities and regional conservation districts.
- Eligible non-profit entities may include trade associations. AMS may prioritize funding to individual or groups of agricultural producers majority-controlled producer-based ventures, farmer or rancher-controlled cooperatives, or government entities. Separate entities who are at least 51 percent owned and operated by the same parent company may not submit multiple applications. Such entities may submit a single joint application. AMS may remove applications from consideration, if the applicants are found to be owned and operated by the same parent company and are applying separately.
- All applicants must be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Tribal Governments.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
