Organic Transition Grants - Deadline March 23

The latest CAFF newsletter includes a link for information about grants for farmers transitioning to organic. 

Their webpage also includes a testimonial from Vitis and Ovis farm, which I visited and wrote about this fall.

General Information and Timeline

The Organic Transition Pilot Program provides up to $30,000 in direct funding to farmers and ranchers to support their transition to organic agriculture. Grantees will be matched with CAFF staff for technical assistance to help them navigate organic certification and implement organic transition practices. Grantees will also have access to business and marketing technical assistance through this program.

The application opens February 24th, 2025 and closes March 23rd, 2025 at 11:59PM.

Eligibility for Applicants:

To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:

• Be actively farming or ranching in California

• Have at least 2 years of farm/ranch business experience

• Be engaged in or planning to sell agricultural products for profit

• Be 18 years or older

• Already practice organic methods but not yet certified

• Have an Organic System Plan (OSP) or commit to developing one

• Have secure access to the land under transition

• University, research, and nonprofit farms are not eligible for assistance

Applicants from underserved and socially disadvantaged communities will be prioritized. 

We are actively recruiting farmers in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California, but applications are welcome from across California.

Uses for Funding

Grantees can receive up to $30,000 in general financial assistance, plus an additional $30,000 for field preparation ($1,000 per acre for up to 30 acres). All funds must be used within one year of the project start date. Grantees must use funding for eligible purchases only. See below for eligible and ineligible costs:

Allowable Costs:

Organic livestock, poultry, and related expenses, such as animal health management required by organic standards;

Organic feed;

Educational materials, training on organic certification and production, or meeting attendance;

Inspection and certification fees;

On-farm water or soil testing fees;

Outside consultant fees if desired, as for development of an Organic System Plan (OSP);

Farming supplies to be applied to organic farming on the transitioning acres, such as organic-approved plastic mulch;

Farm equipment and repair to that equipment, where equipment is specific or widely preferred for organic farming of the type expected to occur on the transitioning acres

Qualifying equipment must be drawn from the following list, or authorized by CDFA:

Compost production, storage or spreading installations and equipment;

Weed management tools such as flamers or tines, tarps, row cover;

Transplanting or direct seeding equipment;

Intercropping equipment and modifications;

IPM-aligned equipment; 

Other cover-cropping equipment;

On-farm processing and distribution equipment (e.g., peelers, coolers, produce washing, sorting and sizing bins, refrigerated vehicles for transporting whole or minimally processed food) where it is applicable to the products expected from transitioning acres. 

Organic seeds and starts, including cover crop seeds;

Organic fertilizers;

Organic pest control inputs;

Ecosystem enhancement supplies and equipment (e.g., hedgerows, owl boxes, riparian area protection);

Compost, compost building materials, and similar organic amendments;

“Custom farming” operations (e.g., contracting out to perform planting). 

Unallowable Costs:

Property or land rent or lease;

Taxes;

Owner or employee labor;

Inputs for land outside the defined transitioning field(s), or for animals not dependent on the transitioning field(s).

Find more info here.