The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is pleased to announce the availability of approximately $12 million in grant funding for Healthy Soils Program (HSP) Incentive Grants. The program is currently accepting grant applications through 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, February 9, 2024.
Steve Bains, OTP grantee, Cohort 2024, and his daughter
“The way we farm—the way I’m farming with my father right now—I have found true beauty in being able to grow high-yielding, great quality food for consumers without the use of chemicals and other practices that the industry has used for so long. I find beauty in that philosophy,” explains Adam Simonian, a fifth-generation farmer from Fowler, California, and recipient of a CCOF Foundation Future Organic Farmers grant.
(Future Organic Farmer grantee Angelina Olivia with some of her poultry flock)
For the last four years, the National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) has partnered with Chipotle to support young and beginning farmers and ranchers in starting up and growing their businesses with a flexible funding opportunity each spring.
January 31, 2024, is the deadline to apply for reimbursement of food safety certification expenses incurred in the 2023 season.
The USDA released two years of funding for on-farm food safety expenses, and this is potentially the last year of this program. CCOF is working with allies to try to secure future food safety funding in the farm bill, but for now, we are encouraging eligible specialty crop operations to apply for these vital and rare subsidies.
(Wildfire remains Solano, CA by Fusaromike via Getty Images)
CCOF has long offered support to its certified organic members who have experienced losses due to natural disasters including wildfires, earthquakes, and floods. In response to increasing frequency of such disasters, CCOF has created a communications and outreach strategy that will be initiated when a state or federal disaster has been declared.
We at the CCOF Foundation are celebrating a year of giving and growth. Here are four ways the CCOF Foundation made a difference to the organic community in 2023.
(Organic pepper plants with drip irrigation system courtesy of Diyana Dimitrova)
Note as of 12/19/2023 - CDFA is pausing the SWEEP solicitation. Please refer to the SWEEP website for further updates: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) believes in supporting organic farmers and ranchers in their constant search for innovation and farm profitability. The Farmer Led Trials (FLT) program puts farmers in the driver’s seat and recognizes their wisdom, experimentation, and problem-solving skills. Built in the spirit of curiosity and collaboration, this program will support farmers and ranchers in conducting impactful research that can address their unique challenges.
The California State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) has been a popular program for producers and will be open for applications at the end of November.
SWEEP offers grants to update irrigation systems to reduce greenhouse gas release and improve water efficiency. Eligible system components or improvements include (among others) soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, switching to low-pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives, and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water and energy use.