hardship

Photo by State Farm, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

My heart is with Hawaii.   

While processing the news of destruction and loss, I can’t help but think about the long-term agricultural land use of West Maui that led to the deadliest fire in recent US history.   

The CCOF Foundation offers relief funding for organic farms experiencing hardship, often due to climate disasters. When fires affect small organic farms, like the recent fires that devastated many communities on Maui and on several of the Hawaiian Islands, the CCOF Foundation is here to help. 

Please consider donating to the CCOF Foundation’s Hardship Assistance program. When we respond to climate disasters like this one, 100 percent of your donation will go directly to farmers in need. 

The Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund has a long history of giving grants to organic producers recovering from natural disasters and other difficulties. To support our organic community more quickly and effectively during times of hardship, the CCOF Foundation is switching from biannual application periods to accepting hardship assistance applications year-round! 

The USDA announced that, beginning in April, it will provide approximately $123 million in additional automatic financial assistance for qualifying farm loan program borrowers who are facing financial risk, as part of the $3.1 billion to help distressed farm loan borrowers that was provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The announcement builds on financial assistance offered to borrowers through the same program in October 2022.

The Central Coast of California was recently barraged with the highest rainfall it has seen in decades. The deluge has brought flooding, landslides, and loss of life and has destroyed homes and building structures. Notably, there is also ongoing damage to crops and fields. Many berry farmers have experienced an entire loss of crop within the span of a week. Others have lost farm labor support with closed roads and the inability to access fields. 

The Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund gives direct financial assistance to organic producers who have experienced disaster. In 2022, we have partnered with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to administer additional drought relief grants specifically for dairy producers in California.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide pandemic assistance to cover certification and education expenses to agricultural producers who are certified organic or transitioning to organic. USDA will make $20 million available through the new Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) as part of USDA’s broader Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, which provides new, broader, and more equitable opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and producers.   

In response to the severe drought conditions in the West and Great Plains, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its plans to help cover the cost of transporting feed for livestock that rely on grazing. USDA is updating the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) to immediately cover feed transportation costs for drought-impacted ranchers.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed by Congress to help America recover from COVID-19, includes $5 billion in farm debt relief for producers who are members of socially disadvantaged groups that have historically been subject to discrimination and underserved by U.S. government programs. Black/African American , American Indian, Alaskan Native, Latinx, Asian American, and Pacific Islander producers who have farm loans through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) or private lenders with FSA guarantees are eligible for relief.