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Organic Transition Pilot Program

Grantor:
CA Department of Food and Agriculture
Portal ID:
41579
Status:
Closed
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The Organic Transition Pilot (OTP) Program will fund assistance to farmers and ranchers who want to transition land to organic certification. The OTP grant program is designed to provide direct financial assistance for eligible expenditures and improve access to knowledge and technical assistance, including business planning, for farmers and ranchers with land under transition to organic (pre-certification).

Description:

The following entities are eligible to apply for OTP grants:
Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), University of California, California Community Colleges, or California State Universities, Non-profit organizations, California Native American Tribes

Awardees will:

  1. Carry out an outreach and selection process of commercial farmers and ranchers to receive assistance in
    organic transition.
  2. Provide on-farm, one-on-one technical assistance and outreach to farmers or ranchers who have acres
    that are under transition to organic production but are not yet certified organic.
  3. Coordinate or provide business planning assistance to farmers or ranchers who have acres that have not yet
    completed three years under certification
  4. Disburse Financial Assistance: Direct financial assistance to farmers who own, lease or rent actively farmed agricultural land that is undergoing a mandatory 3-year transition in preparation for organic certification.

Matching funds are not required.

Administrative expenses are allowed up to 15% of the grant award, technical assistance related costs are allowed up to 15% of the award. Direct financial assistance to farmers and ranchers must equal at least 70% of the award.

CDFA aims to serve a pool of farmers and ranchers who are at least 50% Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFRs).

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit
  • Tribal Government

Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), University of California, California Community Colleges, or California State
Universities, Non-profit organizations and California Native American Tribes

Eligible Geographies:

Statewide

Matching Funding Requirement:

NA

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
November 2023
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
four years

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
See Notes Below
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$500,000 – $2,000,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No

Available Funding Notes:

CDFA will award between $4.25 M and $9.5 M

The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

General Fund

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advances & Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Recipients will receive payment through both advances and reimbursements Recipients may be eligible for advance payment (25%), subject to the provisions of section 316.1 “Advance Payments” of the California Code of Regulations, Division 1, Chapter 5. If appropriate justification is submitted and awardee follows grant management requirements, additional advance payments may be issued in accordance with CDFA’s Grant Administration regulations.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
1-916-654-0466, CDFA.OEFI_otp@cdfa.ca.gov

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