Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP)

Current understanding

USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation administers the Organic Certification Cost Share Program, which reimburses a portion of the fees that certified organic producers and handlers pay to accredited certifying agents. A formal rule codifies OCCSP for 2025–2031 following funding provided by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, establishing eligibility criteria, payment calculation methods, and application procedures consistent with prior NOFA-based administration. Effect: partially offsets certification costs for organic operations (farmer impact); no direct effect on consumer prices in the near term.

Evidence log

• 2026-01-13 — Domestic Organic Investment Act of 2025: 2025 — HR6593 (Domestic Organic Investment Act of 2025) referred to House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture; House companion to S3427 would expand domestic organic investment, complementing OCCSP’s certification cost-share support. (novelty: 2)
• 2025-12-10 — Domestic Organic Investment Act of 2025: cross-connection with domestic-organic-investment-act-2025: Both target domestic organic sector support; OCCSP subsidizes certification costs while S3427 would broaden domestic organic investment. (novelty: 3)
• 2025-12-02 — Providing Robust Organics and Diets for Urban Communities Everywhere Act: 2025 — HR5804 (Providing Robust Organics and Diets for Urban Communities Everywhere Act, introduced) was referred to the House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture; would target urban access to organic foods, a demand-side complement to producer-side OCCSP support. (novelty: 2) (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-13 — Opening Programs to Organic Farms Act: cross-connection with opening-programs-to-organic-farms-act: Both address federal support pathways for organic producers — OCCSP covers certification costs while S.4951 would broaden access to other USDA programs. (novelty: 2)
• 2025-04-09 — Organic Imports Verification Act of 2025: S1398 (Organic Imports Verification Act of 2025), referred to Senate Agriculture Committee April 2025, would tighten verification of organic claims on imports — a parallel integrity mechanism to the domestic cost-share program supporting certified operations. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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