Certifiers to administer the Organic Cost Share Program in full

Taking the solution to utilize certifying bodies in the administration of cost share one step further, we recommend reallocating USDA cost share funds to compensate certifying bodies for this work.

Employing certifiers to administer cost share for all their clients including those outside the certifier’s home state is a start in remedying the problems with OCCSP, but to ensure this program is enduring, certifiers need funding to allocate time and resources to this vital program.

The work to administer the cost share program varies by organization and by state. Typically, it takes more than one staff person to administer the different aspects of the program. Staff time from accounting, administration, funding specialist, IT, and communications teams are involved in the cost share process. Accounts differ, but program administrators are generally allowed a maximum of 10% of allocated funding to run the program. This 10%, or future decided percentage, should go directly to support certifiers’ investment to administer the OCCSP for their clients.

Incorporating certifiers in this way has the potential to allow the cost share program to be conducted on an ongoing basis. If certifiers are granted funding, it can eliminate the need for producers to complete the application each year as certifiers can simply credit them their reimbursement as part of the certification process.

There would still be one initial paperwork step, acquiring the completed W9 form, but afterward, as long as producers confirmed no information had changed, there would be no additional paperwork. This eliminates the need for annual deadlines for the OCCSP and increases accessibility which will, in turn, raise utilization rates nationwide.

CASE STUDY: THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (WSDA)

While this concept has never been accomplished before, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) both certifies organic producers and administers the cost share program.

WSDA has administered cost share since the early 2000s when the National Organic Program (NOP) ran the program. During this time, WSDA would process the cost share in conjunction with their clients’ annual renewal fees.

WSDA was able to enroll those who previously participated and only sent a letter to everyone else to prompt them to apply 10 . This system erased a layer of bureaucracy and simplified the program for all parties involved.

During this time, WSDA’s outreach about the program was minimal, however, because cost share was intertwined with the certification process, a robust outreach campaign was not necessary for high rates of program utilization.

When program funding was reduced in 2020, WSDA no longer had sufficient reimbursement funds to meet the demand. In the following year, they were forced to move away from the streamlined process and revised the process to require a new application from all producers to ensure producers who were not already in the system had an equal opportunity to receive cost share.

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It is important to note that those who received cost share reimbursements were issued checks, similar to how other states reimburse producers through the program currently. WSDA never credited their clients’ accounts with the reimbursement, their clients always had to pay in full and would later receive their check.