USDA will hold a Stakeholder Call on the Organic Certification Cost Share Program Thursday, August 20, 2020, at 1 p.m.

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service national organic program organic insider

Stakeholder Call

USDA Farm Service Agency

Organic Certification Cost Share Program

Thursday, August 20, 2020, at 1 p.m.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will host a Stakeholder Call on Thursday, August 20, 2020, at 1 p.m. (Eastern), for organic farmers, ranchers and other organic producers or handlers interested in applying for financial assistance to reduce the cost of organic certification. During the call, we encourage participants to submit questions through the Q&A box.

Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) provides cost-share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products for the costs of obtaining or maintaining organic certification under the USDA National Organic Program. Eligible producers include any certified producers or handlers who have paid organic certification fees to a USDA-accredited certifying agent.

 

How to Participate:

The Stakeholder Call will be conducted virtually using Microsoft Teams Live Event.

JOIN THE MEETING 

(Please note that Teams Live events are limited to a maximum of 10,000 participants)

Tips to prepare for the Live Event using Microsoft Teams:

    • There will be an anticipated delay from broadcast of the event to the live stream attendees will be viewing on Teams.
    • Teams Live Event provides a one-direction broadcast. Attendees will not be able to present their own video or utilize their microphones during the Live Event.
    • There will be a Q&A opportunity during the event. You may submit a question at any point.
      • Click on the chat icon in the center menu bar to open a sidebar chat window that will allow you to type your question or comment. 
      • Please identify yourself when you ask a question to help us best address your inquiry.
  • This Live Event will be recorded. The link for the recording will be accessible from the calendar invite a few hours after the Live Event ends.
  • Teams Live Event offers closed captioning. To turn on closed captions, click the event menu ellipses and then click “Turn on live captions (preview).” Note that this feature is still in preview/development, and the live captions may not be available on all systems/platforms.​
  • Teams Live Event offers the ability to pause the meeting. If you would like to pause the meeting, click the pause button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. To resume the meeting, click the button again to play. If you would like to jump to real-time, click on "Live" which is located next to the play/pause button.

For questions about the program, please contact fsaoutreach@usda.gov

To learn more about organic certification cost share, please visit the OCCSP webpage.