Deadline Extended to Apply for Pandemic Support for Certified Organic and Transitioning Operations

When: Dec. 21, 2021

Background: USDA has extended the deadline for agricultural producers who are certified organic, or transitioning to organic, to apply for the Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP). The deadline to apply for 2020 and 2021 eligible expenses is now Feb. 4, 2022, rather than the original deadline of Jan. 7, 2022.  

POC: Dana Rogge and Elizabeth Creech

Guidance: FSA Communications Coordinators are asked to amplify this national announcement. The news release should be posted to your state website, shared with your state media contacts, and distributed via GovDelivery. Please customize materials where appropriate. If edits are significant, please flag for your Regional Communications Team member.

Please proceed with any local- or state-level media queries; any regional- or national-level media queries should be flagged to fpac.bc.press@usda.gov for guidance on next steps.

Toolkit Contents:

• News release (attached)
• govDelivery Bulletin
• Updated Suggested State Webpage Verbiage
• Updated Talking Points
• Infographic
• Updated Stakeholder toolkit (attached)