The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide cost share assistance to producers, processors, distributors or other handlers of organic agricultural products.

Producers and other certified businesses whose initial certifications or annual updates are issued between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009 are eligible for partial reimbursement of their certification costs. Payments are limited to 75 percent of a business' certification costs up to a maximum payment of $750.00. The cost share program will be conducted on a first come, first served basis.  Note: Producers or other certified businesses that previously received a cost-share reimbursement for a specific certification period are not eligible for additional reimbursement for the same certification year.

To apply for a partial reimbursement of your certification costs, fill out ROR-619, "Federal Organic Certification Cost Share Application" and send it to Texas Department of Agriculture, Organic Program, P. O. Box 12847, Austin, TX  78711.

If you do not already have a Texas Payee Identification Number, you will need to submit a Texas Application for Payee Identification Number (AP-152) along with the reimbursement application.

If you are certified by an accredited certifier other than TDA and are located in Texas, be sure to include a copy of the certificate or update issued to you within the specified dates, as well as a copy of the invoice from your certifying agent that reflects your certification costs.

Organic Certification Cost Share Program Information Sheet