Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program

The Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency is distributing streamlined direct payments to eligible organic dairy producers to offset 2023 marketing costs through unused Commodity Credit Corporation funds, with enrollment running October 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024 under Assistance Listing 10.977.

This is a time-limited, closed assistance program. The enrollment window specified in the source (October 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024) has concluded as of the current date (October 17, 2026). No recent grant awards are reported in the source, and no open grant opportunities are present. The program was designed as a single-year payment cycle targeting 2023 marketing costs, with payments issued in two tranches — an initial 75 percent payment made mandatory, and a second payment up to 25 percent issued only if funding remained after enrollment closed.

The program funded direct payments to organic dairy operations based on a standardized national per-hundredweight formula. Assistance covered up to 75 percent of projected marketing costs for 2023 calendar-year production, capped at the first five million pounds of anticipated production per operation. The payment cap targeted smaller dairies most vulnerable to market volatility and elevated input, transportation, and feed costs.

Eligibility required organic dairy operations to maintain records for three years following application. Final approval was made by the FSA County Committee following submission and verification of producer eligibility. Appeals were available to the county Farm Service Agency Committee and to the FSA Appeals and Litigation Group.

Because the enrollment period closed in December 2024 and no continuation or reauthorization is mentioned in the source, this program is not currently available for new applications. Organizations seeking current organic dairy support through USDA should evaluate active programs rather than pursue this assistance line.