Skip to main content
A combine moves across a field during harvest.

NRCS Assistance for Organic Farmers

Learn about the many areas in which NRCS provides assistance to organic producers, from biodiversity to weed management.

Organic producers are eligible for all NRCS programs and assistance. The first step is to go to  your local field office and get started. We also have organic champions and contacts to help.

NRCS also offers programs that are targeted to organic and transitioning producers. These offer smaller competition and ranking pools, increasing the chances of being selected for funding.

Popular types of assistance for organic producers:
 

NRCS Assistance Areas

Habitat and Biodiversity
Flowers grow in a pollinator planting at Peaceful Belly Farm in Caldwell, Idaho on July 7, 2022. (NRCS photo by Carly Whitmore)

NRCS can help organic farmers work with nature instead of against it, building and conserving vital habitat for pollinators, beneficial insects, and wildlife. Learn more on our Habitat and Biodiversity page or watch our video below.

Healthy Soils
healthy soil clod with roots

Healthy soil is the foundation of organic farming. Learn how NRCS can help farmers and ranchers with a number of conservation practices that build healthy soil on our Healthy Soils page or watch our video below.

Livestock and Pasture Management
Two cows stand in a field

NRCS can help organic livestock producers with practices such as pasture and grazing management, diverse pasture plantings, fencing, and walkways, watering facilities, and shelters for animals. Learn more on our Livestock and Pasture Management page or watch our video below.

Weed and Pest Management
Purple Skies Farm Owner Visar Duane uses mulch and newspaper to suppress weeds at Purple Skies Farm. (NRCS photo by Brooke DeCubellis)

Organic farmers can work with NRCS to implement a variety of conservation practices that suppress weeds while building soil health. Learn more about NRCS can help on our Weed and Pest Management page or watch the video below.

Irrigation and Water Management
Sang Lee Farms co-owner William Lee and Liz Camps, District Conservationist look over a recenlty-installed Acclima Soil Moisture Sensor for Irrigation Water Management on the farm in Peconic, New York, November 5, 2021. Sang Lees Farms, transitioning to third generation, grows more than 100 varieties of specialty vegetables, heirloom tomatoes, baby greens, herbs. They continue to feature Asian produce, growing many varieties of Chinese cabbages, greens, and radishes. The farm has been operating and growin

NRCS can help organic farmers with irrigation water management strategies tailored to their farm’s specific needs. Conservation practices can also protect water quality in the surrounding ecosystem. Learn more on our Irrigation and Water Management page or watch the video below.

Growing All Seasons: High Tunnel
High tunnel

High tunnels protect plants from severe weather and allow farmers to extend their growing seasons – growing earlier into the spring, later into the fall, and sometimes, year-round. 

 

"Wall panels with artwork titled "Manos a la obra" (Hands at work) by Manone line one side of the Community garden plots are just half of the Huerta del Valle (HdV) 4-Acre organic Community Supported Garden and Farm in the middle of a low-income urban community, where Co-Founder and Executive Director Maria Alonso and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Redlands District Conservationist Tomas Aguilar-Campos work closely as she continues to impr

Technical and Financial Assistance

NRCS offers technical and financial assistance through conservation practices, activities and enhancements to help agricultural producers make and maintain improvements on their land. 

Learn more about NRCS' offerings

Find Your Local Service Center

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can connect with Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development employees for your business needs. Enter your state and county below to find your local service center and agency offices. If this locator does not work in your browser, please visit offices.usda.gov.

Organic-Specific Opportunities 

Organic Initiative

Several pigs stand in a field filled with wildflowers.

The National Organic Initiative, funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), is a voluntary conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance for organic farmers and ranchers, or those interested in transitioning to organic.

High Tunnel System

High Tunnel Producers

A High Tunnel System, commonly called a “hoop house,” is an increasingly popular conservation practice for farmers, and is available with financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

Organic Transition Initiative

OTI Transitioning

Can help you transition to organic through multi-agency Organic
Transition Initiative (OTI). Through OTI NRCS will hire new organic experts to
support NRCS staff and host hands-on organic trainings and assist field staff with
organic related questions.
 

Additional USDA Organic Assistance