Organic Certification Cost Share Program

Do you know about the Organic Certification Cost Share Program? Here are some facts from the USDA:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
National Organic Certification Cost Share Program
(NOCCSP), administered by the USDA Farm Service
Agency (FSA), provides organic producers and
handlers with financial assistance to reduce the cost
of organic certification. The program reimburses
producers and handlers for a portion of their paid
certification costs. Once certified, organic producers
and handlers are eligible to receive reimbursement for
up to 75 percent of certification costs each year, up to
a maximum of $750 per certification scope—crops,
livestock, wild crops and handling. Additional scopes
include transition certification and state program fees.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Certified organic producers and handlers who have
paid certification fees may apply for reimbursement
of the incurred costs.

IS CERTIFICATION REQUIRED TO
PARTICIPATE?
Yes. Organic certification cost share funds are only
available to certified organic or certified transitional
producers and handlers. Certification must be
provided by a USDA-accredited certifying agent. If
your operation is not currently certified organic and
you would like to learn more about the certification
process, please visit www.fsa.usda.gov/organic.

WHAT COSTS ARE REIMBURSABLE?
Eligible costs include application fees, inspection
costs, fees related to equivalency agreement/
arrangement requirements, travel/per diem for
inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage.

WHAT COSTS ARE NOT REIMBURSABLE?
Ineligible costs include equipment, materials,
supplies, late fees, and inspections necessary to
address National Organic Program regulatory
violations.

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM REIMBURSEMENT
AMOUNT?
The maximum per certification scope (crops,
livestock, wild crops and handling) is $750.
Transition and state certification reimbursements
will be processed separately.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR REIMBURSEMENT?
You may apply to a participating state agency
according to their deadlines, or beginning March 20,
2017, you may apply directly to one of over 2,100
FSA offices. Applicants must typically submit a onepage
application form, W-9 tax form (to participating
state agencies), proof of certification and an itemized
invoice of certification expenses.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes
only; other eligible requirements may apply. For more
information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/organic contact
your local FSA county office. To find an office
nearest you, visit http://offices.usda.gov.

Food, Friends and Fun!

Thursday, August 27 wrapped up the 2015 Seasonal Supper events at Holly Creek Farm, with food, friends, fun and live music! Thanks to John Brown, Jon Moore, Kevin Wilder, and Rural,Resources' own Paul Scala and Ava Gryphon for the music!

The free Community Pot Luck Dinner is an annual summer celebration of local food,  local music and favorite recipes. Follow our Facebook page or subscribe to our newsletter to be sure not to miss any Rural Resources dinners, workshops and other events!

Check out the Fun!

Photos and Premier Clip production: Lorelei Goff

Throw Back Thursday: Little Sprouts!

It's a rainy day here in Greene County, but the smiles on the faces of these Little Sprouts are "like sunshine on a cloudy day!" 

Rural Resources' unique learning opportunity for children in Greene County and surrounding East Tennessee combines food, farming and fun for a one-of-a-kind summer day camp experience. Children from preschool to the sixth grade spend a week on the farm with area teachers and Rural Resources staff, for lots of hands-on learning about food, farming, sustainability and, of course, summer fun! Registration begins in spring, with sessions running from June through July. Check out our website, rural resources.net, or contact us at info@ruralresources.net for more information about Farm Day Camp, our teen programs, farming workshops and other events.

So now, sit back, relax for a minute and enjoy our Throw Back Thursday highlights from Rural Resources Farm Day Camp for

Little Sprouts! Sessions 1 & 3

Photos and PremierClip prodution: Lorelei Goff

Food and Fun at the Farm

An estimated 200 people turned out for the 2015 Annual Community Cookout at Rural Resources' Holly Creek Farm last night. Folks enjoyed lots of locally grown food, fun and live music by local guitarist Russell Odell. Click on the link below to see highlights of the fun!

Highlights from the Rural Resources 2015 Annual Community Cookout

Find us on Facebook or check out our website, rural resources.net, for upcoming family and farming events!

PremierClip production and photos: Lorelei Goff

Gross! Camp

  Rural Resources' second session of the 2015 Farm Day Camp  wrapped up on Friday with "Gross! Camp." First through 3rd-graders spent the week learning about bugs, dirt, worms, poop, pigs, wallowing in the mud, snakes, and even cow farts! They smelled, tasted, looked at and touched all manner of gross things. They enjoyed lots of traditional Farm Day Camp fun, too, like playing in the creek and milking the cow. Click on the video below to see some of the fun!





Soundslide Production: Lorelei Goff
Photos: Emily Greenier and Lorelei Goff
Music: Heftone Banjo Orchestra via Creative Commons Music

Don't miss Thursday's Seasonal Supper on the farm!!!

Come out to the farm for food, fun, music and dancing!

      A scrumptious dinner is in the making for tomorrow night's Seasonal Supper on Rural Resources' Holly Creek Farm, courtesy of Farmer Melissa! Check out some of the delicious recipes on her blog, Eating Greeneville, including this one for fried green tomatoes and homemade basil mayonnaise. (How could anything with basil not be yummy!?!?!?)

Farm Day Camp: Too Much Farm Fun and Little Sprouts

      Farm animals, food, crafts, and a creek – it’s time for Rural Resources’ summer Farm Day Camp!

      In fact, two more sessions of Farm Day Campers scampered through Rural Resources’ Holly Creek farm over the last couple of weeks. Children from Pre-K through third grade took part in two sessions: Too Much Farm Fun Camp and Little Sprouts Camp.

      “I’ve milked a cow,” 7-year-old Corinne Southerland said, with a grin. “It was pretty cool. And I’ve played a lot of games.”

      Corinne’s big sister Grace, a seventh-grader, volunteered to help with the younger children in the Too Much Farm Fun session. Anticipating the start of her own FDC session, she talked about last year’s memorable camp moments.

      “Last year we went to Paint Creek,” Grace said. “And we went canoeing on the Nolichucky. That was my favorite! It was my first time in a canoe.”

      The opportunity to try new things is one of the things that keeps kids coming back, year after year. But Doak Elementary School teacher Margaret Ayers, who was there with her daughter, said there are many good reasons for kids to come to camp.

      “Being around the animals and being able to feed them,” Ayers said. “Just even being around the creek. These are things that kids don’t get to do every day. They see where food comes from and how animals live. Their understanding of food isn’t just from the grocery store.”

      Ayers also said she thinks this kind of an experience makes kids more compassionate to animals and each other, and opens the door to new friendships.

      “They’re all from different schools, so they’ve made new friends who have similar interests,” She said. ”I think it’s a great camp.”

      Sissy Rabern’s son, Wolfgang, participated in the Little Sprouts camp.

      “It’s a lot better than sitting inside, to actually get out and do stuff, like figure out where milk comes from,” Rabern said. “He absolutely loves it.”

      Doak Elementary School teacher Nick Baumann led the sessions and said he believes that tuning into students’ interest levels and keeping things fun is the key to successful summer learning at Farm Day Camp.

      “The highlight for most campers is probably creek time,” said Baumann, as Ben, a Little Sprout, climbed onto the creek bank cradling a freshwater shellfish in his hands.

      “I think they’re having a good time,” he said, taking the tiny creature from Ben’s cupped hands and giving him a sprout-sized biology lesson.

      Perhaps wide-eyed wonder and unending opportunities for discovery are the best reasons of all to come to Farm Day Camp.

Rural Resources will receive $300K grant!

      Thank you to all who helped Rural Resources reach its Capital Campaign goal for the construction of a new building! 

      The June 20 deadline found the final tally at 112 percent of the matching funds needed to qualify for a $300K grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

      Work can now go forward on the construction of a new, multipurpose Farm and Food Training Center that will house a certified teaching kitchen, bathrooms, classrooms, office space and a community meeting room.

      Because of your generosity, Rural Resources will be able to serve our community more effectively and comfortably.

      "As staff, we appreciate it because we feel like we’re clowns in a clown car," said Sally Causey, Rural Resources' executive director. "You know, packed into this office trailer, which we’re absolutely grateful for. ... But just to have a space that actually has a bathroom that flushes and not having to run out to the outhouse when it’s snowing or hailing or pouring down rain. And to be more efficient all the way around."

      But although the new facility will allow staff to work more efficiently and comfortably, it's about much more than having a building. 

      "The new building is not just about bricks and mortar," Causey said. "It’s about having the programming space that we need for the kids that we work with. The teens in particular are very anxious to get into a kitchen and having a situation where they’re harvesting the food from the garden and then preparing it in a more immediate kind of way."

       Causy said one of the biggest impacts will be the freedom the children will have to explore and pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.

      "The kids, more than anybody, they are just so anxious," she said. "They have all of these ideas for businesses and things that they can do, and they just need a space." 

      It's not too late to contribute to the project. Donations can be made, online or by mailing a pledge card, that will provide the equipment, furniture and miscellaneous needs to complete the vision. 

      Check back often to see what's happening on the farm!

Gross! Camp

      The Rural Resources’Farm Day Camp is a hands-on farming and food adventure that connects children of all ages with the natural world.

      Nick Baumann, a teacher at Doak Elementary, opened the Gross! Camp session on June 2^nd by introducing a pair of giant cockroaches to a lively group of 1^st – 3^rd grade students. 

      “When you touch them, remember they’re a bug,” Baumann admonished, placing them on a table with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “You don’t want to squeeze them, or it might get reeeaaal gross!”

      The children erupted into gasps and squeals of, “Eeewww!” and “Gross!”

     Baumann introduced a variety of smelly, slithery, creepy-crawly critters throughout the day – snakes, insects, pigs and rats to name a few – with an unexpected bonus of a tiny, pink, hairless baby in the rats’ nest.

      Baumann also produced a kitten. The children buried their fingers in its fur and hugged it to their chests, while he assured skeptics, who weren't convinced she qualified as gross, that “she has stinky gas.”

The week also included art, crafts, feeding farm animals, milking the cows, visiting the Rural Resources garden, playing games, climbing trees and exploring the cool, shaded creek during the afternoon heat.

      The days were filled with lots of amazement, laughter and good-natured bantering between Baumann and his campers.

      Although the sessions are pre-planned and structured, Baumann said one of the key principles to creating a positive experience for little campers is flexibility. He said he allows more time for activities they are enjoying or moves on to something else if they are losing interest.

      Campers represented a number of area schools, as well as the home school community.

      Watch for more Farm Day Camp adventure photos!