I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5763 
To establish as a permanent program the organic market development grant 
program of the Department of Agriculture. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 
Ms. KUSTER (for herself, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. SALINAS, and Mr. PANETTA) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture 
A BILL 
To establish as a permanent program the organic market 
development grant program of the Department of Agri-
culture. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. ORGANIC MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CERTIFIED ORGANIC PRODUCT.—The term 
‘‘certified organic product’’ means an agricultural 
product (as defined in section 2103 of the Organic 
Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6502)) 
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that is organically produced (as defined in that sec-
tion). 
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means an entity described in subparagraph 
(B) that— 
(i) is owned and operated within— 
(I) a State; 
(II) the District of Columbia; 
(III) the Commonwealth of Puer-
to Rico; 
(IV) the United States Virgin Is-
lands; 
(V) Guam; 
(VI) American Samoa; 
(VII) the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands; or 
(VIII) the jurisdiction of a Tribal 
government; and 
(ii)(I) is certified in accordance with 
subpart E of part 205 of title 7, Code of 
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act / or suc-
cessor regulations); or 
(II) is in transition to certification. 
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(B) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) is— 
(i) a producer, producer cooperative, 
or other commercial entity that produces 
or handles certified organic products; 
(ii) a nonprofit corporation; 
(iii) a trade association; 
(iv) a public benefit corporation; 
(v) a philanthropic organization; 
(vi) a unit of Tribal, State, territorial, 
or local government; or 
(vii) such other entity as the Sec-
retary may designate. 
(C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ does not include an entity described in sub-
paragraph (B) the operations of which are sus-
pended or revoked under section 205.662 of 
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef-
fect on the date of enactment of this Act / or 
successor regulations). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(4) TRANSITION TO CERTIFICATION.—The term 
‘‘transition to certification’’, with respect to an eligi-
ble entity, means the period of time during which 
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the crops or livestock of the eligible entity, as appli-
cable, are managed in accordance with the require-
ments of the National Organic Program before being 
granted organic certification, which may include— 
(A) the management of cropland organi-
cally for not less than 3 years; 
(B) the management of slaughter of live-
stock organically from the last third of gesta-
tion; 
(C) the management of dairy animals or-
ganically for not less than 1 year; 
(D) the management of poultry organically 
from the second day of life; and 
(E) such other conditions as the Secretary 
may require. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Secretary, 
acting through the Administrator of the Agricultural Mar-
keting Service, shall establish a program, to be known as 
the ‘‘Organic Market Development Grant Program’’, 
that— 
(1) increases the capacity of the domestic or-
ganic product supply chain for producers, handlers, 
suppliers, and processors of certified organic prod-
ucts; 
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(2) modernizes manufacturing, tracking, stor-
age, and information technology systems specific to 
the purposes described in this subsection, such as 
process control or organic product ingredient track-
ing systems; 
(3) improves the capacity of eligible entities to 
comply with applicable regulatory requirements or 
quality standards required to access markets, such 
as requirements and standards relating to food safe-
ty and organic product certification; 
(4) expands capacity for storage, processing, 
aggregation, and distribution of certified organic 
products to create more and better markets for pro-
ducers of certified organic products; 
(5) facilitates market development for domesti-
cally produced certified organic products; 
(6) provides for the conduct of feasibility stud-
ies and market viability assessments to inform or-
ganic transition strategies and opportunities; 
(7) ameliorates barriers to entry to organic 
product certification for historically underserved en-
tities; 
(8) supports market and promotional activities 
that help build commercial markets for certified or-
ganic products in the United States; and 
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(9) provides technical assistance and outreach 
to program stakeholders and participants. 
(c) GRANTS.—For each fiscal year for which amounts 
are made available to carry out this section under sub-
section (k), the Secretary shall provide grants to support 
eligible entities in conducting activities in accordance with 
the purposes of the program described in subsection (b). 
(d) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, an eligible entity shall sub-
mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
(2) SIMPLIFIED PROCESS.—The Secretary shall 
implement a simplified application and award proc-
ess under this section for use by any eligible entity 
seeking to carry out an equipment-only project. 
(3) BENEFITS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), an application submitted 
under this subsection shall include a description 
of the direct or indirect producer or food busi-
ness benefits intended by the eligible entity to 
result from the proposed project within a rea-
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sonable period of time after the receipt of a 
grant under this section. 
(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 
not apply to any feasibility study or market via-
bility assessment conducted pursuant to this 
section. 
(4) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall establish 
such criteria for the evaluation and funding of pro-
posed projects under this section as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate. 
(5) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—The Secretary— 
(A) shall conduct a competitive process to 
select applications submitted under this sub-
section; 
(B) may assess and rank applications with 
similar purposes as a group; and 
(C) before accepting any application under 
this subsection, shall publish the criteria to be 
used in evaluating the applications. 
(e) PROJECT TYPES.—An eligible entity may use 
amounts received under this section to carry out, in ac-
cordance with such goals and deadlines for completion as 
the Secretary may establish, the following types of 
projects: 
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(1) Market development and promotion of cer-
tified organic products. 
(2) Certified organic product storage (including 
cold storage), aggregation, processing, and distribu-
tion capacity expansion. 
(3) Equipment-only. 
(f) TERM.—Unless otherwise determined by the Sec-
retary, a grant provided under this section shall have a 
term of not longer than 3 years. 
(g) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant pro-
vided under this section for a project described in 
paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (e) shall be not 
more than $3,000,000. 
(2) SIMPLIFIED EQUIPMENT-ONLY PROJECTS.— 
The amount of a grant provided under this section 
for a project described in subsection (e)(3) shall be 
not more than $100,000. 
(h) MATCHING FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under this section to carry out a 
project described in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub-
section (e) shall provide a non-Federal share equal 
to not less than 50 percent of the cost of the project. 
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(2) SIMPLIFIED EQUIPMENT-ONLY PROJECTS.— 
An eligible entity that receives a grant under this 
section to carry out a project described in subsection 
(e)(3) shall not be required to contribute a non-Fed-
eral share to the cost of the project. 
(i) INAPPLICABILITY OF PRIOR LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) QUANTITY.—The Secretary may provide a 
grant under this section to more than 1 eligible enti-
ty, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
(2) 
CONSTRUCTION
AND
STRUCTURAL 
CHANGES.—A grant provided under this section may 
be used by an eligible entity for— 
(A) new construction; or 
(B) any structural modification to an exist-
ing building or facility resulting in— 
(i) an expansion in the square footage 
of the building or facility; or 
(ii) a change to the floor, the founda-
tion, or an exterior or load-bearing wall of 
the building or facility. 
(j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 
provide to eligible entities technical assistance under this 
section, directly or through a cooperative agreement. 
(k) FUNDING.— 
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