The state of Vermont is offering farmers new incentives to go organic. A new program called the Organic Transition Program offers farmers loans of up to $20,000 to defray the costs of switching to organic dairy production, according to a recent story in the Rutland Herald.

The program is sponsored by the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corp., a subsidiary of the Vermont Economic Development Authority, and by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, according to the article.
Participating farms must use feed grown on land that has been free of herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers for three years, and cows must be managed organically for 12 months.

The goal is to provide incentives for farmers to make the switch.The loan program is set up to help farmers defray costs during the 12-month set up time.

VEDA chief executive officer Jo Bradley told the Rutland Herald that those costs include 100 percent organic feed during the last year of the transition, fencing, barnyards and barn remodeling. Based on a 60-head farm, organic feed is estimated cost an estimated $20,000 more a year than conventional feed.

To be eligible for a loan, a farmer must be in the last year of transition to organic dairy production. The loans are interest-free for the 14 months following certification, Bradley said, after which farmers would pay the going interest rate for agricultural loans, currently 5.75 percent. All loans must be repaid within 62 months.