Qualified Richmond County farmers can get financial incentives to grow organic foods, but they have to apply for them by March 12.

The sign-up period has already begun for organic farmers, or those making the transition to organic farming. They can receive up to $20,000 a year or $80,000 over six years under the state’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Organic Initiative.

“Farmers are aware of the interest in organic, and some believe there is potential there,” said Richmond County Cooperative Extension Service Horticulturist Page Burns. “However, there is also a hesitancy. It is a big change in production practices, and farmers are unsure if they can really sell the product at the price they would need to make the venture profitable,”

That’s where funds available through the organic initiative come into play.

The initiative provides the monetary assistance to farmers for a number of core organic conservation practices including cover crops, conservation crop rotation, prescribed grazing, pest management, nutrient management and forage harvest management.

It can also help pick up the tab on such general conservation practices as rotational grazing, erosion control and field borders.

The initiative is administered through the NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program, a voluntary conservation program reauthorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, according to a release from the NRCS.

Glen Allen farms 25 acres of produce, nut trees, fruit trees and hay in the Millstone community near Ellerbe. He said he has mulled over transitioning to organic farming for more than a decade.

“I have been interested in organic certification since 1998,” Allen said. “It is proven that produce grown in this manner increases vitamins and mineral content, not to mention quality and taste.”

He said that while plying his wares in regional farmer’s markets, he has noticed an increased interest in organic foods.

“Although organic, sustainable farming is labor and cost intensive, it is beneficial to offer a variety of products for an ever-increasing market share,” Allen said.

Applications for EQIP are taken throughout the year, but interested parties must apply by the deadline to be considered for fiscal year 2010 funding.

While no Richmond County farmers are currently certified as organic producers, Richmond County NRCS District Conservationist Vilma Mendez said there are plenty of farmers in the area who could potentially benefit from the program.

“Many farmers in other counties have applied for this program,” Mendez said. “Some of the counties are Stanly, Moore, Durham, Orange, Chatham and many others in North Carolina. I know we have potential candidates in Richmond County that could benefit from this program.”

Applicants who are planning to transition to organic farming will need to submit a self-certification form acknowledging the farmer agrees to develop and implement conservation practices for certified organic production. The forms may be obtained at the county’s NRCS office in Rockingham.

Some participants, such as limited resource or socially disadvantaged farmers, are eligible to receive a higher payment rate.

For more information, contact the Rockingham Field Office, located at 123 Caroline St., Suite 300 in Rockingham. The phone number is (910) 997-8244. There is also information available on the NRCS Web site at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/SLB_Farmer/.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.