# 119-s-3717: Opportunities in Organic Act

119-s-3717, Opportunities in Organic Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3717
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3717
- Congress: 119
- Title: Opportunities in Organic Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-28
- Sponsor: Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT)
- Cosponsors: 12
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Consolidates and expands federal support for organic agriculture** by replacing the national organic certification cost-share with an Opportunities in Organic program that would fund certification, transition assistance, technical help, and organic supply-chain development. It would prioritize socially disadvantaged farmers, small and mid-sized farms, and vulnerable or under-resourced regions. - Producers and handlers would get federal certification cost-share payments up to $1,500 per operation. Payments above $1,500 are allowed in high-cost areas and for members of socially disadvantaged groups. - Eligible nonprofit organizations would receive one-time, four-year transition and resilience grants to recruit transitioning producers, develop organic system plans, provide translation and recordkeeping help, run mentor programs, expand land access, and build cooperatives and handling operations. - The Secretary of Agriculture would administer the program and expand regional USDA technical assistance. The program would require quarterly coordination among funded entities and annual regionally aggregated reporting on participants, transitions, barriers, and capacity. *Would authorize $50 million for FY2027 and FY2028, $80 million for FY2029, and $100 million for each of FY2030 and FY2031, totaling $380 million in authorized appropriations through FY2031.*

## Cosponsors (12)

- Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-01-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants and local help for organic transition: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund grants to eligible nonprofits to help farms transition to organic and to build organic supply chains. Grants could pay for outreach, certification help, recordkeeping, business planning, training, mentor stipends, on-farm research, and supply-chain projects. Producer…
- Help paying organic certification costs: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary of Agriculture pay certification costs for producers and handlers under the national organic program. The standard maximum payment would be $1,500 per producer or handler. The Secretary could approve payments above $1,500 for producers in regions with hi…
- New Opportunities in Organic funding: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a USDA 'Opportunities in Organic' program. It would authorize $50 million for FY2027 and FY2028, $80 million for FY2029, and $100 million for each of FY2030 and FY2031 (about $360 million total). The program would target certified organic producers and handlers, so…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-3717 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3717)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2295)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3717 (as of 2026-04-21).