The new U.S. Farm Bill could aid in transition to organic farming. In the new bill farmers may be offered up to $20,000 a year to help cover the transition costs. There could even be money to help offset the cost of certification.

These provisions are the most organic-friendly since the 1990 Farm Bill that established a program to standardize and certify organic agricultural products.

Among the farm bill provisions:

Organic farmers will be eligible to receive up to $20,000 a year, or a maximum of $80,000 during a six-year period, to cover the cost of transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture. The payments would come through USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which offsets the cost of measures that prevent pollution and conserve water and soil.

Farms lose money while moving to organic agriculture. Crop yields drop, and growers can't sell their crops as organic - and get organic prices for them - for three years. Farmers also have to start rotating corn and soybeans with lower-value crops such as wheat, oats and hay to help with soil fertility and pest control.

The government can pay up to 75 percent of a farm's certification fees, up to a maximum of $750. Both private companies and state agencies run certification programs, and fees can vary. In Iowa, the fees charged by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship average about $600 to $700 per farm, said Maury Wills, who oversees the state certification program.

The bill requires spending $78 million from 2009 through 2012 on organic research. Additional funding of $25 million is authorized but not required. The bill also authorizes higher budgets for the USDA's organic standards program and the department's price-tracking service for organic crops.

Changes to the Conservation Stewardship Program, which provides annual payments to farmers for improved environmental practices, will make it simpler for organic farmers to qualify.

Now this is not something that is going to cause a stampede from industrial farming models to organic ones. It does make the transition for those who want to make it a bit easier.