More than $70 million will be distributed this year to winning applications from the USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
The USDA is now taking grant applications for $72.9 million in block grant funding, according to a news release. The grants fund projects designed to support the expanding specialty crop sector and explore new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, the release said.
“These specialty crop block grants will help states and territories target resources locally to increase the competitiveness of the specialty crops sector and support specialty crop growers through marketing, education and research,” USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt said in the release. “Since 2006, when the program began, USDA has invested more than $953 million through these block grants to fund nearly 11,000 projects that increased the long-term success of producers and created new and better markets for specialty crops in the U.S. and abroad.”
The program funds are allocated to U.S. states and territories based on a formula that considers both specialty crop acreage and production value, according to the release. Interested applicants should apply directly through their state departments of agriculture. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service manages this grant program and a listing of state contacts is available on its website.
Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., spoke about how the program has benefited Washington state, home to Wenatchee, also known as the “Apple Capital of the World.”
“The Block Grant program has been crucial to our state’s tree fruit industry,” Schrier said in the release. “Cutting-edge research at Washington State University on sustainable growing practices benefits Washington state and the country. Because specialty crops represent such a large share of Washington state’s economy, I will continue to work with my colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee to ensure robust funding for these research grants every year.”
The applications from the states and territories must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. EST May 3. Any grant application submitted after the due date will not be considered unless the applicant provides documentation of an extenuating circumstance that prevented their timely submission of the grant application, the release said.
For more information about grant eligibility, visit https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp or contact the SCBGP team at scbgrants@usda.gov.
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