The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is seeking applications for its Funds for Specialty Crops Feeding Strategic Growth, Sustainability.
Donor Name: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
State: Pennsylvania
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/02/2022
Size of the Grant: $460,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Pennsylvania Specialty Crop Block Grants enhance, rather than replace federal block grants. Priority for funding is for those crops that are ineligible for federal funds and designated as high priority in Pennsylvania: hemp, hardwoods, and honey; and hops, barley, rye and wheat for distilling, brewing and malting.
Eligible projects stimulate market growth and advance the competitive position of crops designated as high priority for their potential to feed Pennsylvania’s economy and boost environmental sustainability. Eligible projects boost the competitiveness and sustainability of specialty crops, for example, through research to increase conservation and environmental outcomes, enhance food safety, develop new and improved certified seed varieties, or improve pest and disease control.
A percentage of funds will be designated to projects in rural communities with at least 20 percent of the population below the federal poverty line.
Funding Areas
- Funding areas are intended to clearly define the SCBG Program priorities and help prospective applicants to both develop their projects and submit their projects in the most appropriate category.
- In practice, Full Proposals might seem to address elements from multiple funding areas. However, applicants must select one of the areas listed in the Full Proposal.
- Full Proposals should:
- Demonstrate a high likelihood of success.
- Describe the specialty crop grower benefit and grower connection to the project.
- Be scalable to the larger community.
- Demonstrate industry need and support.
- Illustrate a sustainable funding source beyond the life of the proposed grant; and
- Include an outreach component addressing how project results, research findings, and conclusions will be extended to specialty crop growers.
- Funding Areas:
- Agriculture Education and Outreach
- Nutrition Education and Consumption
- Environmental Crop Research/Conservation
- Enhancement of Food Safety/Food Security
- Plant Pest and Disease Control
- Trade Enhancements/Innovations
- Good Agricultural Practices
- Good Handling Practices
- Good Manufacturing Practices
- Organic and Sustainable Production Practices
Grant Period
All projects are subject to the availability of funds. Grant funds cannot be expended before October 1, 2023, or after September 29, 2026.
Guidelines & Uses
Projects must enhance the competitiveness of eligible specialty crops and benefit the eligible specialty crop industry as a whole and may include, but are not limited to, projects such as:
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops
- Participation of industry representatives at meetings of international standard setting bodies in which the Federal Government participates
- Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems
- Assisting all entities in the specialty crop distribution chains in developing good agricultural practices, including the use of cover crops for specialty crop production; good handling practices; good manufacturing practices; and in cost-share arrangements for funding audits of such systems for small farmers, packers and processors
- Investing in specialty crop research, including the use of cover crops for specialty crop production, organic research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes and enhancing food safety
- Developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops
- Pest and disease control
- Sustainability
For more information, visit PDA
