In anticipation of receiving Specialty Crop Block Grant Funds from the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS), the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (WI DATCP) is announcing a competitive solicitation process to award USDAAMS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funds for projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of Wisconsin’s specialty crop industries.
Donor Name: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP)
State: Wisconsin
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 02/27/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000 and $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 years 7 months
Details:
Funding Information
Wisconsin SCBGP funds will be distributed to the specialty crop industry through a competitive review process. Competitive grants will be awarded for projects between $10,000 and $100,000.
Project Period
Anticipated project timelines include a start date no earlier than December 1, 2023 and completion no later than June 30, 2026. SCBG grant funds will be awarded for projects up to 2 years, 7 months in duration and must conclude by June 30, 2026
Eligible Projects-Program Priority Areas
- To be eligible for a grant, the project(s) must solely enhance the competitiveness of Wisconsin grown specialty crops and cannot benefit any non-specialty crops. Priority will be given to projects that have the potential to provide solutions that lead to measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and the public.
- Grant funds will not be awarded for projects whose products or services promote or provide profit that solely benefits a single organization, institution, business, or individual. Funds also cannot be used to compete unfairly with companies that provide equivalent goods and services.
- Projects must include a plan to disseminate project results to the targeted industry.
- Proposed projects must include documented support by the impacted specialty crop growers or industry sector. This may be illustrated by support from industry sector organizations or by individual letters of support from growers or processers.
For FY23, WI DATCP will accept applications pertaining to the following priority areas:
- Environmental sustainability, pest and disease control, and varietal improvement.
- Development of food safety practices, outreach, and education that assist with compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) certification.
- Increasing the demand for and supply of Wisconsin specialty crops.
- Industry innovation in production, processing, packaging, and distribution.
- Education for producers, processors, and the general public to improve production practices or increase sales or consumption of Wisconsin specialty crops.
Eligibility Criteria
Proposals will be accepted from non-profit organizations, producer organizations, government agencies, universities, and other organizations involved in Wisconsin agriculture. Individual producers, for-profit businesses and commercial entities may only apply if their project can demonstrate a significant benefit to the specialty crop industry regionally, statewide, or beyond. Proposals may involve collaborations or partnerships between producers, industry, academia, or agricultural organizations. Applicants may cooperate with any public or private organization.
Projects cannot include non-specialty crops even if other funding is used to pay for the non-specialty crop portion of the project.
All applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). The UEI has replaced the DUNS number as the primary means of entity identification for Federal awards government-wide. A UEI may be obtained by visiting sam.gov. Obtaining a number is free.
For more information, visit Specialty Crop Block Grants.
