The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) requests applications for the funding available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) to carry out projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.
Donor Name: New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA)
State: New Jersey
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/07/2023
Details:
For the purpose of this grant program “specialty crops” are defined as vegetables, fruits including grapes for wine, nuts, horticultural products including Christmas trees, honey, herbs, potatoes, sweet corn, and other specialty crops including algae. Agricultural commodities which are NOT eligible for these grant funds include, but are not limited to: feed crops, food grains, seafood, livestock, dairy, and poultry products including eggs, range grasses, and oilseed crops.
To be eligible for a grant, projects must “enhance the competitiveness” of specialty crops by:
- leverage efforts to market and promote specialty crops;
- assist producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops;
- expand availability and access to specialty crops; and/or
- address local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers.
The projects might include but are not limited to: research, promotion, marketing, nutrition, trade enhancement, food safety, food security, plant health programs, education, “buy local” programs, increased consumption, increased innovation, improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems, environmental concerns and conservation, product development, and developing cooperatives. The NJDA encourages applications that benefit smaller farms and new beginning farmers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities. For projects intending to serve these entities, applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when developing projects and applications.
Organizations are encouraged to develop projects pertaining to the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:
- Enhancing food safety
- Improving the capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (21 U.S.C. Chapter 27), for example, developing “Good Agricultural Practices,” “Good Handling Practices,” “Good Manufacturing Practices,” and in cost-share arrangements for funding audits of such systems (including USDA Group GAP) for small farmers, packers and processors;
- Investing in specialty crop research, including research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes;
- Developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops;
- Pest and disease control;
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops;
- Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems; and
- Sustainability.
Funds will be available to selected and approved applicants after October 1, 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a grant, projects must “enhance the competitiveness” of specialty crops and might include, but are not limited to: research, promotion, marketing, nutrition, trade enhancement, food safety, food security, plant health programs, education, “buy local” programs, increased consumption, increased innovation, improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems, environmental concerns and conservation, product development, and developing cooperatives.
For more information, visit NJDA.
