The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) is pleased to announce the competitive solicitation process to award Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funds for projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Idaho.
Donor Name: Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA)
State: Idaho
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/01/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Market Service (AMS) has allocated these funds to the states and ISDA will be passing through funds as competitive grants.
Funding Information
There are no minimum or maximum limits on the amount of funds that can be requested for one project, but the average grant amount in the past has been between $50,000-$100,000.
Eligible Grant Projects
- Enhance the Competitiveness of U.S. Specialty Crops
- To be eligible for a grant, the project(s) must enhance the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops in either domestic or foreign markets.
- Project areas may include, but are not limited to, the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops
- Pest and disease control
- Sustainability
- Enhancing food safety
- Developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops
- Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems
- 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 GroupGAP) for small farmers, packers and processors
- Investing in specialty crop research, including research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes.
- Benefit More Than One Product or Organization
- Applications for grant funds should show how the project potentially impacts and produces measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and/or the public rather than a single organization, institution, or individual. Grant funds will not be awarded for projects whose products or services promote or provide profit that solely benefits a single organization, institution, or individual. Single organizations, institutions, and individuals are encouraged to participate as project partners.
- Examples of Acceptable Projects
- A university requests funding to conduct research on the feasibility of planting, cultivating, and growing a specialty crop in a particular area, the results of which can be shared with many growers throughout the state.
- A non-profit organization requests funds to demonstrate the viability of organic small fruit production and partners with Cooperative Extension to publicize the working model of diversification to other regional growers.
- A single company requests funds to provide a viable pollination alternative to specialty crop stakeholders in the region, which currently does not have one.
- A single specialty crop organization requests funds to conduct an advertising campaign that will benefit their specialty crop members.
- A single farmer implements food safety practices or models on his/her property to meet food safety requirements and conducts a field day and training services to encourage other small family farmers to adopt the methods.
Eligible Entities
ISDA is seeking proposals from eligible non-profit organizations, local, state, and federal government entities, for-profit organizations, and universities for projects that aim to enhance the production and competitiveness of Idaho specialty crops.
For more information, visit ISDA.
