The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) requests applications for funding made 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: 04/10/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
For the purpose of this grant program, “specialty crops” are defined as: vegetables and fruits, including grapes for wine, nuts, horticultural products including Christmas trees, honey, herbs, potatoes, sweet corn, and other specialty crops, including algae.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture 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.
Funding Information
Funding for projects up to $40,000 will be available to selected and approved applicants.
Examples of Acceptable Projects
- 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 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 Projects
- Projects must “enhance the competitiveness” of specialty crops by:
- Leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops
- Assisting producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops
- Expanding availability and access to specialty crops
- Addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers.
- 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.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include organizations who submit projects that enhance the competitiveness of New Jersey Specialty Crops in either domestic or foreign markets. Applications for grant funds should describe how the project potentially affects and produces measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and/or the public, rather than a single organization, institution, or individual. To strengthen the competitiveness of your application, single organizations, institutions, and individuals are encouraged to participate and apply as project partners.
For more information, visit NJDA.
