The Indiana State Department of Agriculture is seeking project proposals from the specialty crop industry in the state to present for funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Donor Name: Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA)
State: Indiana
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 03/08/2022
Size of the Grant: $486,095.35
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture administrates the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) for Indiana. ISDA encourages applicants to develop projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops pertaining to the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:
- enhancing food safety;
- assisting all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain in developing “Good Agricultural Practices”, “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 research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes;
developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops; - pest and disease control;
- development of organic and sustainable production practices;
- increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops;
- improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems;
- developing local and regional food systems;
- improving food access in underserved communities;
- support and promotion of the hydroponic/aquaponic industry;
- education and outreach to farmers to provide best practices; and
- research and outreach on value-added products and the marketing of these products.
Funding Priorities
ISDA funding priority will be focused on three main areas, listed below in order of importance to the department:
- Funding Area I: Market Enhancement
- Funding Area II: Access, Education and Training
- Funding Area III: Research
Please note that projects can span multiple funding areas, and if so, may be considered more strongly by ISDA Executive Staff during final proposal selection.
Funding Information
Indiana’s grant allocation for this funding opportunity is $486,095.35.
Grant Duration
Grant awards are for up-to a two (2) year period, roughly September of 2022 – September of 2024, during which the approved project must be completed, and all funds drawn.
Eligibility Criteria
- Non-profit and for-profit organizations, governments and public or private colleges and universities are eligible to apply. Individuals are not allowed.
- If the lead applicant has previously received any SCBG funds through ISDA, the applicant must not have any overdue grant reports or closeout documents at the time of application or at any point during the competitive review process. If the lead applicant is found as noncompliant, its application may be considered ineligible for this opportunity.
- All applicants must have a Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) or a Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov when submitting a proposal, or it will be rejected. A DUNS number is a unique, nine-character, number regulated by Dun & Bradstreet used to identify an organization.
- The federal government utilizes the DUNS number to track the allocation of federal funds.
For more information, visit Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
