The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Bureau of Agriculture seeks Specialty Crop Block Grants (SCBG) program applications from Maine’s specialty crop industry to present for funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Donor Name: Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry
State: Maine
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 03/08/2022
Size of the Grant: $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The SCBG program is specifically designed to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.
Priority Areas
Each SCBG RFA includes priority areas. Proposals that directly align with one or more priority areas receive additional points in the scoring process and are more likely to receive a grant award. The priority areas for the 2022 SCBG RFA are below:
- Any application from the previous year was for a multiple-year term and was only funded for the first year of the project. For those projects that fit under this category, they must submit a new proposal and show progress from the first year’s funding in the work plan section of the proposal.
- Projects that enhance food safety education, primarily in relation to FDA rules regarding improved handling and processing of specialty crops.
- Projects to enhance soil and biotic health to improve pest management and biodiversity.
- Projects that market Maine specialty crops to diversified and expanded markets, or that research potential market expansion efforts and strategies.
- Projects that improve adaptation and increase resilience to climate-related crop disturbances in support of long-term farm business vitality and productivity.
Funding Information
The Department anticipates making multiple awards up to $100,000 each as a result of this RFA process.
- Start Date: 09/30/2022
- End Date: 09/29/2024
Eligibility to Apply
Provided their Applications meet all the specifications in this Request for Proposals and the USDA’s Notice of Federal Assistance, the following entities may be eligible to apply for this grant:
- Individuals
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Commodity groups
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Agricultural organizations
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Buy-local organizations
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Colleges and universities
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Producers, including Native American and disadvantaged farmers
- Municipalities
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State agencies
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Agricultural nonprofit organizations
If an individual or producer applies, they must have an agricultural organization or commodity group as a partner who has an accepted role in the project and include a Letter of Support from that organization (more than one LOS is encouraged). The project proposal must clearly demonstrate benefit to the broader specialty crop industry as a whole, rather than to the individual or organization. SCBG will not award grant funds for projects that benefit a particular commercial product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual. In addition, recipients and sub-recipients cannot use grant funds to compete unfairly with private companies that provide equivalent products or services. Single organizations, institutions, and individuals are encouraged to participate as project partners.
For more information, visit USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
