The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is accepting grant proposals for the 2024 Horticulture Fund to support Michigan’s nursery and ornamental horticulture businesses.
Donor Name: Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
State: Michigan
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/22/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Horticulture Fund dollars should complement, not replace, ongoing programs or assist in exploring new ventures. To allow evaluation and assessment of productivity, projects must deliver clearly defined results within a realistic time frame. All proposals must clearly state how the proposed activities will enhance Michigan’s ornamental horticulture. All proposals will be reviewed by a Horticulture Fund Advisory Committee appointed by the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). All proposals must fall under one of three categories for funding. The three categories are:
- Applied Research,
- Basic Research and
- Outreach/Training/Demonstration.
Program Areas
- Applied Research
- Proposals must focus on priorities identified by plant commodities and other commodity partners. Crop management systems that enhance industry profitability while being environmentally and socially responsible, and provide long-term benefits to Michigan’s nursery and ornamental horticulture industry are appropriate for this program area. Proposals that address priorities of more than one commodity will be favored. Proposals must contain a plan to disseminate information to industry.
- Projects may address issues through single discipline or multiple discipline approaches. Multidisciplinary projects involving multiple investigators must demonstrate effective integration.
- Basic Research
- A portion of the Horticulture Fund awards will be used to support basic research to generate knowledge that can be used to address contemporary problems and/or enable the future development and implementation of improved techniques or processes. Linkage to plant commodity priorities is important. Proposals that position investigators to be competitive for national/international grants will be favored. Proposals should include a vision and plans for the improvement of the performance of Michigan nursery and horticultural plants and how the results will be disseminated to the plant industry. Greater priority will be given to Applied Research than to Basic Research.
- Outreach/Training/Demonstration
- Proposals for outreach, training and demonstration activities focused on assisting Michigan’s nursery and ornamental horticultural industries, will be considered in this program area. Proposals must address plant commodity priorities. Programs may have a regional or statewide orientation. Projects that utilize a team of state, university and field-based personnel are encouraged.
Funding Information
This is a competitive grant program. Horticulture Fund grants will be awarded up to a maximum annual amount of $20,000 per approved proposal.
Criteria
All faculty and staff members of universities and colleges in Michigan are eligible to receive funding, as well as teams of university/college investigators and private individuals. University or college personnel must be the Principal Investigator of the proposal.
For more information, visit MDARD.
