The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) to award grants to eligible State departments of agriculture to carry out projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.
Donor Name: Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/02/2024
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The SCBGP assists State departments of agriculture in the 50 States to 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; and
- addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers.
Specialty crops are fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture). A State department of agriculture is the agency, commission, or department of a State government responsible for agriculture within the State.
Project Types
States are encouraged to develop projects addressing 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
- 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; and
- Sustainability
Funding Information
Available Funding Award Period Start Date End Date Farm Bill Funds (annual funding) $72.9 million.
Award Period
- Start Date September 30, 2024
- End Date September 29, 2027
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants are State departments of agriculture in the 50 States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands. A State department of agriculture is the agency, commission, or department of a State government responsible for agriculture within the State.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
