More Than $243 Million in Grants Awarded To Strengthen Specialty Crop Sector
USDA has announced an investment of more than $243 million in grants to support specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops through two agency projects – the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grants program.
$169.9 million will be flowing through the SCBGP. The funding, authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill ($72.9 million) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (H.R. 133) ($97 million), will provide non-competitive SCBGP funding to the departments of agriculture in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories.
The 56 grant recipients fund sub-awards for research, agricultural Extension activities and programs to increase demand for agricultural goods of value to farmers in their respective state or territory. Additionally, for H.R. 133 Stimulus funding, states were encouraged to prioritize projects that respond to COVID-19 impacts. This might include projects to assist farmworkers and projects to fund farmers, food businesses, and other relevant entities to respond to risks and supply chain disruptions.
A couple examples of SCBGP recipients include:
• The Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board will partner with researchers at Michigan State University to develop strategies to mitigate the destructive diseases that affect Michigan’s $23 million asparagus industry. Growers have reported up to 50% yield loss and a critical reduction in field longevity. Field studies will build on previous efforts to improve crop quality with the goal of a sustainable and resilient asparagus cropping system and capacity for increased yields and competitiveness.
• The New Mexico Department of Agriculture, in partnership with The National Center for Frontier Communities’ Southwest New Mexico Food Hub, will implement several strategies to help increase its ability to provide equitable market access and services for remote growers in the region, shift into self-sufficiency after COVID setbacks, and build a culture of food safety among its network of growers through trainings and certification.
A complete list of the SCBGP grant recipients can be found at https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp/awards.
In addition, USDA also announced an investment of nearly $74 million to 21 award recipients through its Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grants program. SCRI program investments address critical challenges facing conventional and organic food and agricultural production systems across the specialty crop industry.
A sampling of funded SCRI projects include:
• The U.S. strawberry industry farm gate value in 2020 was $2.3 billion. Despite using methyl bromide as soil fumigant, strawberry transplants sold to fruiting fields frequently are symptomless carriers for a range of devastating diseases. North Carolina State University’s project will address a critical need for the strawberry nursery industry to develop a new propagation technology, to minimize the spread of pathogens, find alternatives to the soil fumigant methyl bromide, and eventually reduce costs.
• One of the central tools employed by direct-to-consumer farmers are high tunnels. Purdue University’s project will use high tunnels on specialty crops farms to better understand the impacts of crop diversity on pests and beneficial insects to support local food production across four seasons.
• Foodborne illness caused by contaminated specialty crops is estimated to produce an annual burden to the domestic economy of approximately $18 billion. Texas A&M University’s project will develop novel spraying and dipping solutions and coatings to improve the microbiological safety of farming tools and accessories used in harvesting, storing, sorting, and processing specialty crops.
For the complete list of the 21 funded FY2021 SCRI grant recipients, visit https://go.usa.gov/xM97N.
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