More Than $80 Million To Help Strengthen U.S. Specialty Crops

By USDA|August 23, 2024

USDA announced it is awarding $82.3 million to 65 recipients to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops — including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops — and support the industry’s producers. The funding is being awarded through USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) and the Specialty Crop Multi-State Grant (SCMP) Program.

These programs expand markets and increase competitiveness of the specialty crop industry and increase access to specialty crops for consumers. The Specialty Crop Block Grant and Specialty Crop Multi-State programs are funded by the 2018 Farm Bill and administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

Through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, USDA is awarding $72.9 million to 54 states and territories to support specialty crop growers through marketing, education, and research. The states and territories use the funding to provide subawards to projects that focus on areas such as investing in food safety, research on conservation and environmental outcomes, developing new and improved seed varieties, and pest and disease management. To date, USDA has invested more than $1 billion to more than 12,400 projects through this program.

Additionally, $9.4 million is being awarded to 11 projects through the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program. The program funds collaborative multi-state partnerships to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty Crop Multi-State grants address regional or national level specialty crop issues through research, crop-specific projects addressing common issues, and marketing and promotion.

For examples of funded projects, continue reading at ams.usda.gov.