Deadline: 10-Mar-22
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has announced the 2022 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to fund projects that will increase the competitiveness of Minnesota grown specialty crops in domestic and foreign markets.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines specialty crops as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, floriculture, and processed products that have 50% or more specialty crop content by weight, exclusive of added water.
Funding Priorities
Minnesota is seeking projects for the 2022 SCBG that pertain to the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:
- Improving distribution systems and marketing of specialty crops, such as reducing costs, increasing promotion, or creating new methods to achieve and sustain profitable businesses.
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops.
- Researching and developing of techniques that focus on pest or disease control.
- Developing new or improved specialty crop seed or plant varieties.
- Researching and developing techniques to increase sustainable production of specialty crops, including growing season extension, adaption to drought and floods, strengthening seed and crop systems, and increasing soil health.
- Improve capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, for example, developing “Good Agricultural Practices,” “Good Handling Practices,” “Good Manufacturing Practices,” and other support for farmers, packers, and processors to enhance food safety.
Funding Information
Applicants may request a grant award of at least $20,000 up to a maximum of $125,000 per project that spans up to 2.5 years.
Eligible Projects
Projects must enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops that are grown in Minnesota 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; or
- Addressing local and regional challenges confronting specialty crop producers.
Eligibility Criteria
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The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) encourages the following groups to apply for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP):
- nonprofit organizations
- producer organizations
- government agencies
- universities
- other agricultural groups
- For-profit entities, farms, and other businesses who want to develop sector-wide research and development projects are also eligible.
For more information, visit MDA.
For more information, visit https://www.mda.state.mn.us/business-dev-loans-grants/specialty-crop-block-grant