USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service Wednesday announced $72.9 million in grants awarded to 55 states and territories through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
The grant program provides funding to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and support specialty crop growers through marketing, education, and research.
Fiscal year 2023 funding is awarded to the departments of agriculture in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
States are encouraged to sub-award funding to projects that address the needs of U.S. producers of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops.
Funded projects include investing in food safety, specialty crop research, including research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes, developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops, and pest and disease control. This year's awards mark over $1 billion invested in nearly 12,000 projects supporting the U.S. specialty crop industry.
-NAFB