MDARD Announces Specialty Crop Block Grant Opportunity

Proposals due by February 6, 2025

LANSING - Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring today announced a request for proposals through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBG) from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service.

The federal program works to enhance and support the competitiveness of the nation's specialty crops. Funding is contingent on approval and passage of the federal Farm Bill. Grant proposals must be submitted in the MiAgGrants System by 5:00 p.m. on February 6, 2025.

An informational webinar will take place on Monday, January 6, 2025, at 9 a.m. Visit the website for the link, no preregistration is required.

The grants have a maximum award of $100,000 for research proposals and $125,000 for marketing, training, and education proposals. Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture. A full list of specialty crops can be found on USDA's website.

Specialty Crop Block Grant Funding Priorities

• Market enhancement to promote specialty crops
o Market expansion, availability, and access to specialty crops
o Consumer Marketing Campaigns
o Feasibility Surveys
o Economic Impact Studies
o Farm to institution, including but not limited to restaurants, food service, grocery stores, schools and institutions.

• Research and development relevant to specialty crops

o Plant health & pest management
o Farm sustainability

• Training & education addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers

o Enhancing food safety
o Consumer Awareness Education to increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops
o Environmental sustainability
o Conservation
o Workforce and labor across the supply chain

Acceptable proposal activities include but are not limited to promotion, marketing, research, nutrition, trade enhancement, food safety, food security, plant health programs, education, increased knowledge and consumption, increased innovation, improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems, environmental concerns and conservation, product development, good agricultural practices, good handling practices, and good manufacturing practices.

Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, local, state, and federal government entities, and for-profit organizations. The organizations must be legal entities recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, and applicants must reside and/or conduct their business in Michigan. Proposals should demonstrate how the project will potentially produce measurable impacts for the specialty crop industry as a whole and not benefit only a specific product or a single organization, institution, or individual.

Those interested in applying for the grant program should visit the program website for additional details. All applications must be submitted through the MiAgGrants System. The grants are contingent on USDA's approval of federal funding expected in February 2025.

For more information on this and other MDARD grants, visit www.Michigan.gov/MDARDGrants.

###