USDA Announces $72.9 Million in Grant Funding Awarded through Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced $72.9 million in grant funding awarded to 56 states and territories for 586 projects through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The program funds innovative projects designed to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through marketing, education, and research. The program is administered by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

States subaward funding to projects that address the needs of U.S. producers of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops. Funded project types include improving the capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain related to food safety, specialty crop research, developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops, pest and disease control; increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops; and improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems.

Since 2006, SCBGP has awarded over $1 billion to 13,030 projects. Funding for SCBGP is authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill.

For more information and to view a complete list of funded projects, visit the AMS SCBGP webpage.