MN Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)

Next predicted deadline: Mar 7, 2024 2:00pm PST (Letter of inquiry)

Later predicted deadlines: Mar 15, 2024 2:00pm PDT (Full proposal)

Grant amount: US $20,000 - US $125,000

Funding uses: Project / Program, Education / Outreach, Research

Location of project: Minnesota

Location of residency: Minnesota

Overview:

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Grants 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 percent or more specialty crop content, by weight; exclusive of added water. A comprehensive list of eligible specialty crops is available on the USDA's web site.

Funding Priorities

Minnesota is seeking projects for our 2023 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 and awareness, 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.

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website.