The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), is seeking project proposals from Indiana’s specialty crop sector for funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
This year, Indiana will be allocating $471,000.00 to selected projects through the USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which offers federal funding annually to state departments of agriculture to support their specialty crop industries.
Eligible projects must enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Indiana, defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops.
Funding will not be awarded to projects that benefit a particular commercial product, or provide a profit to a single organization, institution or individual. Each project must identify at least one of the USDA performance measures that specifically demonstrate the project’s impact on enhancing the competitiveness of eligible specialty crops.
ISDA is seeking projects that have objectives such as: increasing consumption and consumer purchasing, increasing access and distribution, increasing food safety knowledge and processing, developing new seed varieties and improving environmental sustainably, among other things.
ISDA and USDA encourage applications that benefit smaller farms, new and beginning farmers, underserved producers, veteran producers and underserved communities.
Applications open on Feb. 22, 2024 and are due by 12:00 p.m. ET on March 22, 2024. Proposals must be submitted online through the Indiana State Department of Agriculture’s Grants Management System. Indiana Specialty Crop Block Grant application resources are located on ISDA’s Grants and Funding Opportunities website.
Click HERE for more information.
Click HERE for a full list of eligible specialty crops.
Source: Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
