The Montana Department of Agriculture is seeking applications for its Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) program to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Montana.
Donor Name: Montana Department of Agriculture
State: Montana
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 03/28/2022
Size of the Grant: $10,000
Details:
For purposes of the program, specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, peas and lentils, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).
Funding information
The funding amount requested must be a minimum of $10,000; there is no maximum.
Eligible Projects
USDA encourages entities to develop projects pertaining to the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:
- Enhancing food safety;
- Improving the capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (21 U.S.C. Chapter 27), for example, developing “Good Agricultural Practices,” “Good Handling Practices,” “Good Manufacturing Practices,” and in cost-share arrangements for funding audits of such systems (including USDA GroupGAP) for small farmers, packers and processors;
- Investing in specialty crop research, including research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes;
- Developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops;
- Pest and disease control;
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops;
- Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems; and
- Sustainability
Eligibility Criteria
State and/or local organizations, government entities, producer associations, academia, community-based organizations, and other specialty crop stakeholders are eligible to apply either as single entities or in combined efforts. Regional or multi-state projects may be considered.
For more information, visit Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.