Grants for Specialty Crops

 Specialty crop projects across Idaho will soon receive funding from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture thanks to the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.  The State of Idaho was allocated $876,435.46 for projects that would enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. 

In May, the Department announced a competitive grant process and began accepting applications.  Thirty-one grant applications were submitted at a total request of nearly $2.8 million.  A panel of industry representatives reviewed and scored all applications and provided input to ISDA for final selection.  A total of eleven projects were selected for funding.  These projects include research for commodities such as potatoes, beans, apples, grapes, and mint; as well as educational, value-added processing, and promotional activities. ISDA spokesperson Lacey Menasco says this is not a part of the you know what recovery program: “The Specialty Crop Block Grant is part of the Farm Bill, so that’s not stimulus money which a lot of people think, and it was given out to the individual states to use as they saw fit and Idaho decided to use our funds to do a competitive grant program.”

OK. Good for the Farm Bill and we’re all still waiting to find out what the stimulus package is ever going to achieve. No one can eat cash for clunkers. David Sparks…Idaho AgInfo.net.