Source: USDA, 9/24/13

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will invest $52 million in grants to support America's specialty crop producers through the 2013 Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) Program awards. The funding includes 54 block grants to U.S. states and territories that will support 694 initiatives nationwide. These grants will assist producers of fresh fruits and vegetables and help strengthen markets for specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.  
"These investments will strengthen rural American communities by supporting local and regional markets and improving access to fresh, high quality fruits and vegetables for millions of Americans," said Secretary Vilsack. "These grants also help growers make food safety enhancements, solve research needs, and make better informed decisions to increase profitability and sustainability."

The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for fiscal year 2013 supports initiatives that:
•      Increase nutritional knowledge and specialty crop consumption
•      Improve efficiency within the distribution system and reduce costs
•      Promote the development of good agricultural, handling and manufacturing practices while encouraging audit fund cost-sharing for small farmers, packers and processors
•      Support research through standard and green initiatives
•      Enhance food safety
•      Develop new/improved seed varieties and specialty crops
•      Control pests and diseases
•      Create organic and sustainable production practices
•      Establish local and regional fresh food systems
•      Increasing healthy food access in underserved communities
The goal of the grant program is to promote and increase opportunities for specialty crop producers. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam received grants this year.

States and territories are also investing their funds from the 2013 Specialty Crop Block Grants in projects dealing with the following key issues:
•      Almost $3.4 million is going to initiatives that help new and beginning farmers
•      More than $4.3 million will support child and adult nutrition
•      More than $4.5 million will support projects focused Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices
•      More than $4.3 million will fund additional food safety initiatives
•      More than $14.3 million will support local and regional food systems
•      More than $8.5 million will support sustainable agricultural practices

North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

= Partner with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association to increase the production and sales of specialty crops and participating specialty crop farmers in the Down East Connect Farmers’ Market by conducting an advertising campaign torecruit new farmers to the virtual farmer’s market, bringing together rural farmers and urban consumers of Southeastern North Carolina, and performing training sessions for season extension of specialty crops. Matching funds will be utilized tocover expenditures for non-specialty crops

•Increase awareness of North Carolina’s green industry and increase sales for local growers by conducting a marketing campaign to direct consumers to the nearest local dealer

• Partner with the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association to increase sales of North Carolina nursery crops by conducting a marketing campaign to wholesale buyers promoting local sources of North Carolina grown plants

•Partner with the North Carolina Strawberry Association, Inc. to increase strawberry growers’ understanding of marketing through the web and social media by supporting training in using web/social media to help make outreach by the Association and its grower members more effective and transforming the Association’s website to make it mobile-friendly and accessible across multiple platforms

•Partner with Surry County to increase sales, marketing, and distribution of locally grown specialty crops at Pilot Mountain Pride (PMP), a local food marketing organization serving more than 100 farmers in Surry, Stokes and Forsyth counties that aggregates and sells fresh produce to area restaurants, retailers, and institutions, by developing a buy local campaign for PMP produce

•Partner with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association to increase the number of specialty crop seed varieties available to organic producers by providing workshops focused on seed saving techniques, on-farm variety trialing, and on-farm plant breeding; providing direct assistance to farmers conducting on-farm broccoli variety trials; sharing information on organic seed availability; and collaborating with North Carolina State University to expand on-farm broccoli variety trials to additional regions/locations in the state

•Partner with North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University to increase farmers’ knowledge of which vegetables can be grown profitably in high tunnels as well as the appropriate time to grow them by developing a calendar for warm and cold season vegetable production in high tunnels in the north central (Greensboro) and southeast regions (Goldsboro) of North Carolina

• Partner with North Carolina State University to increase the profitability and long-term economic sustainability of pecan orchards by providing educational resources to North Carolina pecan growers available in different formats on how to properly design, plan, and manage a pecan orchard with a high potential for success

= Partner with Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA to increase specialty crop growers’ risk management knowledge by providing education and further research on use of crop insurance and other methods of risk management, and for the refinement and submission of a direct market strawberry crop insurance policy to the U.S. Department of Agriculture

•Partner with North Carolina State University to increase grower efficiency and reduce labor costs by determining the machine harvest capability of advanced blueberry selections from the North Carolina State University breeding program, compared to cultivated commercial standards. Findings will be published in annual blueberry proceedings, presented at grower meetings, and demonstrated at field days

• Partner with North Carolina State University to improve yield for grower profitability and improve quality products for processors by developing methods for producing seedless pickling cucumbers in North Carolina

• Partner with North Carolina State University to conduct a feasibility study on growing stevia in western North Carolina and providing results of the study to potential growers through field days and a webpage

•Partner with the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission in collaboration with Duke University to increase sweet potato sales through positive health messages reaching consumers by determining the glycemic indices of sweet potatoes and related starches through various cooking methods and promoting the results to the public and to the scientific community

•Partner with North Carolina State University to improve the environment and economy of the nursery and Christmas tree industries by breeding and testing adelgid-resistant Fraser firs and hemlocks that will require little or no insecticide

= Partner with North Carolina State University to decrease the costs of nursery crop production and enhance herbicide efficacy and application efficiency by developing alternative and sustainable weed management practices and providing guidelines and educational materials to aid growers in adopting the best management practices

•Partner with North Carolina State University to decrease economic losses as a result of the high cost of controlling cucurbit downy mildew disease and/or inadequate disease management resulting in plant death and decreased yields by developing early detection tools, identifying targets for species-specific diagnostics that can be consistently detected and developing web-based educational tools about cucurbit downy mildew identification and control for cucurbit stakeholders

•Partner with North Carolina State University to decrease losses to sweet potato growers by identifying integrated management strategies for Rhizopus soft rot through the establishment of epidemiological factors influencing disease development, examining products for chemical control that are acceptable for organic and overseas markets, and exploring the use of ozone treatments to control Rhizopus soft rot in exported sweet potatoes. Results will be presented at sweet potato field days and through reports and publications

• Perform pre-award and post-award activities to administer Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding and ensure that the State Agency and sub-awardees abide by Federal and State requirements and regulations

Visit www.ams.usda.gov/scbgp to read the 2013 project summaries and view a list of awards by location.
The Specialty Crop Block Grants, administered by USDA's AMS are designed to help strengthen the market for specialty crops like fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. AMS encourages states to develop projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, sustain the livelihood of American farmers, and strengthen local economies.

Many of the grants announced this round contribute to the development of local and regional food systems. USDA coordinates its work on this issue through the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (KYF2), launched in 2009. KYF2 fosters new opportunities for farmers and ranchers and economic development in rural communities; promotes locally and regionally produced and processed foods; cultivates healthy eating habits and educated, empowered consumers; and expands access to affordable fresh and local food in underserved communities. KYF2 also leads a national conversation about food and agriculture to strengthen the connection between consumers and farmers.

An interactive view of USDA programs that support local and regional food system development is available at the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. The KYF Compass is a digital guide to USDA resources related to local and regional food systems. The Compass consists of an interactive U.S. map of USDA-supported local and regional food projects and an accompanying narrative documenting the results of this work through case studies, photos and video content.