More than $300,000 could be awarded
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Bill Northey, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture announced the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) will be accepting grant applications as part of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBP), as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service, is an initiative designed “to solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.”
“Specialty crops” are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).
“The Specialty Crop Block Grant funds can support food safety, research and marketing efforts that will encourage Iowans to choose the products that are produced right here in our state,” Northey said. “Specialty crops are a very important part of Iowa agriculture as they allow farmers to diversify and give customers access to locally grown products.”
The concrete amount of funding available for grants is still undetermined, but in 2014, Iowa received $307,610 and hope 2015’s funding will be a similar amount.
A maximum of $24,000 will be considered for grant recipients and projects can go on as long as 30 months. Agencies, universities, institutions, producers, industry and community based organizations are all eligible for applications and single individuals are encouraged to participate as a project partner.
The IDALS must receive proposals by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2015.
A committee is also being organized to review, evaluate, and aid in decisions of where the grants will be awarded.
Anyone interested in joining the committee must apply by Friday, March 27, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
Iowa’s top earning commodity in 2013 was corn, selling for almost $10 billion.