Connecticut Department of Agriculture Announces Funding Opportunities For Connecticut Specialty Crops

Connecticut Department of Agriculture Announces Funding Opportunities For Connecticut Specialty Crops

(HARTFORD) The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DoAg) is now accepting applications for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) for the 2022 program year. Funding priorities include strengthening and improving food systems, improving food security and food safety, and implementing controlled environment agriculture production systems to adapt to climate change. Applications are due by March 10, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. to AGR.grants@ct.gov.

“Connecticut is pleased to offer eligible applicants an opportunity to fund initiatives which will benefit a wide variety of specialty crop producers,” Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said. “From marketing to research, participation in the Specialty Crop Block

Grant program further enhances our diverse agricultural production to strengthen our food systems and mitigate climate change.”

Eligible applicants include commodity groups, agricultural organizations, colleges and universities, municipalities, state agencies, and agricultural nonprofits. Projects must benefit the industry as a whole and not a single organization, business, or commercial product. As a result, individual farms or businesses are encouraged to apply and partner with other eligible applicants rather than apply themselves. This is a reimbursement grant with awards up to $99,999.

The goal of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is to solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in domestic and foreign markets. Specialty crops are defined as any fruit or vegetable, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture. Also included is honey, maple syrup, Christmas trees and processed foods/food products which are made of at least 50% specialty crops (excluding added water). An eligible plant must be intensively cultivated and used by people for food, medicinal purposes, and/or aesthetic gratification to be considered a specialty crop.

The project template, performance measures, and information required to apply are available online at https://portal.ct.gov/DOAG/ADaRC/Publications/Specialty-Crop-Block-Grant. For more information on the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, please visit the website, http://www.ctgrown.gov/grants and click on Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, or contact Rebecca Eddy at Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov or 860-573-0323.

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental, and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting, and regulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural resources; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture, its cultural heritage, and its contribution to the state's economy. For more information, visit www.CTGrown.gov.