Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced two U.S. Department of Agriculture investments designed to support the U.S. specialty crops industry. The launch of the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) initiative will provide $65 million for projects that will help the specialty crop sector increase global exports and expand to new markets.
Additionally, today USDA is announcing $72.9 million in grant funding available to support the specialty crops industry through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) will fund innovative projects designed to bolster the competitiveness of the expanding specialty crop sector. Specialty crop exports totaled $24.6 billion in FY2023, representing 13.8 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports.
“Specialty crop producers feed our nation and the world with nutritious fruits, nuts, and vegetables and supply our communities with horticulture products. Yet, they have unique challenges and opportunities to compete in the domestic market and a vast array of barriers that prevent their world-class products from entering foreign markets,” Secretary Vilsack said.
AMS encourages applications that serve smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities. Interested applicants should apply directly through their state departments of agriculture. A list of state contacts is available on the SCBGP website.
Applications from states and territories must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 2, 2024.
USDA news release
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