From the Georgia Department of Agriculture:
The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014 USDA/AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant. The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funds projects that “enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.” Specialty crops are defined as: fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, Christmas trees, turfgrass/sod, nursery and greenhouse crops, including floriculture. Please see specific listing of all eligible crops at www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/scbgp.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has made grant funding available, with Georgia’s share being approximately $1.4 million. These funds are dispersed to projects that research and/or promote specialty crops in Georgia. This year, 22 projects were awarded to various organizations including: Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Eastern Cantaloupe Growers’ Association, Georgia Agritourism Association, Georgia Blueberry Growers Association, Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, Georgia Green Industry, Georgia Organics, Georgia Peach Council, Georgia Pecan Growers Association, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation, Georgia Watermelon Association, Hospitality Education Foundation of Georgia, The Mustard Seed Projects, University of Georgia, Vidalia Onion Committee, and Vineyard and Winery Association of West Georgia.
“The goal of this grant program is to help fund projects that can produce the highest degree of measurable benefits to Georgia’s specialty crop producers, in relation to each dollar spent,” said Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. “We encourage organizations such as nonprofits, commodity commissions, associations, state and local government entities and colleges and universities to consider applying.”
Please refer to the links available on the GDA grants webpage located at www.agr.georgia.gov/grants.aspx for more information on this grant. For additional questions please contact Jeanne Maxwell at Jeanne.Maxwell@agr.georgia.gov or 404-657-1584.