The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a couple of months ago the availability of more than $330 million to help agricultural producers and organizations in the food supply chain recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, and includes $169.9 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) and approximately $80 million in payments to domestic users of upland and extra-long staple cotton. But signup for this program ends Friday, June 11.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is providing $169.9 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) to fund innovative projects designed to support the expanding specialty crop food sector and explore new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products.
USDA will provide approximately $80 million in additional payments to domestic users of upland and extra-long staple cotton to support textile mills impacted by the pandemic. Under this one-time payment program, known as the Pandemic Assistance for Cotton Users (PACU) program.
Applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 11, 2021. Any grant application submitted after the due date will not be considered unless the applicant provides documentation of an extenuating circumstance that prevented their timely submission of the grant application. For more information about grant eligibility, visit the SCBGP website.