The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awarded over $409,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding to Missouri. With this grant, the Missouri Department of Agriculture will fund projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crop products and create new market opportunities for the state’s specialty crop producers.
“With this year’s Specialty Crop Block Grant funding, Missouri is investing in innovative projects that will help address the needs of specialty crop producers within the region,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The funded projects will also further USDA’s efforts to ensure U.S. specialty crop products remain competitive in markets across the nation and abroad.”
Through the SCBGP, the Missouri Department of Agriculture will fund 10 projects. Among the department’s projects, is funding to the University of Missouri Extension to provide food safety education and training for beginning, and small and mid-sized fruit and vegetable processors operating in the state. Additional funded projects focus in areas such as research into new high yielding cultivars of pecans, education programs on specialty crops production, and disease detection.
“Specialty crops continue to play a large role in Missouri’s agriculture industry,” said Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn. “The projects funded through this grant each year help sustain a valuable segment of our industry. Projects both rural and urban are able to grow and succeed with the help of these funds. With the diversity of Missouri agriculture, I look forward to seeing how such projects will impact our state’s specialty crop industry in the future.”
The funding to Missouri is part of a total of $72.9 million in non-competitive FY 2023 SCBGP funding awarded to 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. The SCBGP funding supports farmers growing specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops. USDA’s support will strengthen U.S. specialty crop production and markets, ensuring an abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops, which are vital to the health and well-being of all Americans.
The funding for the SCBGP grants is authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and FY2023 funding is awarded for a three-year period beginning Sept. 30, 2023. Since 2006, USDA has invested over $1 billion through the SCBGP to fund nearly 12,000 projects that have increased the long-term successes of producers and enhanced marketing opportunities for U.S. specialty crops products.
More information about these awards is available on this webpage: 2023 SCBGP Awarded Grants (pdf).
