(HARTFORD) The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DoAg) is pleased to announce the competitive solicitation process to award Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funds for projects that enhance competitiveness of specialty crops in Connecticut.  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has allocated these funds to the states through H.R. 133 Stimulus Funding and CT DoAg will be passing through funds as competitive grants. Priority will be given to projects that respond to COVID-19 impacts. 

There are no minimum or maximum limits on the amount of funds that can be requested for one project, but the average grant amount in the past has been between $50,000-$100,000.

The application deadline is Tuesday, June 27, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. to AGR.grants@ct.gov. 

“Connecticut is pleased to offer eligible applicants an additional opportunity to fund initiatives which will benefit a wide variety of specialty crop producers who were impacted by COVID-19,” Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said. “This is an opportunity to respond to risk and supply chain disruptions that were discovered and implement market adaptations with projects benefiting a variety of businesses.”

Eligible applicants include commodity groups, agricultural organizations, colleges and universities, municipalities, state agencies, and agricultural nonprofits. In addition, individual businesses and specialty crop producers will also be eligible as USDA provides funding under this program for entities that otherwise would not be allowable under the Farm Bill funded SCBGP. 

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/ADaCoRC/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.

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For Immediate Release: Friday, June 3, 2022
Contact: Rebecca Eddy, 860-573-0323, Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov

http://www.ctgrown.gov