(HARTFORD, CT) – Today, Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt announced the Connecticut recipients of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. These projects aim to enhance the competitiveness of Connecticut’s specialty crops such as fruits and vegetables, horticulture, and nursery crops through marketing, education, and research.
Connecticut has received over $427,000 as part of $72.9 million in non-competitive FY 2025 funding awarded to 56 states and territories for 586 projects through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
“Over the past seven years, Connecticut has leveraged these federal dollars to invest more than $2.8 million in projects that will continue to advance the state’s specialty crops,” said Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt. “These projects are crucial to providing the research, education, and marketing to strengthen grower resources and continue providing residents throughout the state with access to CT Grown farm products and experiences.”
Through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, CT DoAg will fund four projects eligible for up to $100,000 each. Among CT DoAg’s projects is the evaluation of fungal populations responsible for anthracnose crown rot by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Additional funded projects will focus on developing a CT Urban Farmer Collaboratory through the University of Connecticut, advancements in nanobubble technology for irrigation systems conducted by the Connecticut Greenhouse Growers Association, and assessing the status and trends of emerging European corn borer resistance to bacillus thuringiensis corn in Connecticut through the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
For more information on the USDA’s SCBGP and awarded projects visit their website. To learn more about CT DoAg grant programs, visit https://portal.ct.gov/doag/services/grants.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) 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.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Rebecca Eddy, Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov
860-573-0323
