Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Farm Bill 2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is inviting applications for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Farm Bill 2024. This program aims to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through the awarding of grants to eligible State agricultural departments.

The grant is intended to assist these departments across all 50 States, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Funded projects aim to boost the competitiveness of specialty crops, which include fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).

The program plans to achieve its objectives by supporting marketing efforts for specialty crops, aiding producers with relevant research and development, increasing the availability and accessibility of these crops, and addressing any local, regional, or national challenges faced by specialty crop producers.

The State agricultural departments, which comprise agencies, commissions, or departments of each State's government overseeing agriculture, are the potential beneficiaries of this program's grants for the fiscal year of 2024.