By Kathryn Donovan, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets 
Heads up, Vermont specialty crop farmers, producers, and associations! The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) released a Request for Proposals for the 2019 Vermont Specialty Crop Block Grant Program on January 14, 2019.
This funding opportunity will provide awards for projects that strengthen Vermont specialty crop industries. Awards are not, however, meant to solely benefit individual businesses or organizations. Awarded projects will enhance the competitiveness of Vermont specialty crops defined as: fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture crops (including honey, hops, and maple syrup), and nursery crops (including Christmas trees and floriculture).
VAAFM strongly encourages projects proposing innovative partnerships and, in collaboration with statewide specialty crop industry stakeholders, has identified the following funding priorities (eligible project types):
- Development of innovative horticultural production practices to enhance farm viability and/or natural resource conservation
- Pest and disease management
- Enhancing food safety and improving the capacity of specialty crop businesses to comply with Food Safety Modernization Act or food safety audit program requirements
- Value chain enhancement—including strengthening relationships between producers, aggregators, processers, distributors, retail businesses and consumers—and technical assistance to enhance efficiency and business viability
- Market access (local, regional, national, or international), marketing, branding, and consumer education
- Producer collaboration—including establishing or strengthening producer associations and cooperatives
The Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found on the Agency’s website at agriculture.vermont.gov/vtscbgp.
VAAFM will conduct a webinar to provide an overview of the program, the 2019 application process— including USDA standards for outcome measures—and VAAFM’s online grants management system, WebGrants. Interested parties may register for the webinar at bit.ly/scbgpwebinar19.
Applicants to the Vermont SCBGP must submit a Letter of Intent by February 28, 2019. A review committee will invite the top-ranking projects to submit full proposals, which will be due in March 2019. Funds will be released in fall of 2019.
For questions regarding this grant opportunity, please contact:
Kathryn Donovan
AGR.SpecialtyCrops@vermont.gov
Visit www.ams.usda.gov/scbgp for more information about the SCBGP.