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) will release 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).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awards Specialty Crop Block Grants to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. In Vermont, the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets administers these funds to enhance the competitiveness of Vermont specialty crops. VAAFM plans to award approximately $200,000 in Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funds in 2019. Awards generally range from $10,000 to $40,000 and are granted for a period of up to 30 months.
Past and current projects include Development of a Wash-Down, Food-Grade, Stainless Steel Salad Spinner and Wash-Line Kit by Pitchfork Farm; Establishing a Vermont Herb Growers Cooperative by Zach Woods Herb Farm; Institutional Access to Vermont’s Surplus Crops by Salvation Farms; Expansion of a Vermont Maple Sugar House Food Safety Certification Program by Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association; Building the Demand for Fruits and Vegetables in Vermont Schools by NOFA-VT; and Leek Moth Monitoring and Management Study at UVM Department of Plant and Soil Science.
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) will be released on January 14, 2019 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.
Winemaker, Chris Granstrom of Lincoln Peak Vineyard surveys his Marquette grape crop. This is one of the producers involved in Vermont Fresh Network’s SCBGP project, “Increasing the Competitiveness of the Vermont Wine Industry in Vermont Restaurants”.
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.