MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT
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USDA Specialty Crop Competitive Grant Program Eligible Specialty Crops |
On December 21, 2004, the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note) authorized the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide grants to State departments of agriculture solely to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) amended the Specialty Crops Competiveness Act of 2004 and authorized the USDA to provide grants to States for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.
Each State that submits an application that is reviewed and approved by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is to receive at least an amount that is equal to the higher of $100,000, or 1/3 of 1 percent of the total amount of funding made available for that fiscal year. In addition, AMS will allocate the remainder of the grant funds based on the value of specialty crop production in each state in relation to the national value of specialty crop production using the latest available cash receipt data.
In an effort to reach specialty crop initiatives throughout the state, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) established a competitive grant process for these funds. Based on previous funding cycles, VDACS expects to administer funds totaling approximately $500,000 for the development of Specialty Crop projects that will support and enhance the competitiveness of Specialty Crops in Virginia. VDACS will accept grant proposals with a value of up to $30,000. Once all proposals are submitted to VDACS, each will be carefully reviewed and evaluated based on the criteria listed in this application. All VDACS-approved projects will then be developed into one grant submission to the USDA. Upon approval from USDA, VDACS will notify applicants (sub-grantees) of their status. No final awards to any sub-grantee will be made until a final grant award is made to VDACS (grantor) by USDA. Final approval is expected by October of 2012, but is subject to change.
Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.” Specialty crops are plants that are intensively cultivated. There are many plants that are specialty crops when cultivated, but are also collected from wild populations. Wild plants are not considered specialty crops even though they may be used for the same purpose as cultivated plants.
Click here for a complete listing.
- Applications will be accepted from agricultural associations, industry / producer groups, community based organizations, and academia that seek to improve the competitiveness of specialty crops in Virginia.
- Applications for grant funds should describe how the project potentially impacts and produces measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and/or the public rather than a single organization, institution, or individual.
Guidelines / Instructions (FFY 2012)
Application Form (FFY 2012)
Submission deadline for the 2012 round of grant funding: April 2, 2012
February |
Submit final RFP to be published Announce grant opportunity on website and through press release and emails |
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April 2 |
Submission deadline |
April to June |
Evaluation of proposals |
Late July |
Submit State Plan to USDA |
September |
Send out award letters Send out grant agreements and project information packets Announce grant awards through press release |
October |
Projects will officially start on October 1 of the current year |
DUNS Number: All grantees are required to have DUNS numbers (Data Universal Numbering System) which is a system developed and regulated by Dun & Bradstreet that assigns a unique numeric identifier to a single business entity. This may be obtained online via this website or over the phone: 1.866.705.5711
CCR Registration: In addition to the DUNS number, all applicants must also be registered at the Federal Central Contractor Registration (CCR) site.
Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
Federal Fiscal Year 2006 SCBGP Project Abstracts
Federal Fiscal Year 2007 SCBGP Project Abstracts
Federal Fiscal Year 2008 SCBGP Project Abstracts
Specialty Crop Block Grant Program – Farm Bill
Federal Fiscal Year 2008 SCBGP-FB Project Abstracts
Federal Fiscal Year 2009 SCBGP-FB Project Abstracts
Federal Fiscal Year 2010 SCBGP-FB Project Abstracts
Federal Fiscal Year 2011 SCBGP-FB Project Abstracts
Click here for more information on the Federal rules and regulations.
For more information, please contact Melissa Ball Allensworth at Melissa.Ball@vdacs.virginia.gov