Michigan businesses now have more opportunities through grants by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Services.
The announcement comes from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) with funding of $1.88 million from the USDA.
The grant competition allows Michigan specialty crop farmers to expand their markets, both domestically and internationally. The purpose of the grant project is to ramp up competition with other states with specialty crops in areas including research, promotion, marketing, nutrition, trade enhancement, food safety, food security, plant health programs, education, increased knowledge and consumption, increased innovation, improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems, environmental concerns and conservation, product development, good agricultural practices, good handling practices, and good manufacturing practices.
The deadline for grant proposals is 3 p.m. on March 31. Grants, with a maximum award of $100,000, will be awarded to the nonprofit organization; local, state or federal government entities; and for-profit organizations that best demonstrate how the project will benefit the specialty crop industry as a whole.
Proposals must be emailed to MDARD at MDA-grants@michigan.gov.
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