$800,000 in grants available for special crops in Phoenix area

The projects must demonstrate at least one of the new national outcome measures that can be found in the 2016 Specialty Crop Grant Program Manual.
The projects must demonstrate at least one of the new national outcome measures that can be found in the 2016 Specialty Crop Grant Program Manual. | File photo

Phoenix has received more than $800,000 in grant money from the federal Specialty Crop Block Grant for education and research on specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and nursery crops and to improve Arizona’s industry. 

Participants must be associations, educational institutions and state, local or community-based organizations with projects promoting the competitiveness of specialty crops that benefit more than just one commercial product, organization or individual.

“We have a rich combination of farmers and producers in our state, and many people don’t realize it,” Mark Killian, director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said. “This grant funding can help our industry educate people around the state, the country and the world about the vast diversity of specialty crops grown in Arizona.”

The projects must demonstrate at least one of the new national outcome measures that can be found in the 2016 Specialty Crop Grant Program Manual, which also includes instructions for downloading application packets and submitting grant application packets online.

Grant applications must be submitted to the department by April 18.