MDARD announces specialty crop grant opportunity
The program is designed to enhance the competitiveness of Michigan’s specialty crops. Grant proposals must be emailed to MDARD at MDA-grants@michigan.gov by 3:00 p.m. on February 27, 2020.
Specialty crops are defined as “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).”
The grants have a maximum award of $100,000 for research proposals and $125,000 for marketing, training, and education proposals designed to enhance the competitiveness of the state’s specialty crops, including but not limited to the following: promotion; marketing; research; 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.
Funding priority will be given to projects with a focus on Market Enhancement (Market Expansion and Access and Farm to Institution); Research (Health; Pest Management; Farm Sustainability); and Training and Education (Food Safety; Environmental Sustainability; Workforce/Labor).
Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations; local, state, and federal government entities; and for-profit organizations. The organizations must be legal entities recognized by the IRS, and applicants must reside and/or conduct their business in Michigan. Proposals should demonstrate how the project will potentially produce measurable impacts for the specialty crop industry as a whole, and not benefit only a specific product or a single organization, institution, or individual.
For program information, application form, and submission criteria, visit www.michigan.gov/mdardgrants.