{"id":28434,"date":"2024-08-23T09:15:54","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T13:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=28434"},"modified":"2024-08-26T15:03:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T19:03:19","slug":"department-announces-recipients-of-usda-specialty-crop-block-grant-program-funds-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2024\/08\/23\/department-announces-recipients-of-usda-specialty-crop-block-grant-program-funds-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Department Announces Recipients of USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Funds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"28435\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2024\/08\/23\/department-announces-recipients-of-usda-specialty-crop-block-grant-program-funds-2\/attachment\/resilient-food-systems-infrastructure-program-grants-announcement-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png?fit=940%2C788&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"940,788\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program Grants Announcement (3)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png?fit=760%2C637&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-28435\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png?resize=300%2C251\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png?resize=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png?resize=768%2C644&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Resilient-Food-Systems-Infrastructure-Program-Grants-Announcement-3.png?w=940&amp;ssl=1 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 23, 2024)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The\u00a0<strong>Maryland Department of Agriculture<\/strong> has announced that six projects will be awarded funds through the <strong>U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/maryland_products\/Pages\/Specialty-Crop-Block-Grant-Program.aspx\">Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP)<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to enhance the competitiveness of Maryland specialty crops.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cMaryland\u2019s specialty crops are an increasingly critical part of our state\u2019s agriculture industry as more farmers begin to diversify their operations and enter new niche markets,\u201d said\u00a0<strong>Maryland Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks<\/strong>. \u201cThe funds granted by the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program are vital to the success of the specialty crop sector in Maryland and I am thrilled to announce this year\u2019s six grant recipients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The projects were selected after a competitive review process with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and an external review committee composed of representatives from the specialty crop industry, lending institutions, economic development, and producers. A total of $400,000 in grant funds will be distributed to the following six projects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrithrive.org\/\">AfriThrive<\/a>\u00a0will receive $30,237.84 to support immigrant and refugee beginner farmers across three counties in Maryland to cultivate, preserve and increase demand for African specialty crops. AfriThrive will provide culturally sensitive technical assistance to build the capacity of African specialty crop growers and develop strategic partnerships and networks for growth and sustainability of African specialty crops.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/futureharvest.org\/\">Future Harvest<\/a>\u00a0will receive $35,642.54 to support farmers in building and reaching a larger consumer base by creating a digital library of marketing materials &#8211; searchable by produce item &#8211; that educates consumers on how to store, prepare, cook, process or freeze specialty crops grown in the mid-Atlantic region. The digital collateral will be created and shared in consultation with other regional marketing entities, including Chesapeake Buy Fresh Buy Local, Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission and Maryland&#8217;s Best.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/foodfeedquality\/Pages\/food_quality_assurance.aspx\">Maryland Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food Quality Assurance Program<\/a>\u00a0along with the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland Extension,\u00a0 University of Maryland, Baltimore, Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) will receive $129,057.10 to partner together to provide coordinated food safety programs to assist specialty crop producers in complying with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act\u2019s Produce Safety Rule and maintaining and gaining market access through successful completion of GAP audits. Program will accomplish these goals by providing formal and informal trainings, webinars, videos, educational materials, certification of compliance of food safety plans and practices, food safety technical assistance, cost share funds to assist in the implementation of effective food safety practices, and verifying efficiency of food safety practices through inspection and certification of compliance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">The<a href=\"http:\/\/marylandsbest.net\/\">\u00a0Maryland Department of Agriculture\u2019s Maryland\u2019s Best<\/a>\u00a0will receive $134,976 to increase sales and consumer demand for Maryland-grown specialty crops through targeted advertising, strategic consumer and wholesale promotions, networking events, and direct partnerships with Maryland specialty crop producer associations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mpt.org\/programs\/farm\/\">Maryland Public Television\u2019s \u201cMaryland Farm &amp; Harvest\u201d<\/a>\u00a0will receive $35,000 to support specialty crop coverage in season 12 of the agriculture series. These segments will explain the production of specialty crops, introduce Marylanders to farmers who grow specialty crops, and provide recipes for specialty crops.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/marylandwine.com\/\">Maryland Wineries Association<\/a>\u00a0will receive $35,086 to partner with University of Maryland, College Park to support UMD\u2019s cultivar research, host annual tastings to understand the grapes\u2019 characteristics, and update the MWA website to host resources, and disseminate research results, for vineyard managers and winery owners.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Funding is provided to state departments of agriculture from the Farm Bill through the\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ams.usda.gov\/\">USDA Agricultural Marketing Service<\/a><\/strong>. \u200bThe Maryland Department of Agriculture administers funding received from the USDA SCBGP annually. The amount of funding received by the Maryland Department of Agriculture is based on specialty crop acreage and production value on an annual basis.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Maryland specialty crops include: fruits and vegetables, culinary herbs and spices, honey, hops, grapes, maple syrup, Christmas trees, and nursery crops.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">For more information about the USDA SCBGP, visit the department\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/maryland_products\/Pages\/Specialty-Crop-Block-Grant-Program.aspx\">\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0or contact Karen Fedor at (410) 841-5773 or scbgp.mda@maryland.gov.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center\"># # #<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center\">Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Facebook <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/mdagdept\">@MdAgDept<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 23, 2024)\u00a0\u2013 The\u00a0Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced that six projects will be awarded funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u00a0Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP)\u00a0to enhance the competitiveness of Maryland specialty crops. \u201cMaryland\u2019s specialty crops are an increasingly critical part of our state\u2019s agriculture industry as more farmers begin to<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2024\/08\/23\/department-announces-recipients-of-usda-specialty-crop-block-grant-program-funds-2\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28434"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28438,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28434\/revisions\/28438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}