{"id":29589,"date":"2026-02-13T17:52:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=29589"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:54:21","slug":"29589","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/02\/13\/29589\/","title":{"rendered":"Department is now accepting proposals for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Department is now accepting proposals for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program<\/b><\/p>\n

Grant Applications Due by March 23, 2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 13, 2026)<\/b> \u2013 The <\/span>Maryland Department of Agriculture<\/b> (MDA) is now accepting proposals for the <\/span>Specialty Crop Block Grant Program<\/b>, a reimbursement grant program aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Maryland\u2019s specialty crops. M<\/span>DA anticipates that approximately $400,000 in funding may be available under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) and that these funds will be subject to <\/span>USDA\u2019s General Terms and Conditions<\/span><\/a>, effective December 31, 2025; prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to review these terms and conditions before applying for a grant under this program, as grant awardees will be subject to them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program is seeking applications from eligible non-profit organizations, government entities, for-profit companies, and other organizations for projects that aim to promote or enhance the production of and access to Maryland specialty crops.<\/span> Specialty crops<\/span><\/a> are defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as fruits, vegetables, culinary herbs and spices, honey, hops, grapes, maple syrup, Christmas trees, and nursery crops.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaryland’s specialty crops sector holds tremendous potential for innovation and growth,\u201d said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks. \u201cThis grant program offers a valuable opportunity for farmers and organizations to explore new projects that will not only enhance the production of specialty crops but also expand access for consumers. I strongly encourage everyone in the industry to take advantage of this opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Competitive grants will be awarded for projects with a minimum of $15,000. In the past, Maryland Specialty Crop Block Grant Program grants have ranged from $15,000\u2013$140,000. Funds will be awarded for projects lasting up to two years in duration and that conclude by Nov. 15, 2028. Proposals will be evaluated based on their potential for the greatest impact on Maryland specialty crop producers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Applicants must be a Maryland resident or their business or educational affiliation must be in Maryland. Proposals can be completed online through Maryland <\/span>OneStop<\/span><\/a>. The <\/span>deadline<\/b> to apply is<\/span> Monday,\u00a0 March 23, at 11:59 p.m<\/b>. All applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program manager and review committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Maryland Department of Agriculture administers Maryland\u2019s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding. Funding is made available by the U.S. Farm Bill through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For questions about Maryland\u2019s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the application process, please contact the program\u2019s administrator, Karen Fedor, at <\/span>scbgp.mda@maryland.gov<\/span> or 410-841-5773. More information about the program is available on the department\u2019s <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

xxx<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Department is now accepting proposals for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Grant Applications Due by March 23, 2026 ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 13, 2026) \u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting proposals for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, a reimbursement grant program aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Maryland\u2019s specialty crops. MDA  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"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":[403,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mda-newsroom","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\/29589","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\/251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29592,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29589\/revisions\/29592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}