By Trish Svoboda

The Kansas Department of Agriculture announced it is now accepting applications for the 2024 Specialty Crop Block Grant Programs. Program funding is provided by The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

The grant funds are then awarded to projects and organizations to improve the competitiveness of specialty crops. This is achieved by supporting efforts to market and promote specialty crops, aiding producers in research and development related to specialty crops, broadening availability and accessibility of specialty crops, and tackling local, regional, and national challenges encountered by specialty crop producers. The USDA defines specialty crops as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”

A team of external reviewers will evaluate the applications, and rate proposals on their capability to enhance the competitiveness of the specialty crop industry in Kansas and contribute to the state’s economy. The recommendations from this evaluation process will be forwarded to the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, who will make the final award decisions.

The deadline for submitting applications to the KDA is March 15, 2024, by 5:00 p.m.

The 2024 Kansas Request for Applications document from the KDA website can be found at agriculture.ks.gov/specialtycrop.

The USDA–AMS allocates funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to states according to the recent value and acreage of specialty crops within each state. For the year 2024, Kansas is slated to receive an estimated $330,000 in funding.