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Specialty Crop Multi-State Grant Program

Get funding for specialty crops through a federal grant program by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

Applications for Multi-State Partners to Participating States are due December 22, 2023, and for Participating States to AMS on January, 31, 2024.

About the program

Specialty Crop Multi-State Program is a federal grant program offered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.

What it funds

The program competitively funds projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by awarding grants for proposals related to:

  • Food safety

  • Plant pests and disease

  • Research

  • Crop-specific projects addressing common issues

  • Marketing and promotion

Proposals can request between $250,000 and $1,000,000.

How to apply

Prospective Multi-State Partners should:

  1. Review application requirements on the USDA's Agricultural Marketing website

  2. Develop your application

  3. Choose a start date for your project in calendar year 2023

  4. Select a Participating State department of agriculture with whom to file application

  5. Check USDA-AMS website for postings of Submission Deadline to State department of agriculture and updates

If your project is selected for funding opportunity there will be a negotiation phase to determine the 8% indirect cost allotment to the states participating in the project and the Participating State department of agriculture responsible for administering the project.

Participating States Departments of Agriculture will:

  • Screen proposals for eligibility once submitted

  • Submit eligible proposals to USDA-AMS

  • Assume administrative responsibility for any funded proposals they submitted.

  • Establish sub-grant agreements with multi-state partners to complete funded projects.

Participating States Departments of Agriculture will not:

  • Determine which projects are funded

  • or assist multi-state partners in proposal development. 

USDA-AMS will

  1. Review and select proposals

  2. Make final award announcements

  3. Contract between Multi-State Partners and their Participating State department of agriculture

Contact info

Michelle Estay, Director of Commodity Promotion and Research
(985) 345-9483
mestay@ldaf.state.la.us

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