State agricultural projects receive more than $2.45M in federal specialty crop grants

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently awarded 23 projects more than $2.45 million in Federal Specialty Crop Block Grants.

Funding is through the federal Farm Bill and is awarded on a competitive basis administered by the department.

Specialty crops include horticultural products such as culinary herbs and spices, fruit, medicinal plants, nursery crops, tree nuts, and vegetables.

“Pennsylvania specialty crops feed our state, our nation, and our planet,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “These grants increase profits and sustainability by increasing quality, protecting crops from pest, disease and climate threats, and helping growers attract and train the workforce they need to keep producing healthy, high quality crops to feed the world.”

The projects are in Berks, Centre, Chester, Dauphin, Indiana, Lawrence, Perry, and Philadelphia counties. Each project received between $38,124 and $216,943.

The largest grant was awarded to Penn State University to evaluate effective biocontrols as vegetable and tomato crop protection alternatives to synthetic pesticides.

The other projects include those that would battle disease, pest, and climate threats; protect pollinators; improve food safety; assess the economics of growing hops to meet the demands of the state’s booming craft brew industry; expand farm markets in urban areas; and recruit and retain a culturally and ethnically diverse workforce.