The Agriculture Department announced $118 million in grants for research and market-building for specialty crops – fruits, vegetables, horticulture, nuts and nursery crops. The money was split between $66 million in block grants to states, to support 838 projects, and $51.8 million for research. “It’s a broad array of ways we are helping the industry,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a tele-conference.
The 61-page list of specialty crop grants is available here. Projects range from identifying the best cauliflower varieties for Alaska to a project to boost sales of Christmas trees grown in North Carolina. The 23 research grants went to institutions in 14 states, said USDA. The largest recipients were Michigan State University, $7.8 million, and Washington State University, $5.9 million.