Florida Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

The Florida Specialty Crop Block Grant Program aims to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and horticulture products. This program encourages innovative projects that promote marketing, research, and accessibility of specialty crops while addressing industry challenges. Eligible applicants include non-profits, universities, and government agencies. The program prioritizes economic benefits, feasibility, and alignment with budgetary constraints, ensuring a positive impact on Florida's agricultural landscape.

Description of Funding Opportunity
The purpose of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is to award funds to projects which enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty Crops are broadly defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and horticulture products, including floriculture.
Project Types
The goal of the SCBGP is to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by—
Leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops;
Assisting producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops;
Expanding availability and access to specialty crops;
Addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers
Major considerations —
Does the project provide an overall economic benefit to Florida's specialty crop industry?
Does the project make good business sense?
Does the project have a high likelihood of success?
Are the expected benefits of the project in line with the proposed budget?
Projects:
A project is a set of interrelated tasks with a cohesive, distinct, specified, and defined goal. It follows a planned, organized approach over a fixed period of time and within specific limitations (cost, performance/quality, etc.). Additionally, it uses resources that are specifically allocated to the work of the project and usually involves a team of people.
Examples of Acceptable Projects:

• Researching new cultivars
• Providing outreach opportunities on specialty crops to youth, families, seniors, and the overall community
• Marketing apples through a targeted promotional campaign

Eligibility

Proposals will be accepted from non-profit organizations, producer organizations, government agencies, universities, and other organizations related to Florida's specialty crop industry. Individuals, individual producers, for-profit businesses, or commercial entities may submit proposals. However, the project must focus on research, education, or demonstration and must benefit the specialty crop industry in a manner that can be replicated by other organizations.
Additional notes to help you determine whether your project is eligible:Projects must enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Consider carefully whether your project is likely to have spillover benefits for non-specialty crops and whether the SCBGP is the best fit for your project.
Projects must benefit more than one product or organization. Lists of eligible and ineligible crops may be found on the USDA-AMS website.

Ineligibility

The SCBGP will not award grant funds for projects that solely benefit a single commercial product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual. This means that the program will not provide funds to start or expand a farm or other business venture.In addition, recipients cannot use grant funds to compete unfairly with private companies that offer equivalent products or services.Examples of Unacceptable Projects: A company requests grant funds to purchase starter plants or equipment used to plant, cultivate, and grow a specialty crop for the purpose of making a profit, or to expand production of a single business or organization. A state requests grant funds to make grants to individual specialty crop businesses or roadside stands to promote their individual businesses. A non-profit organization uses grant funds to purchase produce and then sells that produce to other entities at cost or a higher price than the purchase price while competing with other private companies who sell produce in the area. A sole proprietor requests grant funds to redesign his logo in order to make his specialty crop value-added product stand out at the local farmers market. A single specialty crop organization requests grant funds to market its organization so that it can increase its membership.Lists of eligible and ineligible crops may be found on the USDA-AMS website.