Note: The current application period for the USDA's Specialty Crop Multi-State program will close on December 22, 2023. Apply here.
A federal grant program offered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the purpose of the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program is to competitively award funds to projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by funding collaborative, multi-state projects that address regional or national level specialty crop issues, including food safety, plant pests and disease, research; crop-specific projects addressing common issues; and marketing and promotion.Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).
Grant awards range from $250,000 to $1 million per project and projects may last for up to three years. Specialty crop producer associations and groups, state government agencies, Tribal government entities, universities, nonprofits, and other stakeholder organizations are all eligible to apply. All SCMP proposals must include at least two partners (referred to as "multi-state partners") with substantive involvement in the project, and the multi-state partners must be located in two different states to qualify for the program.