USDA Announces Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Funding Awarded to New Jersey

Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023

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WASHINGTON, August 23, 2023—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today awarded over $817,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding to New Jersey. With this grant, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture will fund projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crop products and create new market opportunities for the state’s specialty crop producers.

“With this year’s Specialty Crop Block Grant funding, New Jersey is investing in innovative projects that will help address the needs of specialty crop producers within the region,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The funded projects will also further USDA’s efforts to ensure U.S. specialty crop products remain competitive in markets across the nation and abroad.”

Through the SCBGP, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture will fund 11 projects. Among the department’s projects, is funding to the Mercer County Community College to develop an education program for urban and underrepresented youth to gain hands-on experience in vegetable production, food safety, and urban forestry. Additional funded projects focus in areas such as marketing campaigns, training programs for women in the wine industry, and the use of artificial intelligence in weed detection.

“We appreciate that the USDA provided funding for New Jersey specialty crops which feed the Garden State, the entire country and beyond,” said Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Joe Atchison III. “These grants fund projects that determine new marketing opportunities and perform innovative research that benefit and support our local growers. They help increase profits and sustainability while ensuring an abundant supply of fruits and vegetables grown right here in New Jersey.”

The funding to New Jersey is part of a total of $72.9 million in non-competitive FY 2023 SCBGP funding awarded to 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. The SCBGP funding supports farmers growing specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops. USDA’s support will strengthen U.S. specialty crop production and markets, ensuring an abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops, which are vital to the health and well-being of all Americans.

The funding for the SCBGP grants is authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and FY2023 funding is awarded for a three-year period beginning Sept. 30, 2023. Since 2006, USDA has invested over $1 billion through the SCBGP to fund nearly 12,000 projects that have increased the long-term successes of producers and enhanced marketing opportunities for U.S. specialty crops products.

More information about these awards is available on this webpage: 2023 SCBGP Awarded Grants (pdf).

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