- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues:
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting proposals for the 2019 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP).
The SCMP is a federal grant program offered by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. The purpose of the SCMP is to competitively award funds to projects that solely 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).
For this opportunity, multi-state partners must develop projects that bring together teams for solutions to practical problems that cross State boundaries and address the needs of specialty crop growers. Project(s) must enhance the competitiveness of U.S. or U.S. territory-grown specialty crops in either domestic or foreign markets. Projects should lead to measurable benefits for specialty crop growers, encourage partnerships among specialty crop organizations, and reduce duplication of effort among participating organizations.
A SCMP project:
(1) Addresses one or more regional or national (multiple-State) specialty crop issues -
- food safety;
- plant pests and disease;
- research;
- crop-specific projects addressing common issues; and
- marketing and promotion.
(2) Defines the geographic target area of impact of the project such as the specific States or foreign markets;
(3) Defines the specific specialty crops that are the focus of the project; and
(4) Involves at least two partners located in different States.
Award will be granted in amounts ranging from 250,000 to 1,000,000 for a maximum duration of 3 years. SCMP does not require cost share or match.
Application submissions to CDFA are due by September 1, 2019. Proposals must be submitted electronically to grants@cdfa.ca.gov.
Two informational webinars will be conducted on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. PDT or Wednesday, August 14, 2019 from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. PDT. To register, email grants@cdfa.ca.gov with your name and contact information. Further details will be provided with confirmation of registration.
Additional information about the SCMP is available on the CDFA SCMP website: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Specialty_Crop_Competitiveness_Grants/SCMP.html
All prospective applicants are encouraged to review the 2019 SCMP Request for Applications on the USDA, AMS website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/2019_SCMP_Final.pdf
Please contact Vanity Campbell, Office of Contracts and Grants at vcampbell@ucanr.edu should you have interest in applying to this opportunity.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)