Specialty crops grown in Iowa eligible for grants

Jan 12, 2015

More than $300,000 could be awarded

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

Bill Northey, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture announced the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) will be accepting grant applications as part of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBP), as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service, is an initiative designed “to solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.”

“Specialty crops” are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).

“The Specialty Crop Block Grant funds can support food safety, research and marketing efforts that will encourage Iowans to choose the products that are produced right here in our state,” Northey said. “Specialty crops are a very important part of Iowa agriculture as they allow farmers to diversify and give customers access to locally grown products.”

The concrete amount of funding available for grants is still undetermined, but in 2014, Iowa received $307,610 and hope 2015’s funding will be a similar amount.

A maximum of $24,000 will be considered for grant recipients and projects can go on as long as 30 months. Agencies, universities, institutions, producers, industry and community based organizations are all eligible for applications and single individuals are encouraged to participate as a project partner.

The IDALS must receive proposals by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2015.

A committee is also being organized to review, evaluate, and aid in decisions of where the grants will be awarded.

Anyone interested in joining the committee must apply by Friday, March 27, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.

Iowa’s top earning commodity in 2013 was corn, selling for almost $10 billion.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.