2025 Specialty Crop Block Funding Available for Vermont Organizations

Nov 26, 2024

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announces the opening of the FY2025 funding cycle for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which aims to strengthen Vermont’s specialty crop industries and producer associations. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture crops (including honey, hops, maple syrup and mushrooms), and nursery crops (including Christmas trees and floriculture). Approximately $180,000 is available in grant funds for FY25. Grants requests must range from $15,000 to $45,000. Interested applicants should apply by January 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM.

Grant funds will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by:

Leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops,
Assisting producers with research and development,
Expanding availability and access to specialty crops, or
Addressing local, regional, and national challenges for producers. Any entity may apply, but projects must benefit more than one specialty crop business, individual, or organization.

To apply, download the Request for Applications at agriculture.vermont.gov/grants/specialtycrop and follow the pre-application process at agriculturegrants.vermont.gov. Applicants must submit a pre-application by January 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM.

VAAFM will conduct an information session webinar for all prospective applicants on December 4, 2024 at 2:00 PM–3:00 PM. Register for the information session webinar at bit.ly/2025SCBGPWebinar.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awards Specialty Crop Block Grants to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. In Vermont, VAAFM administers these funds to enhance the competitiveness of Vermont specialty crops. Funds are awarded through a competitive review process guided by industry, nonprofit and government stakeholders.

Source : vermont.gov

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.