Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded 15 grants totaling over $2.5 million to promote the development, cultivation, production and sales of specialty crops in North Dakota.
“North Dakota is already a leading producer of several specialty crops, such as dry edible beans, dry peas, potatoes and lentils,” Goehring said. “As our farmers seek to diversify their production, these grants help provide important information through specialty crop research, education, and trade missions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) approved $2,503,834.75 for the 2025 grants. The grants are distributed based on a formula that takes into account specialty crop acreage and production value.
Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”
Organizations and agencies receiving grants are:
- North Dakota State University (NDSU) - $129,267 to develop eco-friendly nematode management approaches for control of pin nematodes in field pea
- NDSU - $109,810 to advance lentil production by optimizing management practices for sustainable dryland cropping system in North Dakota
- National Agricultural Genotyping Center (NAGC) – $183,308 to support North Dakota honey producers with a DNA diagnostic panel to identify local honey sources and evaluate authenticity of imported honey
Source : nd.gov