MDARD Announces More than $2 Million of Specialty Crop Block Grants

By Lynsey Mukomel

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced today that it has distributed $2.08 million of funding to 19 food and agriculture entities throughout Michigan under the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

"Specialty crops are the backbone of Michigan's agricultural success, but market uncertainty, unpredictable weather and labor constraints are making them harder to grow and get to market," said MDARD Director Tim Boring. "These Specialty Crop Block Grants are strategic investments that will help Michigan farmers boost yields and access new markets, thereby giving Michiganders more access to locally grown foods and enhancing community health and prosperity."

In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate earlier this year, Director Boring urged Congress to maintain high and consistent funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Today s specialty crop block grants will support the following 22 projects across the state of Michigan:

• Michigan Apple Committee $125,000 to enhance social marketing and build brand loyalty for Michigan apples.
• Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board $100,000 to promote climate-resilient asparagus production through decision support and sustainable soil and nutrient management.  
• Michigan Bean Commission $99,999 to support the sustainable production of dry beans in Michigan.
• Michigan Blueberry Commission (two grants) - $99,000 for advancing anthracnose management in Michigan Blueberries and $66,797 for evaluating new tools to advance spotted-wing drosophila control for Michigan blueberry growers.
• Michigan Celery Research $99,998 to implement integrated strategies for management of herbicide-resistant weeds and bolting in celery (bolting occurs when the celery flowers and goes to seed).
• Cherry Marketing Institute $122,500 for enhancing and unifying the digital presence of the Michigan and U.S. cherry industries.
• Michigan Christmas Tree Association $89,444 for understanding and managing armillaria and phytophthora root rot in Michigan Christmas tree plantations.
• Michigan Grape Society $97,941 for evaluating sustainable management strategies for the successful establishment of Michigan vineyards and orchards.
• Hop Growers of Michigan $99,000 for innovative management of downy mildew in Michigan hopyards.  
• Michigan State Horticultural Society (two grants) $100,000 for optimizing sensory quality in controlled environment strawberry production and $99,200 for the creation of a user-friendly mobile phone app for Enviroweather, a web-based tool that creates weather-based models and forecasting to support pest, plant production and natural resource management decisions.
• Michigan Nursery & Landscape Association (two grants) $100,000 for developing alternative pesticides for nursery container production and $19,999 for identifying the varying effects of different methods of weed control on nursery plants.
• Michigan Onion Committee $99,108 for limiting leaf spot to preserve onion yields.  
• Michigan Potato Industry Commission $85,630 to better understand the fate of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil and where within the plant these products may reside at harvest (tuber versus vegetation).