The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide over $90m grant to strengthen local and regional food systems and for specialty crop development.
Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, flowers and nursery crops.
The grants are administered by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and include the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program, and the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program.
Through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, more than $62m is allocated for projects that support specialty crop farmers through research and programs intended to increase demand.
The Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program provide in excess of $26m in competitive grants, which is divided equally between Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP).
FMPP grants supports direct producer-to-consumer marketing projects such as farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs, roadside stands, and agritourism. LFPP funds projects which develop, improve, and expand local and regional food business, supply chain activities such as processing, distribution, aggregation, and storage of locally-or regionally-produced food products.
Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) offers $1m in matching funds to state departments of agriculture, state colleges and universities, and other appropriate state agencies for research projects to address the challenges in marketing, transporting, and distributing US agricultural products domestically and internationally.
US Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said: "Over the past seven years, USDA has strengthened local and regional food systems by investing in projects that recruit and train farmers, expand economic opportunities for small businesses and increase access to healthy foods.
"These grant programs make a real difference to farmers, ranchers, and businesses in communities across the country, revitalizing rural economies while also increasing access to fresh, healthy food."
Image: USDA to make grants available for specialty crop growers. Photo: Courtesy of xedos4/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
