USDA Offers Help to Specialty Crop Farmers in the PNW

Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts. Specialty crop growers in Washington State, Oregon, and Idaho might benefit from two USDA programs that focus on exports and fund innovative projects.

USDA Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt talks first about expanding export opportunities.

We’re working right now with Australia on market access for apples. It’s technical information that the industry needs to be able to provide, and so that’s what this program will do, is what are mitigation measures, what are the types of concerns that the country has.

The other announcement covers the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. USDA will work with state departments of agriculture to help those departments spearhead the program.

It can fund consumer education, it can fund market development and promotion of specialty crops, and then the last one is also research.

Applications from states must be submitted by May 2nd.