The georgia department of agriculture will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops; assisting producers with research and…

The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service awarded the Georgia Department of Agriculture $1,509,518.14 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program on September 30, 2025, to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops across Georgia through marketing, research, development, and producer support activities.

The award funds 15 sub-awarded projects across Georgia to address specialty crop competitiveness, including blueberries, pecans, turfgrass, citrus fruits, and squash. Three education and outreach projects support producer proficiency in best practices and market engagement. Seven research projects span turfgrass disease screening, blueberry production methods, bermudagrass growth optimization, antimicrobial packaging innovation, mulch efficacy for vegetable production, squash disease resistance breeding, cold-storage food safety, citrus nutrient optimization, and citrus value-added manufacturing. Two marketing projects promote specialty crops, including Georgia Grown branding to national retail and wholesale buyers and Georgia pecan international sales expansion targeting India. Two projects cross multiple focus areas.

The Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association receives sub-award funding to deliver three education and marketing projects: best practices education for specialty crop producers, industry competitiveness education addressing labor and leadership challenges, and expanded Georgia Grown marketing to national retail wholesale buyers. The Georgia Pecan Growers Association receives funding for pecan grower education on profitability and efficiency and promotion of Georgia pecan exports to India. The University of Georgia Research Foundation receives funding to execute the nine research projects.

Performance runs through September 29, 2028, with work performed in Georgia.

The georgia department of agriculture will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops; assisting producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops; expanding availability and access to specialty crops; and addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers through a variety of activities/projects with their grant recipients. The state's sub-awards include 7 research projects, 3 education and outreach projects, 2 marketing projects, and 3 projects that cross more than one focus area to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops including blueberries, pecans, turfgrass, citrus fruits and squash throughout the state of georgia.