The illinois 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 U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service awarded the Illinois Department of Agriculture $679,005.52 under the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (CFDA 10.170) on September 30, 2025, for activities running through September 29, 2028.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through marketing and promotion, research and development assistance to producers, expanded availability and access, and projects addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers. The state's sub-awards include 11 education and outreach projects and 7 projects crossing multiple focus areas to enhance specialty crop competitiveness, including microgreens, pest management, and fresh fruit and vegetables throughout Illinois.

This block grant funds a three-calendar-year cycle under the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which awards funding to eligible state departments of agriculture to support specialty crop marketing and production initiatives. Recipients must conduct single or program-specific audits for years in which federal awards expended total $750,000 or more and retain financial records for three years after the final Federal Financial Report is received.

The illinois 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 11 education and outreach projects and 7 projects that cross more than one focus area to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops including microgreens, pest management, fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the state of illinois.