The north carolina department of agriculture and consumer services will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops; assisting…

The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service awarded $1.313 million to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on September 30, 2025, under the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (CFDA 10.170) to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through marketing, research and development, and expanded availability and access activities. The award funds six research projects and one cross-focus initiative targeting strawberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, Christmas trees, and tomatoes throughout North Carolina. Work is performed in North Carolina with a period of performance from September 30, 2025, through September 29, 2028. The recipient distributes sub-awards to multiple grant recipients to address local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers in the state.

The north carolina department of agriculture and consumer services 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 6 research projects and 1 project that crosses more than one focus area to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops including strawberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, christmas trees, and tomatoes throughout the state of north carolina.