The colorado 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 Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) received an $824,248 Specialty Crop Block Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS) under the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program - Farm Bill (SCBGP-FB, CFDA #10.170). The grant period runs from September 30, 2022 through September 29, 2025.

Through this award, CDA and three sub-awardees will work to enhance the competitiveness of Colorado's specialty crops. Specific initiatives include the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee's (CPAC) $100,000 project to establish brand recognition for Colorado potatoes in Mexico through retailer partnerships, promotions, and market analysis. Geovisual Technologies Inc. will receive $50,000 to advance irrigation scheduling capabilities for potato farmers in the San Luis Valley and other specialty crop growers. Colorado State University (CSU) will coordinate $50,000 in technical support and information dissemination for specialty crop projects funded through CDA grants. CSU will also conduct cultivar trials and document crop microenvironments under agrivoltaic arrays.

The colorado 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 availabil