USDA makes investment in program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of more than $330 million to help agricultural producers and organizations in the food supply chain recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding announced April 13 is part of USDA’S Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative launched in March, a news release reported.

This funding will aid in developing new markets for U.S. agricultural products, expand the specialty crop food sector, and encourage the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers. USDA launched the Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative in March.

In all, $6.5 billion is available in funding to address shortfalls and disparities in how assistance was distributed in previous COVID-19 assistance packages, with a specific focus on strengthening outreach to underserved producers and communities and small and medium agricultural operations.

USDA’S Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing $169.9 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) to fund innovative projects designed to support the expanding specialty crop food sector and explore new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products.

The total includes:

* $72.9 million available as part of the annual Farm Bill funding for the program;

* An additional $97 million available as emergency funding for applications under this solicitation. Congress provided this funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, due to COVID-19 impacts to the food system.

Grant project funding awarded as part of pandemic assistance can also go to organizations to assist farmworkers (e.g., for PPE and vaccination costs), projects to fund farmers, food businesses, and other relevant entities to respond to risks and supply chain disruption.

The SCBGP funds are allocated to U.S. states and territories based on a formula that considers both specialty crop acreage and production value. Interested applicants should apply directly through their state departments of agriculture. A listing of state contacts is available on the USDA website. Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 11, 2021. Any grant application submitted after the due date will not be considered unless the applicant provides documentation of an extenuating circumstance that prevented their timely submission of the grant application, the news release stated.

For more information about grant eligibility, visit the SCBGP website -- www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/ scbgp

In addition, USDA’S National Institute of Food and Agriculture will invest $75 million as directed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. As part of the announcements, the USDA said that it will soon implement the Dairy Donation Program (DDP) as established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The program will facilitate the timely donation of dairy products to nonprofit organizations that distribute food to persons in need and prevent and minimize food waste.

Because the statute allows retroactive reimbursements of donations made before donation and distribution plans are approved, USDA provided advance notice of the minimum provisions to be included in the program to encourage the dairy industry to process and donate surplus milk supplies as it moves through the spring surplus milk production season.

For more information, visit www.ams.usda.gov/ notices