Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the 2014 Specialty Crop Block Grants that are to strengthen markets for specialty crops, such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture manages the commonwealth’s allotment of the USDA Specialty Crop Block and has awarded more than 1.6 million dollars to more than 10 Kentucky partnering organizations and worked in conjunction with them on more than 40 projects benefiting the marketing and production of Kentucky Specialty Crops. $302,620.11 of funding was awarded to Kentucky for the 2014 Specialty Crop Block Grant. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Review Committee reviewed 16 projects that that were submitted totaling more than $711,000.00 in requested funding and chose the following project partners: • The University of Kentucky to increase demand for Kentucky fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs by developing, disseminating, and demonstrating new recipes featuring local seasonal specialty crops to market Kentucky foods as part of a healthy lifestyle. • Local Food for Everyone to promote and secure sales for local specialty crops producers by creating a promotional campaign targeting low income communities and a program to connect local specialty crop producers with local schools and other consumers. • The Kentucky Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs to increase learning about specialty crops in areas of Kentucky where they are not readily accessible and enhance youths‘ basic food knowledge about what produce is available by conducting field trips to local agriculture businesses and hosing guest speakers, integrating specialty crop activities into existing curricula, and facilitating hands-on gardening activities. • The Kentucky Nursery and Landscape Association to increase the knowledge of our growers, retail operators, landscapers, and others involved in the green industry in Kentucky from topics such as nursery and greenhouse production, business management, disease & pest management, garden center/landscape maintenance, landscape installation and design, sustainability in the green industry, business management, and personnel training by offer industry education through an education conference. • New Roots to increase knowledge and consumption of Kentucky specialty crops by families in Louisville‘s underinvested neighborhoods through direct marketing and leadership development. • The University of Kentucky to increase specialty crop producer awareness and utilization of marketing programs, technical resources, and risk management resources by providing producers with trainings, workshops, and webinars. • The University of Kentucky to identify the production potential of high quality apple cultivars that are currently grown in Kentucky by measuring sugar accumulation, Titratable Acidity, and juice pH to determine usefulness for the production of for hard apple cider. • The Kentucky Blueberry Growers Association to introduce new blueberry value-added products into public schools and retail markets by increasing the capability of local blueberry producers to sort, wash, and dry blueberries that are marketed through the association. #KYProud
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 18:12:36 +0000
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