Goehring awards $600,000 in specialty crop grants

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded nine grants totaling almost $600,000 to promote the development and cultivation of specialty crops in North Dakota.

Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.”

Organizations and agencies receiving grants include:

National Sunflower Association - $70,389 for research to develop a rust-resistant confectionary sunflower.

Northern Pulse Growers Association - $100,000 to develop innovative market access strategies for pulses grown in the upper Midwest.

North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association - $33,000 to develop education and promotional efforts for North Dakota producers and to provide small grants for school gardens.

Dakota Prairies Resource Conservation and Development Council, Bismarck - $67,855 in partnership with Sioux County Extension Service to provide hands on training for youth, families and elders in Sioux County in production, marketing, processing and utilization of locally grown specialty crops.

North Dakota Department of Agriculture - $84,191 to continue the Going Local North Dakota Initiative to build capacity for local foods infrastructure development.

North Dakota State University – $244,077 for five projects, including:

$76,320 to partner with the University of Minnesota to help develop nitrogen management practices and to reduce acrylamide levels in processed potatoes.

$30,612 to develop effective and economical weed control methods for onion production.

$58,000 to strengthen management of new late blight genotypes for quality potato production.

$33,970 for research to extrude and utilize texturized protein from a dry bean source for use in cereal and snack products as a gluten-free substitute.

$45,175 for the Carrington Research Extension Center to evaluate adaptability of fruit crops to North Dakota growing conditions.

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) administers the program with funds provided by the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The funds were appropriated in the 2007 Farm Bill. North Dakota was allocated $600,000. NDDA received 19 grant applications, totaling $1,240,000.

Tags: daily updates, agriculture