Oct 20, 2020North Dakota State receives pair of potato-focused grants
The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) announced 27 grants totaling more than $3 million on Oct. 13, a pair of which are geared toward potato production.
“North Dakota is already a leading producer of several specialty crops, such as dry edible beans, dry peas, potatoes and lentils,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said through a press release. “As our farmers seek to diversify their production, these grants help provide important information through specialty crop research, education, and trade missions.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) approved $3,286,945.21 for the 2020 grants. Last year, North Dakota was awarded $2,714,601.80 for the grants. The grants are distributed based on a formula that takes into account specialty crop acreage and production value.
Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”
Organizations and agencies receiving grants that involve potato production or general agricultural awareness include:
- North Dakota State University (NDSU) — $171,689 to study defining bulking rate of potato tubers in three russet varieties: Dakota, Bannock and Alturas.
- NDSU — $99,922 to improve detection capacity and resistance evaluation for control of nematode diseases in potato.
- North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) — $64,629.40 to educate fourth graders on living agriculture.
- NDDA — $49,552.04 to provide schools with resources to understand food safety of specialty crops from North Dakota farmers.
- Dakota College at Bottineau — $107,920.60 to research and demonstrate innovative and sustainable composting methods for specialty crop production.
- NDDA — $133,000 for international and domestic promotion of North Dakota specialty crops.
NDDA received 43 applications, which were reviewed and scored by a select committee and approved by Goehring. Of the 42 applications, 27 were forwarded to the USDA for final approval.
The application for the 2021 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for the timeframe of Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2023, will open in early December 2020 and close in January 2021. Applications will then be reviewed, scored, ranked and provided to Agriculture Commissioner Goehring to determine which applications will be forwarded to the USDA for final approval in May 2021. Questions regarding the upcoming application process may be directed to Deanna Gierszewski at 701-328-2191 or [email protected].
