Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Announcement

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) is now accepting applications for 2026 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding. Applications are due by May 11, 2026 and must be submitted as a Project Concept Proposal using the "Concept Proposal Application" form provided under Forms & Documents. KDA is administering Kentucky's share of the $86.6 million in grant funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as announced on April 13, 2026.

Specialty Crop Block Grant

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture will utilize a two-tier competitive solicitation process to award SCBGP funds for projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Kentucky. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) has allocated these funds to the states and KDA will administer Kentucky's funds as competitive grants. The due date for 2026 SCBGP Project Concept Proposals is May 11, 2026. Applicants may include 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, government entities, universities, small business owners, and privately owned companies. See “Forms & Documents” on the right side of the page for the Concept Proposal Application, Outcomes & Indicators information, and the Scoring Criteria that will be used to evaluate applications. Letters of support (maximum of three) from project partners are encouraged but not required. 

More information on allowable costs is located in the 2026 USDA-AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Grant Information 

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture administers funding received from the SCBGP each year. The amount of funding received by KDA is based on specialty crop acreage and production value on an annual basis. For 2026, Kentucky anticipates receiving $413,908.66. 

Projects must enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in either domestic or foreign markets and must provide a benefit to more than just the applicant. Applicants should describe how the project potentially affects and produces measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and/or the public rather than a single organization, institutions, or individual. Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, culinary herbs, tree nuts, Christmas trees, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture). Projects will be evaluated on how well they enhance the competitiveness of Kentucky’s specialty crops, soundness of plan, measurable outcomes, and return on investment. Based on a recent survey of Kentucky specialty crop industry experts, funding priorities for 2026 grants include:

DEFINITION OF SPECIALTY CROPS

"Specialty crops" are defined in law as "fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture." Specialty crops are plants that are intensively cultivated. There are many plants that are specialty crops when cultivated, but can also be found in wild populations. Wild plants are not considered specialty crops, even though they may be used for the same purpose as cultivated plants. Please note that hemp is not considered a "specialty crop". For a full list of eligible specialty crops, click here.

SCOPE & AUTHORITY

The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program was authorized on December 21, 2004, by Section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004. The Act authorized the USDA to provide grants to states to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. In 2008, Section 10109 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill) amended the Act, which established the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Farm Bill (SCBGP-FB). KDA's Plant Division administers Kentucky's grant funds.

More Information

For general information about the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, including eligible specialty crops, please visit the USDA website.

For more information, please contact Anne Harney, Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Coordinator at anne.harney@ky.gov or 502-782-4102.

 Projected Timeline

April 2026KDA announces grant opportunity and publishes request for proposals.
May 2026Submission deadline for Project Concept Proposals.
May 2026Evaluation and selection of applications for inclusion in State Plan.
June 2026KDA submits State Plan to USDA.
September 2026Award announcement from USDA-AMS.