Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Announcement

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) is now accepting applications for 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding. Applications are due by June 2, 2025 and must be submitted as a Project Concept Proposal using the "Application for Specialty Crop Grant" form provided under Forms & Documents. KDA is administering Kentucky's share of the $72.9 million in grant funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as announced on May 9, 2025.

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 2025 SCBGP Project Concept Proposals is June 2, 2025. Applicants may include 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, government entities, universities, small business owners, and privately owned companies.

More information on allowable costs is located in the USDA-AMS, Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, 2025 Request for Applications (RFA).

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. 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. 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. Projects may include but are not limited to:

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 Division of Value-Added Plant Production administers Kentucky's grant funds, which are based on the state’s value of specialty crop production.

More Information

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

 Projected Timeline

May 2025KDA announces grant opportunity and publishes request for proposals.
June 2, 2025Submission deadline for Project Concept Proposals.
June 2025Evaluation and selection of applications for inclusion in State Plan.
July 2025KDA submits State Plan to USDA.
October 2025Award announcement from USDA-AMS.