On December 16, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) hosted an interactive webinar on the Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) program, “Grant Opportunity: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops,” which is now archived and available for playback here.  The 50-minute webinar, led by SCBG program manager Trista Etzig, discussed the purpose of the program, the types of projects the program aims to fund, and how to apply for a grant.

Many NSAC member organizations were awarded Specialty Crop Block Grants in 2010 and in past years; read our blog post from September on the 2010 awards here.

Applications for specialty crop projects can be submitted to State Departments of Agriculture.  Past projects have focused on marketing and promotion, education, production, research, food safety, and pest and plant health.

The next webinar in USDA’s Fruit and Vegetable Program series, “Market News Portal Training—How to Get the Most out of USDA’s Market News Reports and Information,” will take place on Feb. 24, 2011 at 2 p.m. ET.  It will cover how to get the most out of the USDA’s fruit and vegetable market news reports.  Registration is required to participate.