Twelve new grants totaling $35 million for science-based solutions and new technology for the specialty crop industry are being doled out by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture, and the money has been authorized from the 2014 Farm Bill.
“The Specialty Crop Research Initiative seeks to invest in long-term solutions that address problems in the overlapping systems of production, distribution and processing, and consumers and markets. This research initiative encourages collaboration, open communication, the exchange of information, and the development of resources,” according to a release posted by Morning Ag Clips.
The recipients of the latest grants are:
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, $2,447,432
- University of California, Santa Cruz, California, $2,513,040
- University of California, Davis, California, $4,494,490
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, $2,538,539
- University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, $45,470
- Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, $3,208,657
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, $5,485,292
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, $6,550,976
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $4,409,547
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $3,279,861
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $46,550
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, $46,550
