The USDA’s Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops program will assist specialty producers with expenses related to complying with regulations and food safety certification. Producers can apply for assistance beginning June 27, 2022, with costs incurred after June 21, 2022. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that up to $200 million in assistance will be available […]

Backed by the largest private constellation of satellites in the world, digital-agriculture company Farmers Edge has begun offering its imagery and mapping technology for specialty crops.

USDA announced that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture has invested $11 million in research that will support specialty crop farmers.

A specialty crop alliance, representing over 120 organizations, has outlined its views on key programs in the versions of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Aw summer … the one time of the year where we can sink our teeth into some delicious, juicy stone fruit. Whether you prefer munching on cherries or biting into peaches and plums, stone fruit are absolutely delicious when they are consumed at their peak of ripeness. Unfortunately, that window of opportunity is quite short […]

The USDA has announced the funding of $7 million to support 11 projects in six states to develop solutions to challenges affecting the specialty crop industries that cross state boundaries. The awards are managed through the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP) administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). “The best way to tackle many of […]

Robotic weeders come to a farm near you in the future? Maybe. The growing popularity of robotic weeders for specialty crops has grown partly out of necessity, says Steven Fennimore, an extension specialist at the University of California, Davis. The need for robotic weeders stems from two issues. One is a lack of herbicides available […]

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 […]

In preparation for the next Farm Bill, a House Agriculture Subcommittee took a second look at specialty crop production assistance. Rep. Rodney Davis (IL-13), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research, held a hearing Thursday to evaluate the effectiveness of the 2014 Farm Bill programs aimed at benefiting specialty crop […]