USDA grants to support dairy-innovation programs TheU.S. Department of Agriculturewill provide $20.2million in grant funding for DairyBusiness Innovation initiatives. This programsupportsUSDA’s efforts todevel- ophigher-valueuses fordairyproducts, di- versify farmer income throughprocessing andmarketing innovation, andencourage the use of regional milk production. to ensure the proposed activities fulfill the purpose of Dairy Business Innovation. To be considered as a new initiative, appli- cations will undergo external expert peer reviewaswell as anadministrative review. The selectionprocess for new initiatives is expected to be highly competitive. ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged produc- ers, veteran producers and underserved communities. Forgrants intending toserve these entities, applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when de- veloping projects and applications.
or email IPPGrants@usda.gov. Applications must be submitted elec- tronically through www.grants.gov by 8:59 p.m. PDT Aug. 30. AMS offers tech- nical assistance for new applicants to help walk them through the process and provide tips onwriting a successful appli- cation. Contact IPPGrants@usda.gov for additional assistance from grants man- agement specialists.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service encourages applications for ini- tiatives that benefit smaller farms and Specialty crop grant proposals requested Formore informationabout grant eligi- bilityandpreviously fundedprojects, go to www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/dbi
“This programhas already shown suc- cess in helping dairy farmers develop new business models and value-added prod- ucts,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “The additional fund- ingprovidedwillallowUSDAtoreachmore farmers by increasing the capacity of cur- rent initiativesandexpanding theprogram tonewareas.” DairyBusinessInnovationinitiativespro- vide direct technical assistance andmake grantstodairybusinesses. Inadditiontocur- rent initiatives inTennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin,$1.8millionwillbecompetitively awardedtoat leastonenewinitiative.USDA will givepriority toapplications that serve a geographic area not coveredby an existing initiativeand that covermultiple states. Initiativesmust beable todrawuponex- istingdairy resources. Initiativesmayserve a certain product niche, such as special- ty cheese, or serve dairy businesses with dairy products derived from the milk of a specific type of dairy animal, including dairyproductsmade fromcowmilk, sheep milk and goatmilk. To receive funding, the current initia- tiveswillundergoanadministrativereview
California Department of Food and Agriculture is accepting proposals for the 2021 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program thanks to federal dollars now available to states toaddressCOVID-19 impactsonthe food system. Through the program, which seeks to enhance the competitiveness of special- ty crops such as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, CDFA anticipates that as much as $10 million will be awarded in grant amounts ranging from $250,000 to $1million. Themaximumgrant duration is three years. The competitiveprocess beginswith the submissionofconceptproposals,whichun- dergoanadministrative anda technical re- view.Thehighest-rankedapplicantswillbe invitedtosubmitafullproposal forsubmis- sion to theU.S.Department ofAgriculture.
Applicants are required to complete and submit their grant proposal using the required templates at www.cdfa.ca.gov/ Specialty_Crop_Competitiveness_Grants/. Grant proposals must be submitted
electronically to grants@cdfa.ca.gov by Aug. 8. Formore information, prospective applicantsmay contact theCDFAOfficeof Grants Administration at 916-657-3231 or email grants@cdfa.ca.gov.
Recycling survey now open
Asusersofagriculturalandfoodprocess- ing byproducts, California Farm Bureau members make up a large percentage of organicmaterial recyclers inCalifornia. As the state implements mandato- ry organics recycling measures, Farm Bureau wants to be sure its members are acknowledged as a large source of the or- ganics recycling in the state. To do this, a survey is being conducted to gather in- formation about how much material is
being recycled and agriculture’s capacity to recycle evenmore in the future. This informationwill be aggregated on a statewide basis and made completely anonymous. This survey’s purpose is to ensure that California agriculture’s long history of recycling is acknowledged and farming infrastructure is used to advance California’s organics recycling goals. The survey is at www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/ByproductsCoalition.
2021 California Farm Bureau
PHOTO CONTEST
2020 Grand Prize winner
AGRICULTURE THROUGH YOUR LENS What does California’s agricultural bounty mean to you? Show us with photos such as: Fresh food—plated or in the field Rural scenery Animals, crops and harvests Life, work and family on the farm or ranch
PRIZES
All ages $1,000 Grand Prize $500 First Place $250 Second Place $100 Third Place $50 Honorable Mention (six winners)
Budding Artists (ages 13 and younger) $250 First Place $100 Second Place
Any amateur photographer who is a member of a county Farm Bureau in California can participate. Not a member? Join today at cfbf.com/join.
It’s easy to enter: Submit up to five print or high-resolution digital photos. Enter online or postmark by Sept. 30. Go to cfbf.com/ photocontest to find rules and forms, enter or see past winners. Or email photocontest@cfbf.com for rules and entry forms.
16 Ag Alert July 21, 2021
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