WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced an investment of nearly $121 million to advance research and Extension activities that aim to solve key challenges facing specialty crop and organic agriculture producers. The investment includes $70.4 million to support specialty crop production research across the United States and $50.5 million to support farmers and ranchers who grow and market high-quality organic food, fiber and organic products.

Specialty crops are defined in the Farm Bill as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. This investment is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

“We know specialty and organic crops add nutrition to our diets and value to sustainable agriculture systems,” said Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. “These crops also play a vital role preserving cultural heritage and enhancing economic opportunities across local, regional and global food systems, making them great competitive funding investments that target some of the most difficult challenges facing specialty crop and organic producers nationwide.”

NIFA’s specialty crops production investment today builds on USDA’s recently announced $82.3 million in grant funding through the Agricultural Marketing Service to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and support the industry’s producers. The funding was awarded through USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) and the Specialty Crop Multi-State Grant (SCMP) Program. From market development to consumer education to research, these programs expand markets and increase competitiveness of the specialty crop industry and increase access to specialty crops for consumers.

NIFA’s $50.5 million investment in 30 organic agriculture projects is part of NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Program, which includes the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and the Organic Transitions Program. OREI projects fund research, education and Extension projects to improve yields, quality and profitability for producers and processors who have adopted organic standards. NIFA-funded Organic Transitions Program projects focus on research, education and Extension efforts to help existing and transitioning organic livestock and crop producers adopt organic practices and improve their market competitiveness.

Examples of the 23 projects funded by NIFA’s OREI grants include:

Pennsylvania State University: Understanding the links between integrated crop management practices and certain food- and feed-quality endpoints is necessary for identifying market constraints and opportunities for small grain sequences within reduced-tillage organic grain systems. This integrated research and Extension project aims to improve the productivity and market potential of spring- and fall-sown organic small grains to increase ecological and economic resilience of organic grain production systems within Pennsylvania and the Northeast United States

($1.9 million).