MDARD Announces Specialty Crop Block Grant Opportunity

Proposals due February 5, 2026

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced today that it will accept applications for Specialty Crop Block Grants until 5 p.m. ET Thursday, February 5, 2026. MDARD encourages prospective applicants to attend an informational webinar on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 10 a.m. ET. 

“Specialty crops like apples, cherries and blueberries are the backbone of Michigan’s diverse agricultural economy,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “MDARD continues to advocate strongly for high and consistent federal funding for specialty crop production and research and to urge Michigan farmers to pursue these critical grant opportunities.”

In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate earlier this year, Director Boring urged Congress to sustain support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The program provides annual funding to states and territories to enhance the competitiveness of fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture). 

MDARD leverages USDA funds to award Specialty Crop Block Grants to eligible Michigan entities annually through a competitive process. Such entities may apply for maximum awards of $125,000 for research, marketing, training and education proposals. The program’s funding priorities are:  

• Market enhancement to promote specialty crops 
  • Market expansion, availability and access to specialty crops
  • Farm to institution
  • Nutritional education
• Research and development relevant to specialty crops
  • Plant health and pest management
  • Regenerative agriculture
  • Training and education addressing local, regional and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers
• Enhancing food safety
  • Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge, education and consumption of specialty crops
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Conservation
  • Workforce/labor

Acceptable proposal activities include but are not limited to promotion; marketing; research; nutrition; trade enhancement; food safety; food security; plant health programs; education; increased knowledge and consumption; increased innovation; improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems; environmental concerns and conservation; product development; good agricultural practices; good handling practices; and good manufacturing practices.

Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations; local, state, and federal government entities; and for-profit organizations. The organizations must be legal entities recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, and applicants must reside and/or conduct their business in Michigan. Proposals should demonstrate how the project will potentially produce measurable impacts for the specialty crop industry as a whole and not benefit only a specific product or a single organization, institution or individual.

Those interested in applying for the grant program should visit the program website for additional details. All applications must be submitted through the MiAgGrants system. The grants are contingent on USDA’s approval of federal funding.  

For more information on this and other grants, visit the MDARD grant website. 

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