BISMARCK – Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded 21 grants totaling over $3 million to promote the development, cultivation, production and sales of specialty crops in North Dakota.
“North Dakota is already a leading producer of several specialty crops, such as dry edible beans, dry peas, potatoes and lentils,” Goehring said. “As our farmers seek to diversify their production, these grants help provide important information through specialty crop research, education, and trade missions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) approved $3,309,650.39 for the 2022 grants. The grants are distributed based on a formula that takes into account specialty crop acreage and production value.
Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”
Organizations and agencies receiving grants are:
- North Dakota State University (NDSU) – $84,438 to screen for pea root rot disease resistance in newly-developed NDSU breeding lines and germplasm
- NDSU - $197,715 to improve management of two important foliar leaf spotting diseases of potatoes
- NDSU - $141,392 to define Verticillium on tubers with image analysis during bulking
- North Dakota Trade Office - $307,706 for international export expansion of North Dakota specialty crops
- NDSU - $57,311 for weed control in dry pea, lentil and chickpea using fall cover crop and herbicides
- North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) - $73,625.84 for development of a North Dakota specialty crop education series
- National Agricultural Genotyping Center (NAGC) – $322,497 to increase the availability of SSR genotyping for variety identification in chickpea and field pea
- NDSU - $126,062 to identify dry bean germplasm and genomic regions with resistance to new soybean cyst nematode populations
- NDSU - $192,347 for strategic management of dry pea rust, including pathogen surveillance, host genetics and economics of resistance
- NDSU - $160,380 to identify dry beans and rhizobia that can withstand soil salinity and waterlogging
- NDDA - $79,925 to support seed potato exports to Canada
- NAGC - $118,426 for high-throughput screening for the genetic markers of Africanized honey bee colonies
- NDSU - $312,883 for molecular approaches to identify Ascochyta resistance in chickpea
- NDSU - $86,019 for increased production and consumption of garlic
- NDSU - $71,635 for evaluation of woody ornamental shrubs for North Dakota
- NDDA - $102,094 for a honey bee virus and pathogen survey and development of a research publication
- NDSU - $58,919 for evaluating aronia for ornamental and edible use for North Dakota
- NDSU - $132,368 for fumigation effects on carryover of herbicides in potato production
- NDSU - $190,007 to add pre-biotics to pro-biotics: chemoattractants support rhizosphere bacteria, enhancing plant growth and disease resistance
- NDSU - $128,884 for optimizing the deployment of fungicides for management of foliar diseases in field peas
- NDSU - $105,095 for evaluating new Brassica cultivars yields and health attributes to increase opportunities for local foods
NDDA received 33 applications, which were reviewed and scored by a select committee and approved by Goehring. Of the 33 applications, 21 were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for final approval.
The application for the 2023 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for the timeframe of October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2026, will open in early December 2022 and close in January 2023. Applications will then be reviewed, scored, ranked and provided to Agriculture Commissioner Goehring to determine which applications will be forwarded to the USDA for final approval in May 2023. Questions regarding the upcoming application process may be directed to Deanna Gierszewski at 701-328-2191 or scbg@nd.gov.