| Sweet Potato Council Among Recipients Of USDA Grant |
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Washington, DC – Congressman Travis Childers (D-MS) today announced the award of nearly $270,000 for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture to fund 13 different projects statewide. Upon reviewing states’ plans for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) selected projects that support local and rural agriculture interests, increase the competitiveness of small producers, and promote or create direct marketing opportunities for specialty crop producers. “This significant USDA funding will help spur economic growth in Mississippi’s rural communities and ensure that our small producers have the support they need to be successful,” said Congressman Childers. “I am pleased that 13 projects will automatically receive funding in Mississippi through this SCBGP grant, and look forward to seeing the benefits of their implementation.” Mississippi was awarded $268,376.55 to fund the following projects: •Partner with Mississippi State University to assess the state of safety and quality of Mississippi farmed produce, train farmers on the latest food safety guidelines/regulations to ready them for certification, and assist them by also training selected extension specialists •Partner with Mississippi State University to develop a food safety manual and develop and deliver food safety training classes solely for farmers’ market managers and vendors of specialty crops and the value-added products made with specialty crops •Partner with the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council to participate in the Produce Marketing Association tradeshow, conduct grower educational seminars, conduct nutrition workshops for food nutritionists, and implement a radio campaign to promote sweet potatoes •Partner with Mississippi State University to further educate Mississippi producers in the field of specialty crop production by developing three venues -- The Greenhouse Tomato Short Course, the Deep South Fruit & Vegetable Growers Conference and Trade Show, and the Fall Flower & Garden Fest •Partner with the Mississippi Urban Forest Council to establish a model fruit orchard and vegetable site in the downtown Jackson area and develop an educational toolkit to include everything one would need to know to begin a fruit and/or vegetable garden •Partner with Mississippi State University to develop and implement “Effective Education and Training for Prosperous Promotion and Marketing” to provide small specialty crop producers access to a state-wide promotion and marketing program through regional education and training. Monitoring to ensure all participants are specialty crop producers will take place at registration for all education, training, and demonstrations •Partner with the Mississippi Nursery and Landscape Association to increase the production and market share of Mississippi grown nursery plants through promotion of the Mississippi Medallion & Mississippi Medallion Plant of the Year program •Partner with the Mississippi Beekeepers Association to conduct beekeeping workshops and to conduct educational sessions about beekeeping to schools and libraries •Partner with Mississippi State University to investigate different high tunnel systems for specialty cut flower production in Mississippi and recommend best management practices to growers through extension routes •Partner with Mississippi State University to develop best management practices with focus on nutrient management (soil amendment and fertilizer) to benefit transitional and organic vegetable and cut flower production systems in high tunnels •Partner with the Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station to collect southern heirloom apple cultivars and plant them in replicated trials to identify cultivars with good production potential in northern Mississippi using little or no fungicides and insecticides, and then evaluate fruit quality characteristics of the productive cultivars •Partner with Mississippi Beekeepers Association and Mississippi State University to test the efficacy of a potentially marketable trap for adult small hive beetle Perform pre-award and post-award activities in order to administrate the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding and ensure that the State Agency and sub-awardees abide by Federal and State requirements and regulations USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) was authorized on December 21, 2004 by the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act. The Act authorizes USDA to provide grants to states to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, which are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. |