WASHINGTON- Today, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide $1,230,431 to be used by 25 specialty crop projects throughout the state of Michigan.  The program improves competitiveness of the specialty crops industry through grants that support marketing, research, agri-tourism, food access, and sustainability. This program allows states to accept applications and determine their own specialty crop priorities. USDA approved projects based on their support for local and rural agriculture interests, the opportunity to increase the competitiveness of small producers, or to promote or create direct marketing opportunities for specialty crop producers.

Specialty crops, which include fruits, vegetables, nursery products and floriculture, are vital to Michigan’s agricultural economy. Michigan has the second largest crop diversity in the nation, after California.

“As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I was pleased to lead the effort and secure specialty crops funding last year in the farm bill,” said Stabenow. “Michigan is at the forefront of agricultural research and innovation, will be able to improve food quality and strengthen our agricultural industry, which is Michigan’s second largest.”

Last year, the Farm Bill for the first time recognized the importance of specialty crops, led by the efforts of Senator Stabenow. Specialty crops make up half of the agricultural cash receipts in America, and had previously not been recognized within the Farm Bill. The specialty crop title added $3 billion dollars to support these important crops. This title created the block crop grant program that is now awarding these funds.

The Michigan projects being funded by these grants are:

• Michigan Food and Farming Systems  - to provide food safety education and information on the latest food safety research and to support specialty crop producers in completing and implementing a Good Agricultural Practices and/or Good Handling Practices plan.
• Michigan Potato Management Board - to conduct comparative acrylamide testing to determine asparagine levels in raw tubers after harvest.
• Michigan Processing Apple Growers Division of Michigan Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Association   - to conduct asparagus, tart cherry, peach and apple grower educational meeting on Good Agricultural Practices and worker health and hygiene.
• MDA - Create a consumer directory of nurseries, greenhouses, and sod operations, support contractual staff to organize the market that only specialty crop companies and businesses will be permitted to participate, create website content and maintain the Select Michigan website solely to promote specialty crop companies, sponsor and promote a Michigan Pavilion at the Michigan Grocers Association annual meeting and trade show solely for specialty crop vendors and create statewide outdoor advertising campaign for Michigan specialty crops, focusing on the specialty crop from which a particular product was made.
• Michigan Farm Market and Agri-Tourism Association in coordination with the Michigan Apple Committee   - to prompt hotel guest to visit a local apple farm and encourage hotel/motel properties that serve breakfast, cater or have restaurants to source local Michigan apples.
• Michigan Christmas Tree Association - to conduct a campaign of direct mail and display advertising directed to Christmas tree buyers that drives them to the Michigan Christmas Tree Association website and connects them directly with Michigan Christmas tree growers and educate elementary school children about natural Christmas trees.
• Michigan Wine Foundation -  to gather and analyze detailed Michigan wine sales data from both winery tasting rooms and wholesale wine and to provide a forward look needed to accelerate development of Michigan vineyards.
• Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation - to research the need for fresh produce in underserved areas in Detroit, and to market and promote the expansion of a produce truck route to those areas.
• Cherry Marketing Institute - to conduct an interactive/social marketing initiative to promote tart cherries.
• Michigan Asparagus Industry Development Program - to contract with the National Agricultural Statistics Service to obtain updated data which will assist in predicting raw asparagus product supplies, aiding in crop pricing and promote Michigan asparagus through Select Michigan radio spots.
• National Grape Cooperative   - to assist Michigan grape growers with completion of the Grape*A*Syst Program, facilitate the adoption of sustainable viticulture practices by working with grape growers to develop an action plan for their vineyard, and increase grape grower participation in the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program.
• Michigan Apple Association - to utilize space in the Michigan Pavilion at the National Restaurant Show to showcase a comprehensive presentation of Michigan fruit desserts and other dishes.
• Michigan Bean Commission - to secure booth space at various domestic and international trade shows to showcase the high quality products grown and processed in Michigan.
• West Michigan Tourist Association - to promote agri-tourism opportunities solely for specialty crop members.
• Form a Culinary Tourism Alliance - to increase sales and profitability for Michigan specialty crops through increased menu offerings of local products at Michigan restaurants and promote Michigan as a destination for culinary travel experiences.
• Michigan Vegetable Council - to work in collaboration with the Michigan State University Vegetable Area of Expertise Team to provide grower education at the 2009 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo.
• Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Stations - to establish high density and other innovative research plantings of apple, cherry, grape, blueberry, raspberry and peach at campus farms to develop and deliver evolving management tactics, strategies and tools that will keep Michigan fruit producers profitable.
• Michigan State University - to study water and nutrient management research on container-grown landscape trees, compare the growth and quality of landscape shade trees and conifers grown with conventional fertilizers and organic-approved fertilizers and develop whole crop water nutrient budgets for shade tree and conifer crops grown with conventional and organic-fertilizers.
• Michigan State University -  to identify novel apple varieties and wild species that produce high levels of valuable anthocyanin compounds in fruit, select those optimal for Michigan cultivation, and provide growers with the resources needed to establish such varieties for juice and food additive.
• Michigan Bean Commission - to evaluate row width and plant density at several levels and sites, assess impact and adaptability of suitable dry bean cultivars and breeding lines, assess plant desiccants and disease control strategies and improve quality of direct harvest beans
• Michigan State University - to screen currently available petunia cultivars for early flowering under nonoptimal conditions and to develop baseline genetic data that will facilitate efforts to develop molecular markers for early flowering for use in future breeding.
• Michigan Nursery & Landscape Association - to maximize pre-emergence herbicide efficacy by evaluating specific herbicide/weed interactions, investigate strategies for controlling weeds with non-chemical cultural practices and characterize the diversity and abundance of weedy plants present.
• Michigan State University - to optimize strip-tillage systems which protect vulnerable carrot seedlings from wind and soil erosion while improving soil health, enhance germination/emergence through variety testing, seed priming, and soil management approaches and evaluate optimal planting densities to maximize carrot quality and profit.
• Food System Economic Partnership - to create and expand opportunities for specialty crop farmers in Southeast Michigan in order to increase production and meet demand for local fruits and vegetables from schools.
• Perform pre-award and post-award activities (ADMIN COSTS) 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.

— 30 —