NYFVI is pleased to partner with New York State’s Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) to manage the competitive grant program for New York State’s USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program application.
Guided by the State’s Specialty Crop Advisory Group, the 2024 RFP will continue to focus on a subset of the outcomes specified in the broader USDA SCBG RFP. Specifically, this RFP seeks work that will achieve the following outcomes:
- Improve Pest & Disease Control Processes
- Develop New Seed Varieties & Specialty Crops
- Expand Specialty Crop Research and Development
- Improve Environmental Sustainability of Specialty Crops
Each outcome has measurable indicators established by the USDA SCBG program. A focus on these outcomes and indicators is critical to a competitive proposals. The USDA document that describes these outcomes and indicators is provided below.
NY Priorities
The New York Specialty Crop Block Grant Advisory Committee, composed of farmer members of specialty crop organizations and associations, and other industry stakeholders, has developed specific research and education priorities that are aligned with the USDA outcomes:
- Research and/or education that addresses a key production problem or need specific to NYS.
- Developing and increasing the utilization of IPM strategies and programs.
- Addressing native and exotic pests and disease threats through development of pest risk assessments.
- Plant breeding for the development of crops resistant to exotic and native pests.
- Applied R&D focused on extending the growing season through new technologies, or improved practices.
- Developing new seed varieties and specialty crops with optimal performance under NYS conditions.
- Market based research that enhances the competitiveness of a NY specialty crop.
- Research, demonstration and training for innovative production practices.
Grant Sizes and Project Duration
Proposals between $50,000 and $250,000 will be accepted. Projects can be no longer than 8 quarters in duration, and all work must take place between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2027.
Applicant Eligibility
Eligible applicants include:
- Not-for-profit organizations (NFP)
- Not-for-profit educational institutions
- Local and Indian tribal governments
KEY RFP DATES
The 2024 RFP opens on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
Applications will be due by 11:59 pm Friday January 26, 2024.
Informational webinars
No individual conversations about the Specialty Crop RFP are allowed, thus it is important for potential applicants to attend the webinar about the RFP if they wish to ask their questions verbally. Webinars are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, December 6, 2023 and Tuesday morning, December 12, 2023. Registration is available here. Meeting links will be sent the week of the webinar.
Online Application Platform
NYFVI is administering this program on a new grant management platform. All applicants must register on this platform. There are two parts to the registration process. A potential applicant will first be asked to register their organization or business AND then create a user profile.
It’s not hard, just click on “Create New Account” to complete the registration process and create your logon credentials. Make sure and consider the email address you submit as it will be your primary User ID.
It’s likely that some organizations, will be registered more than once. NYFVI will work to eliminate duplicates after Users have registered.
The full RFP will be available after you have registered on the platform. For your convenience, a copy of the online RFP is shared below as a pdf.
RESOURCES
Important: The file below includes the USDA SCBG Outcomes 4 through 7 and the corresponding indicators. These outcomes are the focus on this competitive program. The indicators are expressed in past tense, using the language provided in the USDA annual and final report templates.
Reporting Template: The report template is provided as a fillable pdf form to all grantees. It must be used by all USDA SCBG projects funded after 2022. The same template is used for both annual and final reports. Due to technical issues it is provided as a powerpoint file below.
Prior Grant Recipients
A list of projects funded through this program since 2015 can be found in the file below. Within the file, worksheets are sorted by active and completed projects.