Pennsylvania ag officials taking applications for specialty crop grants
(The Center Square) – The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is inviting Pennsylvanians to submit proposals for $460,000 in Commonwealth Specialty Crop Block Grants.
Eligible projects she be designed to stimulate market growth and enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of high priority crops in the state including hemp, hops, hardwoods, honey, barley, rye and wheat for distilling, brewing and malting.
The grants were created under the PA Farm Bill in 2019 and renewed a third time for the 2021-22 state budget.
“These grants fund projects that seed our future growth,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a news release. “Hemp – particularly fiber varieties – holds tremendous promise for solving some of our toughest challenges tackling climate change and conserving and renewing our soil and water. Hardwoods are another key crop for storing carbon and supplying sustainable building materials.
“Hops and other brewing grains are crucial ingredients in Pennsylvania’s craft brewing industry which leads the nation in sales,” Redding added. “These PA Farm Bill grants are strategic investments in Pennsylvania’s future.”
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