The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) recently issued a statement to inform the state's farmers it is accepting USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Block Grant applications.

Grants may be for as much as $30,000 per project, from a total of about $500,000. Specialty crops are those not covered by traditional Virginia crop insurance, so producers will still want coverage for their other products. While individual producers cannot use these grants, they may join groups and organizations to apply for them.

Eligible projects may be run by agricultural associations, industry groups, community-based organizations or producer groups seeking to make specialty crops more competitive in the state. Applications are due by noon on April 2.

"These specialty crop grants have proved to be a real boon for Virginia’s specialty crop producers over the past several years," said VDACS commissioner Matthew Lohr. "It encourages them to be innovative, and that often leads to new sources of revenue. That in turn can create jobs in the community and help keep our valuable farmland in production."

Applications must specifically describe how funds will be used. Permitted uses include research, marketing and food safety projects.