TOPEKA -- The Kansas Department of Agriculture and the agriculture marketing division

of the Kansas Department of Commerce will co-host a meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July

29, to discuss how Kansas will award grants from two allocations the state will receive

from USDA's specialty crop block grant program.

The meeting is in the fourth floor meeting room of the Kansas Department of Agriculture,

109 SW 9th Street, Topeka.

Kansas already expected to receive $104,504.80, in federal fiscal year 2009 as a

result of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 passed by Congress and

authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide state assistance for

specialty crops to enhance their competitiveness.

Specialty crops under this allocation are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts,

dried fruits and nursery crops, including floriculture. Grants will be awarded for

projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, such as through

research, promotion, marketing, nutrition, food safety and security, plant health,

education, "buy local" programs, addressing environmental concerns and developing

cooperatives.

Grant applications for this allocation are due Dec. 5, and awards will be announced

in February.

The second allocation Kansas will receive is due to a provision in this year's farm bill,

the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, which appropriated an additional

$10 million for the grant program for federal fiscal year 2008. Kansas' share is

$106,240, and the deadline to apply is earlier -- Aug. 15. Specialty crops under this allocation include horticulture, including turfgrass sod and

turfgrass sod seed, as well as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, nursery

crops and floriculture. Grants will be awarded for projects involving research, nutrition,

trade enhancement, food safety and security, pest and disease, education, "buy

local" programs, promotion, marketing, more efficient and cost-effective distribution

systems, environmental and conservational concerns, product development and

developing cooperatives.

Grant applications for this allocation are due Aug. 15, and awards will be announced

in October.

The grants are open to commissions, public entities, and associations and/or nonprofit

organizations that represent Kansas specialty agriculture and food producers. Applicants

must be a legal entity and have the legal capacity to contract. Applicants also are strongly

encouraged to provide a cash match for their projects.

Grant applications will be reviewed by staff from the Kansas Department of Agriculture and

the Kansas Department of Commerce, as well as by an advisory committee established

specifically to review the proposals. Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky

will make the final awards based on his own review the applications and feedback he

receives from reviewers.

More information about the specialty crop block grant is available online at

http://www.ksda.gov/kansas_agriculture/content/281 .