Ag department awards grants for Colorado specialty crops

BROOMFIELD — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing nearly $840,000 to bolster the production of specialty crops in Colorado.

These include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops.

The funds will be issued through the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s office in Broomfield.

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“The diversity of crops Colorado produces is staggering, and growers continue to explore new varieties,” said Tom Lipetzky, markets division director for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “These USDA funds help Colorado producers conduct research and develop new markets for specialty crops.”

The grants are part of the USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and authorized through the 2014 Farm Bill.

The competitive grants include three to the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The amounts of those grants and what they will be used for are:

— $141,442 to the Colorado Proud campaign to increase the sales of Colorado produce through a marketing campaign and demonstration garden at the governor’s residence.

— $77,376 to increase Colorado produce suppliers’ sales by marketing and raising awareness about Colorado produce at the 2015 Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Expo.

— $77,381 to ensure the state agency and awardees abide by federal and state requirements and regulations by performing pre-award and post-award activities to administer the funding of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Other grant amounts and recipients are:

— $143,950 to partner with Pueblo County to increase awareness and sales of Pueblo chiles through a marketing campaign and demonstration garden.

— $107,000 to partner with the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee in Monte Vista to increase the sale of Colorado potatoes in Mexico through outreach to Mexican vendors and studying the Mexican potato market. And another $80,000 to partner with the organization to increase Colorado potato exports by developing and distributing a new method of screening for the potato virus.

— $92,336 to partner with the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association in Loveland to increase sales by assessing grower and consumer needs, and developing and implementing promotional products.

— $48,285 to partner with Colorado State University in Fort Collins to increase the knowledge and education of Colorado specialty crops producers by providing research and technical support and extension education programs.

— $46,872 to partner with Fort Lewis College in Durango to enhance beginning specialty crop producers’ knowledge of farming techniques through hands-on training and creating incubator plots.

— $25,000 to partner with the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board to increase the availability of scientific research around the grape industry by creating an accessible Colorado-focused research website.