Illinois receives nearly $650,000 to enhance specialty crops
Illinois has been awarded nearly
$650,000 through the United States Department of
Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Thirteen projects will split the funds, which are
intended to expand the availability of fresh,
locally-grown produce and strengthen the state’s
specialty crop industry.
“Illinois’ fertile soil and favorable climate are
good for growing a wide variety of crops,”
Agriculture Director Tom Jennings said. “The purpose
of these grants is to encourage additional local food
production by creating markets for fresh fruits and
vegetables. This, in turn, will help ensure a viable
industry for our specialty growers.”
While best known for growing corn and soybeans,
Illinois is the largest producer of pumpkins in the
nation and ranks among the top ten states in the
production of other specialty crops such as
asparagus, cauliflower, green peas and lima beans.
The state devotes more than 117,000 acres of farmland
to growing specialty crops, which produces nearly
$137 million in sales for Illinois farmers.
A list of the grant recipients, projects and the
amount of their award follows:
Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organic
Conference $26,500
• Partner with the Illinois Specialty Growers
Association to organize the Illinois Specialty Crops,
Agritourism, and Organic Conference, which is
designed to assist 500 specialty crop producers in
managing their production and price risk; educate
specialty crop producers in developing “Good
Agricultural Practices,” “Good Manufacturing
Practices,” and “Good Handling Practices”; increase
consumer knowledge of the nutritional advantages of
consuming specialty crops; assist specialty crop
producers in incorporating agritourism as a
value–added opportunity. Matching funds will be
utilized to cover expenditures for non–specialty crop
commodities.
Good Food: Local
$37,500
• Partner with the Carbondale Convention & Tourism
Bureau (CCTB) to improve the sale of locally-grown
specialty crops by increasing consumer knowledge and
use of produce through a series of educational
workshops. Matching funds will be used to offset the
costs of the inclusion of any non–specialty crops.
Enhancing Safety of Specialty Food Crops in Illinois
$83,349
• Partner with the University of Illinois Extension
to offer training in Good Agricultural Practices and
Good Handling Practices; provide technical assistance
in writing food safety plans; and subsidize
third–party audit costs for specialty crop producers.
Encouraging Use of Specialty Crops Among Food Stamp
Clients $10,000
• Partner with the 61st Street Farmers’ Market to
develop marketing materials to draw South Side
residents to the market to purchase specialty crops,
provide education on specialty crops to youth and
school children, and provide specialty crop-focused
cooking classes in the community.
Determining Filed–Survival and Host–Range of
Xanthomonas cucurbitae $55,967
• Partner with the University of Illinois to study
Xanthomonas cucurbitae as the cause of bacterial spot
in pumpkin, providing data necessary for the
development of effective methods of managing the
disease, including survival factors of Xanthomonas
cucurbitae in the field, pathogenic variation among
isolates of Xanthomonas cucurbitae and the host–range
of Xanthomonas cucurbitae.
Researching Options for Sterilizing Planting Beds in
High Tunnels $49,158
• Partner with the University of Illinois to conduct
research and deliver educational programs on the use
of a portable steam generator to sterilize soils in
high tunnels to prevent tomato and pepper losses to
soil–borne diseases where high tunnels are used
repeatedly.
Apples Ag Mag
$10,000
• Partner with the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Illinois
Agriculture in the Classroom program to develop and
print a new Apples Ag Mag to increase awareness of
the specialty crop in Illinois and to introduce more
students and consumers to the ideas of locally-grown
foods and the farmers that grow them.
Pest and Disease Control Workshops for Illinois’
Grape Growers $20,061
• Partner with the Illinois Grape Growers and
Vintners Association to educate Illinois grape
growers on the best practices for vineyard management
to ultimately increase their yield and the quality of
Illinois–grown grapes by offering educational
workshops that address pest management and disease
control in Illinois vineyards.
“Illinois…Where Fresh Is” Multi–Media Campaign
$100,000
• Partner with WBBM TV, a subsidiary of CBS Inc., to
launch an integrated, multi- media campaign,
“Illinois Where Fresh Is!” designed to bring
“Specialty Crops” to the forefront of consumers’
minds and promote healthier eating habits, ultimately
boosting industry sales and keeping Illinois dollars
in the state. Only eligible specialty crops will be
included in the promotions.
Preparing Illinois’ Specialty Crop Producers for
Drift $20,757
• Partner with the University of Illinois Department
of Crop Sciences, Illinois Specialty Crop Growers
Association and Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners
Association to support an outreach and research
program designed to define the risk of damaging
pesticide drift to specialty crops producers and
assist specialty crop growers in managing such risk
by providing them with a series of outreach
presentations, special tools and guidelines for
properly addressing a drift incident, and access to
existing resources, including the Driftwatch program.
Documenting Nutritional Value of Local Produce
$127,723
• Partner with Southern Illinois University’s
Department of Plant, Soil and Agricultural Systems to
study the impact of variety selection, harvest timing
and storage duration on the nutritional and
antioxidant content of fruits and vegetables and to
provide grower outreach through pre–educational
project surveys, field production and sample
collection, fruit and vegetable tissue assays,
development of specialty crop fact sheets and
post–educational outreach surveys.
Establish and disseminate vine balance strategies for
Illinois wine grapes $63,351
• Partner with the Southern Illinois University and
the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association
to develop management guidelines for crop level,
nitrogen fertilization rate and canopy and vineyard
floor management strategies that will significantly
improve the marketability of Illinois grapes and
wine.
Growing the Specialty Crop Industry:
Farm–to–Restaurant and Beyond $40,997
• Partner with the Illinois Stewardship Alliance to
increase specialty crop sales to restaurants; develop
new resources to connect farms to restaurants by
educating restaurants and farmers; promote local
foods through the “Buy Fresh Buy Local” campaign;
provide technical training to chefs and facilitate a
farm–to–restaurant series. Matching funds will be
used to cover the costs of
any non–specialty crops.
Grant Administration
$2,928
• Perform pre–award and post–award activities to
administrate the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
funding and ensure that the State Agency and
sub–awardees abide by Federal and State requirements
and regulations.
TOTAL
$648,291