Goehring Awards More Than $3.3 Million in Specialty Crop Block Grants

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded 21 grants totaling over $3.3 million to promote the development, cultivation, production and sales of specialty crops in North Dakota. 

“North Dakota is already a leading producer of several specialty crops, such as dry edible beans, dry peas, potatoes and lentils,” Goehring said. “As our farmers seek to diversify their production, these grants help provide important information through specialty crop research, education, and trade missions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) approved $3,380,166.13 for the 2024 grants. The grants are distributed based on a formula that takes into account specialty crop acreage and production value.

Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”

Organizations and agencies receiving grants are: 

• North Dakota State University (NDSU) - $106,444 to develop a qPCR rapid test to detect glyphosate in potato plants
• NDSU - $110,584.80 to fight two phases of black dot disease of potatoes
• National Agricultural Genotyping Center (NAGC) – $154,818.85 for molecular tests to supplement North Dakota’s certification program and field detection of bacterial blight pathogens in dry edible bean
• North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) - $138,113.44 for a North Dakota specialty crop outreach and education series
• NAGC - $257,800.50 for a genotyping panel to explore host genetics, pathogen diversity and colony fitness within beekeeping operations
• NDSU - $131,292.60 to improve management recommendations for three economically important dry edible bean diseases
• NDSU – $124,818 to advance pea seed quality analysis by harnessing hyperspectral imaging and machine learning for precision agriculture
• NDSU - $63,090 for polyploid induction for sterility breeding of ornamental trees and shrubs
• NDSU - $134,106 to explore molecular approaches to improve chickpea tolerance to fusarium root rot
• NDSU - $44,285 for development of a stone milling operation for field pea and processing of flour for enhanced functionality
• United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Sugarbeet and Potato Research Unit (Fargo) - $112,405 to optimize nitric oxide-based treatment strategy to improve suberization of wounded and cut seed tubers
• North Dakota State Seed Department - $78,957.17 for direct tuber testing of potato as an alternative method to Hawaii post-harvest tests
• NDSU - $97,050.40 to improve knowledge and consumption of specialty fruits and vegetables among adults and youth
• NDSU - $259,361.60  to explore the impact of potato genetic variability on rhizosphere microbiome dynamics
• NDSU - $150,048 to study pathogen prevalence, host resistance and economics of bean rust resistance via genetics and fungicide efficacy
• NDDA - $300,000 for international and domestic promotion of North Dakota specialty crops
• NDSU - $70,070 to develop an electronic potato storage book
• NDSU - $199,700 to increase biological nitrogen fixation in dry beans by using new hydrogen-recycling Rhizobium strains
• NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center - $97,817.48 for integrated root rot management in field peas with planting date, seed treatment and tolerant varieties
• North Dakota Trade Office - $388,695.50 for global growth opportunities for North Dakota specialty crop producers and processors
• NDSU - $112,000 to increase pulse-based fiber utilization in foods by understanding its nutritional and functional properties

NDDA received 52 applications, which were reviewed and scored by a select committee and approved by Goehring. Of the 52 applications, 21 were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for final approval.

The application for the 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for the timeframe of October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2028, will open in early December 2024 and close in January 2025. Applications will then be reviewed, scored, ranked and provided to Agriculture Commissioner Goehring to determine which applications will be forwarded to the USDA for final approval in May 2025. Questions regarding the upcoming application process may be directed to 701-328-2191 or scbg@nd.gov.