INDIANA — The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) announced three Indiana specialty crop projects received a total sum of $446,169 through funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP).
“Agriculture is big business in Indiana and is incredibly diverse, and these projects are no different,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “This funding will allow the specialty crop sector in Indiana to flourish for years to come.”
Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops. For a full list of specialty crops, please visit ams.usda.gov.
Annually, Specialty Crop Block Grants are available to non-profit and for-profit organizations, governments, and public or private colleges and universities for up to a three-year project term and will fund specialty crop research, education, and market development. To qualify, projects must aim to benefit the industry as a whole rather than one product, individual, or organization. Applications undergo a competitive scoring process, including an external scoring committee review.
Some projects awarded this grant cycle include Bloomington’s Slaughter Orchard and Cidery’s efforts to reduce waste by promoting ground-harvested apples for hard ciders. Purdue University projects will develop a technique that will allow honey producers to ensure the quality of their honey products and create a produce food safety program for small fruit and vegetable growers in Indiana.
“This funding from USDA is critical to advancing our specialty crop sector, and each year, many different research areas are supported,” said Don Lamb, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “Everything from improving food safety to expanding the honey market and harvesting and processing ground apples, these awards will go far in enhancing our Hoosier specialty crop industry.”
Indiana’s funding is part of a total $72.9 million in non-competitive fiscal year 2023 SCBGP funding awarded to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The SCBGP funding supports farmers growing specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery crops. USDA’s support strengthens U.S. specialty crop production and markets, ensuring an abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops vital to all Americans’ health and well-being.
“I am excited to help other orchards recognize the potential economic value of ground apples to make hard cider. These apples can be used for economic gain where otherwise they would have become waste,” said Clay Slaughter of Slaughter Farms. “Working with other cideries from Indiana and North America is a great opportunity, and I cannot wait to start. All of us here at Slaughter Orchard & Cidery are thankful for the funding from USDA-AMS and the support of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and our project partners.”
The following list includes the organizations that received funding for the 2023-2026 grant cycle:
Slaughter Farms
Award: $163,680
Slaughter Orchard and Cidery will demonstrate to orchards, cider mills, cideries, and wholesale buyers that ground harvested apples can be safely and legally harvested, processed, and fermented into hard cider by creating a HACCP Plan, demonstrating the HACCP Plan for stakeholders during multiple field days and writing a position paper explaining how the process can be achieved safely and legally by others in the apple, cider and hard cider industries.
Purdue University Extension
Award: $155,966
Purdue University Extension will develop and deliver food safety programming for Indiana’s small fruit and vegetable growers. In addition to current educational offerings that assist specialty crop growers in achieving compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule (21 CFR 112), educators will develop practical, research-based training that may be offered at the Purdue Student Farm, the Purdue Extension Food Safety Training Hub and across the state. These two locations will allow for hands-on training to use equipment that will improve food safety practices for small growers. Course materials will be developed and outreach will be conducted based on stakeholder input to address real-time needs.
Purdue University
Award: $126,523
Purdue University Food Science and Entomology Departments will collect honey samples from beekeepers around Indiana to develop a fingerprinting methodology utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance to assess quality and authenticate the origins and purity of honey produced in Indiana. The information generated through the honey testing will allow Purdue to use a database for adulteration, and origin testing through NMR fingerprinting will be established to allow honey producers to ensure the quality of their honey and increase the marketability of Indiana honey. After the methodology and database has been created, the testing can be offered as a service to apiary stakeholders in Indiana. This service will build a resource to promote the Indiana honey crop while assisting producers with research and development relative to honey quality and marketing. Additionally, this project will provide honey producers with a solution to challenges faced regarding authentication and quality certification of honey produced in Indiana.
