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– Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded 27 grants totaling over .4 million to promote the development, cultivation, production and sales of specialty crops in North Dakota.

“The 2014 Farm Bill increased funding for specialty crops and North Dakota received a substantial amount for these grants again this year,” Goehring said. “North Dakota is already a leading producer of several specialty crops, such as dry edible beans, dry peas, potatoes and lentils. As our farmers seek to diversify their production, these grants help provide important information through research on production, management and marketing systems.”

The Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $2,405,432.62 for the 2015 grants. Last year, North Dakota received $2,893,455.29. 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 include:

·         North Dakota State University (NDSU) – $245,805 to identify root-resilience traits in dry bean genotypes for increased productivity.

·         North Dakota Trade Office – $179,596 for the North Dakota Specialty Crop Expansion Beyond Borders project.

·         NDSU – $173,010 for expanding local specialty crop opportunities in North Dakota through season extension using high tunnels.

·         NDSU – $157,159 to enhance tree selection and evaluate tree species in Western North Dakota.

·         NDSU – $148,221 to identify pathogen, soil and plant factors important to root rot development in field peas.

·         NDSU – $131,477 to define glyphosate and dicamba drift injury thresholds in dry beans, field peas and potatoes.

·         NDSU – $110,299 to study the effect of soybean cyst nematode on root disease of dry bean caused by fungi.

·         National Sunflower Association – $108,230 to develop a super confection sunflower effectively resistant to downy mildew and rust.

·         NDSU – $99,764 to determine host preference and phenology of spotted wing drosophila.

·         Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society – $99,580 for northern plains vegetable variety testing.

·         NDSU – $91,561 for rust-proofing dry edible beans for the Northern Great Plains via guided pre-breeding and breeding efforts.

·         NDSU – $80,302 toward the advancement of genetic resources for dry edible bean resistance to common bacterial blight.

·         NDSU – $79,633 to develop and evaluate anti-spore treatments for improved management of American foulbrood disease in honey bee.

·         NDSU – $76,206 for pea and lentil market analysis.

·         NDSU – $72,036 to study dry bean cultivars’ response to Rhizobium inoculation for yield, protein content and nitrogen fixation potential.

·         NDSU – $62,334 to enhance the safe use of specialty fruit and vegetable crops from field to table.

·         NDSU – $59,580 to optimize agronomic practices for faba bean production in North Dakota.

·         NDSU – $56,774 to study cold acclimation of winter legumes.

·         North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) – $54,302.62 to place value on seasonal fruits and vegetables.

·         NDSU – $50,997 to optimize fungicide application strategies for improved management of Sclerotinia in dry edible beans.

·         NDSU – $48,915 to study management of potato mop top tuber necrosis using cultivars that do not express the disease.

·         NDSU – $48,362 to advance value-added North Dakota export of specialty dry bean by bioactive enrichment for health.

·         NDSU – $46,690 to assess the potential for remote sensing of Potato virus Y in potato seed fields.

·         NDSU – $36,520 to conduct statewide screening of green foxtail for herbicide resistance.

·         NDSU – $32,054 to develop improved fungicide application strategies for managing Sclerotinia head rot in confection sunflowers.

·         NDSU – 31,442 to use fungi and no-till to enhance organic vegetable production in North Dakota.

·         NDSU – $24,583 to improve management of Fusarium root rot of field peas by quantifying impacts of common herbicides.

NDDA received 50 applications, which were reviewed and scored by a select committee and approved by Goehring and then forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for final approval.

NDDA received $200,144.92 to administer the specialty crop block grant.