At a glance
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is funding the 2026 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program to support collaborative, multi-state projects that improve specialty crop competitiveness through food safety, plant pest and disease work, research, crop-specific projects, marketing, and promotion. Approximately $14.3 million is available, and awards are expected to run for 3 years with a minimum of $250,000 and a maximum of $1,000,000 per project. Applicants must provide a 25% cost share from non-Federal sources in cash and/or in-kind contributions. Eligible applicants are domestic entities in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands, and partnerships must include two or more states or territories.
What it funds
Official description from grants.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Specialty Crop Multi-State Grant Program (SCMP). The SCMP supports collaborative multi-state partnerships to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through competitively funded projects. A multi-state partnership is a project that implements activities with measurable outcomes that benefit two or more U.S. States and/or Territories along with non-profit entities. The focus is to address regional or national level specialty crop issues, including, but not limited to, food safety, plant pests and disease, research, crop-specific projects addressing common issues, and marketing and promotion. Projects must enhance the competitiveness of U.S. or U.S. territory-grown specialty crops in either domestic or foreign markets.
Who can apply
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- State governments