March 5, 2002

CONTACT: Diane Baedeker Petit, 617-626-1752, Diane.Baedeker@state.ma.us

Bay State Ag Projects Selected for Federal "Specialty Crop" Funding

The Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture has selected 17 projects proposed by 15 agricultural groups statewide to receive a share of $890,000 in funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's federal agricultural economic assistance package

This Federal assistance is targeted to "specialty crops" which USDA defines as "any agricultural crop, except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts and tobacco." This can include non-food crops like nursery, floriculture, or Christmas trees.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture is awarding the funding through a competitive bid process. Farmers seeking funding for activities on their own farms were not eligible. Organizations and projects that will receive funding are:

• Berkshire Grown, Great Barrington, will receive $36,670 for their on-going campaign promoting Berkshire County grown farm products.

• Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association, Wareham, will receive $211,613 to implement a domestic campaign promoting cranberries, and $25,887 for a cranberry weevil control program.

• Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), Amherst, will receive $75,000 for their on-going "Be a Local Hero" campaign, which promotes Pioneer Valley farm products.

• Essex Conservation District, Hathorne, will receive $35,000 to continue the "Buy Fresh" campaign started last year to promote Essex County farm products.

• Massachusetts Aquaculture Association, North Eastham, will receive $14,827 to market hard shell clams.

• Massachusetts Flower Growers Association, Littleton, will receive $110,000 for promotion of locally grown flowers to consumers, a video and a manual.

• Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association, Belchertown, will receive $40,000 to produce a marketing campaign and $35,000 for an apple pest control program.

• Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association, Conway, will receive $22,003 to develop a pocket guide of native and low-maintenance plants.

• New England McIntosh Growers Association, Hatfield, will receive $27,500 to implement a marketing program to increase year-round demand for Massachusetts apples.

• New England Small Farm Institute, Belchertown, will receive $31,500 for their New American Farmers Initiative.

• New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association, Lexington, will receive $72,000 for new crop research, a pest control program and a marketing program.

• Open Field Foundation, Amherst, will receive $15,000 to study the feasibility of creating a milk processing facility in Western Massachusetts.

• Pioneer Valley Growers Association, South Deerfield, will receive $28,000 to hire a sales consultant and cover transportation costs in marketing Pioneer Valley grown produce.

• Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP), West Wareham, will receive $60,000 for their on-going "buy local" campaign promoting South Coast farm products.

• University of Massachusetts and the Livestock Marketing Cooperative, Amherst, will receive $50,000 to establish a web site promoting fodder crops for livestock.

"We were looking for proposals that clearly promote Massachusetts agriculture from agricultural organizations, commodity groups, cooperatives, non-profit organizations, collaboratives, and other entities that directly support agricultural initiatives," said Jonathan L. Healy, Massachusetts Commissioner of Food and Agriculture. "I'm confident that the projects that were selected will accomplish that goal."