On Monday, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, announced the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be awarding grants to 10 Iowa projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in the state. The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program has provided over $244,400 to fund the grants. The federal funds, Northey said, will support food safety, research, growing and processing methods to encourage Iowans to choose fruits, vegetables, nuts and flowers produced right here in our state. The maximum grant award is $24,000, and these were presented to: Lutheran Services of Iowa; Practical Farmers of Iowa; Iowa Valley RC&D; the Iowa Nut Growers Association; ISU Des Moines County Extension and four grants to the Iowa State University of Science and Technology.
