Transportation and Marketing Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Fiscal Year 2016 Description of Funded Projects The fifty States, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories were awarded Fiscal Year 2016 funds to perform a total of 693 projects that benefit the specialty crop industry. All the eligible entities submitted their applications by the established deadline of July 6, 2016. The approved awards are listed alphabetically. Alabama Recipient: Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Award Amount: 334,169.30 Number of Projects: 15 • This partnership with Auburn University will facilitate the development of regional and farm-specific brands based on collecting data from leading Alabama agricultural and food groups about regional and commodity strengths; and collect data from growers about barriers and opportunities for branding their crops. • This partnership with Auburn University will determine the effects of fruit maturity on postharvest longevity, fruit quality, and consumer preferences of ‘AU Golden Dragon’ and ‘AU Golden Sunshine’. Kiwifruit from each cultivar will be harvested weekly for 4 weeks and initial fruit quality will be assessed. Fruit will then be placed in cold storage and fruit quality will be measured bi-weekly until fruit is no longer marketable for fresh fruit according to commercial standards. Fruit from each harvest will be measured for fruit quality, and subjected to a consumer preference study. • This partnership with Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) will enlarge, improve or develop three major teaching and demonstration gardens to be located at WC Patton Park in Birmingham, AUM in Montgomery, and the Poarch Creek Indians Community Garden in Atmore. The gardens will be used to teach students and community members about the economic, nutritional, and culinary value of specialty crops along with how best to install and manage the plantings. • This partnership with Auburn University will design and build a low-cost, efficient heating system that can be used to heat Deep Water Culture nutrient solution that will reduce energy costs for greenhouse vegetable growers and decrease the time needed to produce a marketable crop of lettuce. We also propose to disseminate findings to growers across the State in a timely fashion. • This partnership with the Alabama Watermelon Association (AWA) will promote the State’s watermelon industry throughout Alabama and across the United States. It will also increase consumption by educating consumers on the versatility and health benefits of eating watermelon, best practices in purchasing, storing, and preparing watermelon, and highlighting the economic benefits of supporting local farm agriculture. • This partnership with the Alabama Nursery Landscape Association (ALNLA), Auburn University, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will develop monitoring tools and resources for the nursery industry to recognize and diagnose the cypress weevil and carpenterworm. • This partnership with the University of West Alabama will incorporate Ampelomyces sp. endophyte into sweet corn in order to improve drought tolerance and production. This research will examine the effect of drought stress on non- symbiotic sweet corn plants and sweet corn colonized with Ampelomyces sp. under both greenhouse and field conditions. • This partnership with Druid City Garden Project’s innovative programs will enhance students’ knowledge of heirloom plant varieties and farming techniques. This project will also increase the expansion of the Alabama heritage seed nursery and teaching gardens to increase availability of Alabama heritage and history. It will also significantly improve student health and academic outcomes through the expanded deployment. • This partnership with Homewood City Schools will increase the demand and consumption of more specialty crops in the local community. In the city of Homewood, Alabama, 42 percent of the students live in apartment complexes and 28 percent of students receive free/reduced lunches. This population does not have access to learning about the many benefits of specialty crops or growing fresh fruits and vegetables without the outdoor classroom and garden towers. We want to utilize a hoop house to explore best growing practices and develop a system of growing specialty crops from seed to support the outdoor classroom and the five garden towers. • This partnership with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service will enhance the competitiveness of Alabama fruit and vegetable growers by ensuring they have access to training required by the Food and Drug Administration and produce buyers. The project will fund a series of courses to assist fresh fruit and vegetable growers in meeting federal Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule (FSMA PSR) requirements and buyer requirements such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). • This partnership with Mobile County Schools will provide teachers with the opportunity to incorporate garden education and farm-to- school based activities into the school day; enhancing learning, increasing health and nutritional knowledge, increasing knowledge of agricultural practices and increasing the consumption of specialty crops, while teaching the required concepts • This partnership with Alabama A&M University will evaluate a wide range of mungbean varieties and germplasm lines for adaptation and agronomic traits desirable for production in Alabama. It will also develop nutritional profiles of dry seed and sprouted beans and identify markets and market strategies for small farmers. It will assist in creating an awareness of and disseminate information about production practices, marketing and nutritional aspects of mungbean. • This partnership with Pike Rod School will provide an opportunity to introduce students to many new fruit and vegetables. A vegetable garden and a fruit tree orchard will be planted with produce the majority of the kids have not eaten before. We will create a beehive learning station that will support our community by providing a large portion of pollination for our surrounding orchards, pollination gardens, and local lake and ponds. This will help increase the yield of our crops and will provide learning opportunities for our school in the following areas: biology/entomology, agriculture, ecology, environmental studies, nutrition, and business. • This partnership with Troy University will provide children in the local community with increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables and encourage greater consumption. It will also enhance nutritional knowledge about fruits and vegetables for children in Montgomery and Troy. • Ensure that the State Agency and sub-awardees abide by Federal and State requirements and regulations by performing pre-award and post-award activities to administer Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding. Alaska Recipient: Alaska Division of Agriculture Award Amount: 212,792.61 Number of Projects: 5 • The School of Natural Resources and Extension (SNRE) at University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), will increase the marketing value of Alaska- grown produce and increase public awareness of food quality, by providing a quantitative report on the nutritional content of locally grown produce versus imported produce available at Fairbanks supermarkets, using spectroscopy to analyze produce from both categories throughout the season. • Nutrient requirement is crucial for quality and production of peony flowers in Alaska. Growers often send their soil and tissue samples to a laboratory, but can’t use the results due to lack of a guideline they can use to compare their results. To develop such a guideline, in the past 2 years we have analyzed samples (good vs. poor peony) across the State. Since weather affects plants’ ability to use soil nutrients, a reliable guideline requires a minimum of 3-year results in order to guide growers for nutrient management. The School of Natural Resources and Extension, UAF, proposes a 2-year study so that an adequate standard for soil and tissue nutrient can be developed. In year one, we will travel to growers’ fields across the State to sample well and poorly grown Sarah Bernhardt and Duchess peony plants of and their corresponding soils. Those samples will be sent to a commercial laboratory for analysis of nutrient concentration in tissues and soil samples. From those and previous 2-year results, a nutrient guideline for soil and peony tissues will be developed. In year two, we will verify the guideline through sampling selected sites across the State for peony tissue and soils. The samples will also be sent to a laboratory and the results will be used to validate the newly developed standard. In addition, the results of both years will be interpreted and sent back to growers to guide their peony nutrient management. • The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition and the Sustainable Southeast Partnership will conduct a Southeast Alaska Local Food Demand Analysis by collecting detailed information from commercial specialty crop producers and various types of consumers in northern Southeast Alaska. This study will identify crops that can be grown cost effectively in the region, as well as consumer demand and preferences for crops. • Ensure that the State Agency and sub-awardees abide by Federal and State requirements and regulations by performing pre-award and post-award activities to administer Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding. • Alaska Grown specialty crops have a fast but furious season during the short summer months.