North Carolina Specialty Crops Program

Specialty Crops are new crops that have not been commerically grown in a particular region. Ranging from exotic purple potatoes to more commonly known crops like lettuce, producing specialty crops generally introduces farmers to a new way of growing. The North Carolina Specialty Crops Program provides crop production information, marketing reports and links to articles published online. We are a resource for farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers within the specialty crops market.

Late Breaking News: Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure, Compost, and Grass Clippings: Caution to Hay Producers, Livestock Owners, Farmers and Home Gardeners (PDF)

HOT CROPS

Seedless Table Grape
Cultivar Trial

A study was initiated in 2005 to look at the possibility of growing seedless, fresh market table grapes (Vitis labrusca) in the northern Piedmont of North Carolina. Research done on these grapes is scant and to my knowledge, no one has grown these grapes on a commercial scale in the NC Piedmont.

A local specialty crop grower, Doreathy Booth, who farms north of Oxford, was looking for a high value horticultural crop that she could gain additional income from. I suggested that she take a look at seedless table grapes, since no one was growing them locally. I thought it would be a high-value horticultural crop that could be added to her crop mix of blackberries and blueberries.

Read the full report

Hops, An Up and Coming
Crop in North Carolina

Field Guide for Integrated Pest Management in Hops (PDF)

Produced by Oregon State University, University of Idaho, USDA - Agricultural Research Service, and Washington State University

More information about hops

hops yard in Haywood County
Above: A WNC grower in his new hops yard

More Hot Crops

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

N.C. MarketReady Announces Spring Cost Share Cycle for Value-Added Equipment

The North Carolina Value-Added Cost Share (NCVACS) program, administered by N.C. MarketReady, is now accepting applications for the spring funding cycle, Equipment Cost Share. This program is funded by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to support the development of value-added agricultural operations, an emerging sector of North Carolina agriculture. A value-added agricultural product is a raw, agricultural commodity that has been changed in some manner so that it no longer can be returned to its original state. This change results in increased market value, allowing the producer to receive a higher price for these value-added products compared to the original commodity. Chopped lettuce, fruit jams and stone-ground corn meal are a few examples.

Applicants can seek to purchase new or used equipment with cost share funding. Equipment cost share awards will vary from 25 to 50 percent of the total cost of the equipment, up to a maximum of $25,000.

Applications for NCVACS Equipment, spring 2010, are now available online at www.ncmarketready.org. Applications are due by March 30, 2010. Guidelines and a list of frequently asked questions can be found on the Web site. Award recipients will be notified by June 1, 2010.

Funding for High Tunnels and
Organic Agriculture

The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering funding opportunities to help farmers purchase high tunnels and the get into organic agriculture. These funds are being made available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Follow the links below for more information. To talk to a real person, contact Stuart Ashby Lee, USDA-NRCS North Carolina, State Public Affairs Specialist, 4407 Bland RD, Ste 117, Raleigh, NC 27609. Phone: 919-873-2107. Email: stuart.lee@nc.usda.gov.

The initiative will provide opportunities for farmers to establish seasonal high tunnel systems for crops – also known as hoop houses – to increase the availability of locally grown produce in a conservation friendly way.

Organic farming is one of the fastest growing segments in U.S. Agriculture. The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) provides specific opportunities for organic producers and those transitioning to organic farming. North Carolina farmers who are transitioning to organic or who are currently certified organic can now apply to receive assistance under the Organic Initiative through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

Funding Opportunities Through EQIP: http://www.nc.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EQIP/index.html

Additional Links:
http://www.nc.nrcs.usda.gov/
http://www.nc.nrcs.usda.gov/contact/

Events Calendar

Statewide and National Events for Alternative Crops, Herbs, Organics, Specialty Crops, Vegetables

Free Grant Writing Assistance

Working on an application for a grant opportunity? If this opportunity is in value-added or alternative agriculture and in some way assists North Carolina tobacco farm families transition to or add new enterprises, then assistance in writing and putting together the grant package is available to you.

To obtain assistance, contact Blake Brown, blake_brown@ncsu.edu, (919) 515-4536. To find additional information and to check out current grant opportunities in the value-added and alternative agriculture area go to www.cals.ncsu.edu/value-added

2009 Vegetable Crop Handbook for the Southeastern US

ASAP Matching Funds for Southern Appalachian Farmers

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) is making matching funds available to farmers through a program funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. Farmers can apply for matching funds that will enable them to conduct promotions and develop materials that identify their products as local. ASAP will offer approximately $50,000 total to Southern Appalachian farmers to help them market and promote local foods.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Funding Opportunities

Specialty Crops Newsletters

A feature of the SCP website, newsletters provide information for growers and others interested in new crops

Farm Prosperity Project

Dr. Jeanine Davis received a four year grant from the USDA National Research Initiative on small farms and rural communities to study farmland preservation techniques and new crop/new agricultural enterprises as a way to enhance small-farm prosperity. This was a cooperative project with Land of Sky Regional Council, the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, American Farmland Trust, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, and Warren Wilson College. For project results and additional information, visit www.NCherb.org/prosperity/

The Medicinal Herbs for Commerce Project

This project aims to provide North Carolina farmers an opportunity to explore the economic feasibility of medicinal herb production.

Locations of Some Specialty
Crops Research Projects
Conducted in North Carolina

From 2002-2004, the NC Specialty Crops Program received funding from the GoldenLeaf Foundation to support a large number of research projects and educational programs throughout North Carolina. Reports on many of these projects can be accessed from this interactive state map.

You will need the free Adobe Reader program to view Adobe PDF formatted publications.

The Specialty Crops Program was funded in part by grants from:
Golden Leaf Foundation | NC Rural Economic Development Center | USDA

Updated January 28, 2010