![]() |
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 CROPSSeedless Table Grape
|
GRANT OPPORTUNITIESN.C. MarketReady Announces Spring Cost Share Cycle for Value-Added EquipmentThe 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
|
Events CalendarStatewide and National Events
for Alternative Crops, Herbs, Organics, Specialty
Crops, Vegetables
Free Grant Writing AssistanceWorking 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 FarmersAppalachian 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 NewslettersA feature of the SCP website, newsletters provide information for growers and others interested in new crops |
||
Farm Prosperity ProjectDr. 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 ProjectThis project aims to provide North Carolina farmers an opportunity to explore the economic feasibility of medicinal herb production. |
Locations
of Some Specialty
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
The Specialty Crops Program was funded in part
by grants from: Home | About
the Program | Current
Projects |
Research & Publicatons | Marketing |
Newsletters Links |
||