Specialty Crop Multi-State Grant Program
The Specialty Crop Multi-State Grant Program supports cross-state partnerships tackling shared crop challenges to improve the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops in domestic and foreign markets.
Funder: Washington State Department of Agriculture
Due Dates: October 16, 2026 (Multi-State Partners to Participating States) | December 4, 2026 (Participating States to AMS)
Funding Amounts: $250,000–$1 million per project for three years; approximately $14.3 million available in FY 2026
Summary: Supports multi-state projects that improve the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops by addressing shared regional or national challenges.
Key Information: Applicants in participating states must apply through their State Department of Agriculture, not directly to USDA-AMS.
Description
The Specialty Crop Multi-State Program is run by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), with the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) serving as a participating state for Washington-led applications. It funds partnerships working across state or territory boundaries to improve the competitiveness of U.S.- or U.S. territory-grown specialty crops in domestic or foreign markets.
Projects address practical regional or national challenges in food safety, plant pests and disease, research, crop-specific issues shared across locations, or marketing and promotion. The program aims to bring partners together around solutions that benefit specialty crop growers beyond a single state.
