South Dakota specialty crops receive grant support

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture has awarded around $326,000 to eight specialty crop projects around the state. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Specialty crops can include everything from fruits and veggies to honey and hops. This year’s projects include brewing freeze dried hops, incubator hub sites, year round production, mobile classrooms, marketing, education and increased sales of specialty crops.

Some of the specialty crops grown in South Dakota include hydroponic tomatoes, lettuce, grapes, fruits for juices, jellies and wines, confectionary sunflowers, honey, as well as lentils and chickpeas.

Grant recipients include: South Dakota Specialty Producers from Yankton; Edmunds Central School District from Roscoe; Rebel Earth Farms from Martin; South Dakota State University from Rapid City; Dakota Hops, LLC from Spearfish; Southern Hills Economic Development Corporation from Hot Springs; South Dakota State University from Brookings and South Dakota State Fair, a Division of SDDA, from Huron.

“We have a wide variety of projects this year that are impacting the specialty crop industry. We have mobile classrooms educating our youth about the importance of specialty crops, as well as projects focusing on educating our tribal communities about high tunnel production, food safety and handling. This is a very exciting year for the industry,” SDDA Grant and Loan Specialist Kimberly Sturm said.