USDA Invests in America's Specialty Crops

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced 29 grants in 19 states to develop and share science-based tools to address the needs of America's specialty crop industry which includes fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.

The research projects that received the grants focus on five important areas:

1. improve crop characteristics through plant breeding, genetics and genomics;
2. address threats from pests and diseases;
3. improve production efficiency, productivity and profitability;
4. develop new innovations and technologies and
5. develop methods to improve food safety.

"Over the last 60 years, agriculture, including horticulture, has become increasingly reliant on science and technology to maintain profitable production," said USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. "Specialty crop producers in the United States—as with all of American agriculture—are seeing sales surge both domestically and abroad as consumers search for high quality, ‘Grown in America' fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. These projects will help provide specialty crop producers with the information and tools they need to successfully grow, process and market safe and high quality products, supporting jobs and opportunities for Americans working in specialty crops. From herbs to apples, from walnuts to grapes, specialty crops are central to the richness of American agriculture."

The media release is posted at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2011news/10141_scri.html.