Posted 15 October, 2025
IDALS announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded Specialty Crop Block Grants to 12 projects across the state. The goal of the program is to enhance the competitiveness of Iowa-grown fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers, honey and other specialty crops through research, education and market development.
Annual funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is authorized by the Farm Bill and provided through a partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture. Iowa’s allocation this year amounted to nearly $370,000.
The following organizations, with the following projects, received 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant funding:
Iowa State University
Tackling Grapevine Viral Infections in Iowa: Advancing Detection and Understanding Virus Prevalence in Cold-Hardy Cultivars
Iowa State University
Advancing Strawberry Production in Iowa: Evaluation of New Cultivars for Yield and Disease Resistance
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Farmer-led Education for Growing, Packaging and Marketing Leafy Greens Year-Round in Iowa
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Creating Education and Networking Opportunities for Beginning Specialty Crop Farmers
Iowa State University
Investigating Nitrogen in Vine/Wine Quality
Iowa Specialty Crop Growers Association
2026 Iowa Specialty Crop Growers Conference
Iowa State University
Efficiency of Alternative Products for Replacing Sulfites in Wine
Iowa Wine Growers Association
Iowa Wine Growers Association Annual Conference
Iowa State University
Digital Content in Commercial Vegetable Educational Programming: Expanding Reach and Impact
Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation
Reading Across Iowa with Specialty Crops
Lutheran Services in Iowa
Expanding Access and Consumption of Lenga-Lenga as Iowa’s New Superfood
Choose Iowa
Promoting Horticulture through the Choose Iowa Website and Online Directory