Federal grant programs / Department of Agriculture

Specialty Crop Research Initiative (10.309)

Also known as SCRI

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$383 million
• Grant awards134
• Typical award$2.0 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$27.3 million
• Size rank433 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $98.8 million in fiscal 2021 to $27.3 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 433rd largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 84% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 32 states and territories.

What the program funds

The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by awarding grants to support research and Extension/outreach that address key challenges of national, regional, and multistate importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. The program recognizes that for some specialty crops which are grown in a limited number of States, the multistate nature of projects can be difficult to address. Except for Research and Extension/outreach Planning Projects, the SCRI program only considers projects that integrate research and Extension/outreach activities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose a unique approach to solving problems facing the specialty crop industry using a systems approach.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Applications may be submitted by Federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State agricultural experiment stations, individuals, or groups consisting of two or more of these entities.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Grant funds must be used for allowable costs necessary to conduct approved research and extension objectives. Funds shall not be used for the construction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility (including site grading and improvement, and architect fees). Funds may not be used for any purposes other than those approved in the grant award documents. Section 1462(a) and (c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), 7 U.S.C. 3310 limits indirect costs for the overall award to 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA) under a research, education, or extension grant.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

If minimum or maximum amounts of funding per competitive and/or capacity project grant, or cooperative agreement are established, these amounts will be announced in the annual Competitive Request for Application (RFA). The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/specialty-crop-research-initiative-scri

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: Combining plant genetics and edaphic environment to enhance nitrogen fertilizer management for cranberry production. Fostering Partnerships for Confronting the Dual Threat of Black Dot Disease in Potatoes Across the US Integrated Horticultural and Robotic Solutions for Labor Intensive Orchard Operations. Advancing machine harvest technologies for fresh market blueberries. Systematics, Ecology, Evolution of Pseudomonads infecting chenopods and cucurbits resulting in ACTion Fight Fusarium! Integrated management of Fusarium basal rot to enhance viability of onion and garlic production in the U.S. Making cover cropping a more commonly used tool for integrated weed management (IWM) programs in vegetable production.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Colleges and universities received 85% of the money, nonprofits 4.7% and small businesses 0.3%.

By state

29 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.