The Nevada Department of Agriculture recently announced awards for 14 projects to promote specialty crops in the state totaling just over $301,000. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NDA public information officer Bob Conrad said that the goal is to “enhance the competitive nature of specialty crops” and to “increase the consumption of specialty crops at the local level.”
There are a variety of efforts that will be funded through these grants, including a study to increase pumpkin production in the state with Lazy P Adventure Farm in Winnemucca; a project to increase online presence of Nevada specialty crops with videos featuring producers, growers and retailers; and a project to help specialty crop producers with food safety, farm planning and marketing. The full list of projects to be funded can be found here: http://ht.ly/CogAK.
“In Nevada, agriculture is a small industry, but comparatively speaking, it’s one of the largest industries in the state,” Conrad said.