Transportation and Marketing 

Specialty Crop Multi-State Program 

Fiscal Year 2017 

Description of Funded Projects 

Number of Grants Awarded: 11 

Amount of Funds Awarded: $7,030,784.00 

For more information, please visit the grant program's website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/scmp 

NOTE: The below project descriptions were provided by the grant recipients. 

California 

Recipient: California Department of Food and Agriculture Award Amount: $483,278.00 

Sacramento, CA 

Project Type: Food Safety 

Supporting Food Safety and Honey Bee Health Through Veterinary Education 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will partner with the University of California's Western Institute for Food 

Safety & Security and Oregon State University to study the role of honey bees in specialty crop production, specifically 

related to high colony losses. The project will train veterinarians and apiculture educators to support beekeeper 

understanding of Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) complexity in order to maintain strong, healthy colonies for specialty crop 

pollination and safe honey production. Training will be provided through a comprehensive online bee biology course and 

train-the-trainer programs. 

Recipient: California Department of Food and Agriculture Award Amount: $770,356.00 

Sacramento, CA 

Project Type: Pest and Plant Health 

Optimizing Phasmarhabditis Nematodes for Mitigating Invasive Gastropods in Western U.S. 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will partner with the University of California and Oregon State University 

to develop and optimize a nematode biological control agent to mitigate invasive specialty crop gastropods in California, 

Oregon and Washington. Project staff will develop treatments for quarantine and nuisance or contaminant gastropods; 

educate stakeholders; and provide training on finding, recognizing and mitigating invasive slugs and snails in nurseries and 

home gardens. 
 

 

 

 

 

Recipient: California Department of Food and Agriculture Award Amount: $410,985.00 

Sacramento, CA 

Project Type: Pest and Plant Health 

Understanding and Managing Esca Trunk Disease in Multiple Grape-Production Systems 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will partner with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Washington State

University, and the University of California-Davis to identify the cause of Esca (Black Measles) in California table grapes, and 

its impact on the State of Washington’s wine and juice grape production systems. Project staff will also evaluate pruningwound protectants and develop extension tools for Esca prevention. A comprehensive outreach program is also planned, 

combining mixed-media approaches, in-person presentations, and pre- and post-project stakeholder group surveys to 

determine the current knowledge of target growers. 

Indiana 

Recipient: Indiana State Department of Agriculture Award Amount: $495,635.00 

Indianapolis, IN 

Project Type: Crop-Specific Project 

Filling a Critical Need: Diversifying Sod Production with Sustainable Turfgrasses 

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture will partner with Purdue University to provide tangible resources, production 

guidance, and marketing research for farmers who grow cool-season turfgrass sod in 36 northern states. The project will 

benefit existing sod growers looking to diversify their operations by shifting or expanding acreage to grow new low-input sod 

varieties. Agronomic and market research along with the enterprise budget tools will allow growers to assess potential 

profitability and risks of growing low-input sod varieties. New and beginning farmers will also benefit from the project as 

enterprise budgets will reduce risk and help determine the feasibility of producing low-input sod. 

Nebraska 

Recipient: Nebraska Department of Agriculture Award Amount: $479,751.00 

Lincoln, NE 

Project Type: Pest and Plant Health 

Improving Aronia Berry Sustainability and Fruit Quality 

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture will partner with the University of Wisconsin and the University of Nebraska to 

study the marketability of aronia berry with the goal of increasing small family farm profitability. The project will characterize 

the genetic diversity of aronia produced in U.S., and introduce new cultivars with improved characteristics. Researchers will 

also establish nutritional and flavor benchmarks of aronia fruit and determine pre-harvest factors associated with improved 

berry quality. Finally, the project will identify key flavor compounds contributing to the unfavorable taste of aronia berry, and 

apply food processing technologies to increase consumer preference. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pennsylvania 

Recipient: The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Award Amount: $806,739.00 

Harrisburg, PA 

Project Type: Pest and Plant Health 

Regional Approach to Cucurbit Downy Mildew Prevention Monitoring and Management 

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will partner with The Pennsylvania State University, collaborating with 

universities in Georgia, Maryland, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky, 

West Virginia, Louisiana, and Florida, to study Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) on vegetables grown in the U.S., namely 

watermelon, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, and muskmelon. Specifically, project staff will: 1) monitor and forecast cucurbit 

downy mildew using the Cucurbit ipmPIPE cyberstructure and downy mildew sentinel plot network; 2) assess fungicide 

efficacy and mating types to improve the understanding of host interactions and facilitate the development of cucurbit hostspecific management recommendations; 3) develop educational materials and train extension educators, crop consultants 

and other stakeholders in the identification and management of cucurbit downy mildew to improve forecasting and 

monitoring of cucurbit downy mildew through accurate identification and reporting; and 4) engage in citizen science through 

the training and utilization of state Master Gardener programs to improve forecasting and monitoring of cucurbit downy 

mildew through accurate identification and reporting. The research will improve producer ability to monitor and forecast 

CDM through continued operation and refinement of the CDM forecasting system, leading to less fungicide application per 

year. 

Recipient: 

Project Type: 

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture 

Harrisburg, PA 

Pest and Plant Health 

Award Amount: $770,360.00 

Reliable and Customized Bio-control for Fusarium Wilt of Tomato 

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will partner with The Pennsylvania State University, University of Maryland, and 

University of Florida to develop reliable, safe, effective, and economical biocontrol strategies for individual specialty crops 

and production systems. Specifically, they will characterize how diverse Trichoderma species/strains (soil fungi) interact with 

tomato roots and soil microbes, as well as their persistence in different types of soil. The researchers will also evaluate and 

improve the effectiveness and reliability of biocontrol for Fusarium wilt via greenhouse and field trials. Finally, staff will 

disseminate resulting insight and resources to expand and support biocontrol use and research for other specialty crop 

diseases. The researchers hope the results of this study will help develop effective and reliable biocontrol strategies for other 

specialty crop diseases. 

Recipient: The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Award Amount: $293,000.00 

Harrisburg, PA 

Project Type: Marketing and Promotion 

Making America Healthier with Sweet Potatoes 

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will partner with The U.S. Sweet Potato Council, Inc., collaborating with the 

Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, Mississippi Sweet Potato Commission, 

California Sweet Potato Council, and Alabama Sweet Potato Association, to enhance the competitiveness of sweet potatoes 

by studying the effectiveness of targeted messages and marketing in relation to customer expectations. Researchers will 

determine who consumes sweet potatoes and how they use them; determine the driving motivation to buy sweet potatoes; 

explore what happens in the potato retail category; and identify the most popular form of consumption – fresh, canned or 

frozen. It is expected that by the end of the project, project staff will be able to identify baseline sales dollars, volume and allcommodity volume distribution that will allow us to define a benchmark for measuring sales increases by dollar, percentage 

lifts, and distribution increases. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas 

Recipient: Texas Department of Agriculture Award Amount: $743,878.00 

Austin, TX 

Project Type: Food Safety 

Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Food Safety in Spinach Production 

The Texas Department of Agriculture will partner with Texas A&M University and the University of California to develop 

spinach varieties that more efficiently use nitrogen. They will also investigate natural variation in the antimicrobial 

compounds and microbiota of spinach germplasm against foodborne pathogens. The outreach plan will focus on 

disseminating research outcomes and providing information to spinach breeders, extension agents and specialists to 

incorporate identified traits into new spinach varieties, explain new advances in technology to efficiently use nitrogen and 

improved spinach cultivars, and emphasize the importance of these new traits with regard to farming practices, product 

development and enhancement, and market acceptance. 

Wisconsin 

Recipient: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Award Amount: $777,203.00 

Madison, WI 

Project Type: Research 

Expanding North American Hazelnut Production Through the Hedgerow Hazelnut System 

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection will partner with The University of WisconsinMadison and the University of Minnesota to expand hazelnut production in the United States outside of the Willamette 

Valley of Oregon, allowing the United States to profit from the growing worldwide demand for hazelnuts. Specifically, the 

project will develop a hazelnut hedgerow system for the Upper Midwest (WI, MN, IA, IL) based on the growth and study of 

American hazelnut (Corylus americana) genetics. Researchers will also develop mechanical harvesting equipment optimized 

for the hazelnut hedgerow system use. 

Recipient: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Award Amount: $999,599.00 

Madison, WI 

Project Type: Pest and Plant Health 

Optimizing Disease Management and Yield in Potato via Microbiome-based Prediction 

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection will partner with the University of WisconsinMadison and Michigan State University to identify soil-borne potato production diseases. The project will address the onfarm application gap for upper Midwest potato production, evaluate the efficacy of microbial inoculants for disease 

suppression and yield promotion across the region, and use the resulting data to develop and validate disease prediction 

models and decision tools.