SCBGP@scda.sc.gov
803-939-5751
The South Carolina Department of Agriculture receives annual funding from the United States Department of Agriculture – Agriculture Marketing Service through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). This funding allocation is awarded to applicants in support of the specialty crop industry in our state.
Applications will only be accepted from producer, industry, or community-based organizations involved with specialty crops. Each must include a project proposal that will clearly demonstrate that its purpose is to enhance the competitiveness of a specialty crop industry in South Carolina and use funds only for activities benefitting specialty crops (see link to definition below). Grant funds will not be awarded for projects that directly benefit or provide a profit to a single organization, institution or individual.
Comment Period
The comment period is now open for the 2026 South Carolina’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. You may submit comments via email to scbgp@scda.sc.gov from November 17, 2025, through December 12, 2025.
We are looking for stakeholder input to determine the needs of South Carolina specialty crop growers to help inform the development of our request for applications and program priorities.
Recent funding priorities have included:
- Enhancing food safety
- Developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops
- Improving the capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, for example, developing “Good Agricultural Practices”, “Good Handling Practices”, “Good Manufacturing Practices”, and in cost-share arrangements for funding audits of such systems for small farmers, packers and processors.
- Investing in specialty crop research, including research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes
- Pest and disease control
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops
- Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems
- Sustainability
Application will be available in January 2026
2026 Deadline – Mid-February
2026 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
- 2026 SCBGP Instructions – Request for Applications — coming soon
- 2026 SCBGP Application – Project Profile Template — coming soon
Note: The Project Profile Template PDF form will not display in your internet browser. Once opened, download the file to your computer. Open the file from your downloads folder into Adobe Acrobat. If there is a yellow bar that appears at the top of the document, you may have to click the “Enable Content” button in order to edit the document. You may not be able to save your work if you do not have the file saved to your computer first.
- Financial Capability Questionnaire
- Definition of Specialty Crops
- 2026 Reviewer Scoring Rubric — coming soon
- Allowable/Unallowable Costs
This year, the SCDA is transitioning to the use of Amplifund, a grants management system. This system will also be used for grant reporting, reimbursements, and more. You can find links to training sessions below that will walk you through account creation and the application process. Applications will only be accepted through Amplifund.
Additional Resources
SCBGP 2026 RFA Overview
January 16, 2026
1:00 PM Eastern Time
Join information coming soon
SCBGP Reporting Schedule
| Report Type | 23-1211 | Reporting Period |
24-1265 | Reporting Period |
25-1280 | Reporting Period |
| First Annual | 10/30/24 | 9/30/23–9/29/24 | 10/30/25 | 9/30/2024–9/29/2025 | 10/30/26 | 9/30/2025–9/29/2026 |
| Second Annual | 10/30/25 | 9/30/24–9/29/25 | 10/30/26 | 9/30/2025–9/29/2026 | 10/30/27 | 9/30/2026–9/29/2027 |
| Final | 11/30/26 | 11/30/27 | 11/30/28 |
