North Dakota agriculture commissioner awards 10 grants totaling more than US$640,000 to promote specialty crops in North Dakota

Nevin Barich

BISMARCK, North Dakota , October 17, 2011 (Associated Press) – Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has awarded 10 grants totaling more than $640,000 to promote specialty crops in North Dakota.

The money was approved in the 2008 Farm Bill. North Dakota's Agriculture Department got 25 applications totaling more than $1.3 million.

North Dakota State University got about $204,000 in grants for four projects, including work on potatoes, fruit and pinto beans. The state Agriculture Department got just under $100,000 for an initiative to develop local foods infrastructure. Another large grant of about $85,000 went to the Williston Ag Diversification Group in part to promote the specialty potato variety Mondak Gold.

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