Heitkamp Announces Federal Investment in North Dakota Agriculture

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp Wednesday announced two federal grants totaling over $3.3 million to North Dakota State University (NDSU) for specialty crops and for Dakota College to help promote farmers markets.

“North Dakota’s farmers know what it takes to grow some of the best quality crops in the world,” said Heitkamp. “These federal investments through the U.S. Department of Agriculture will continue to support the hard working men and women who grow the very food we consume through investments in specialty crops and farmers markets.”

These federal funds are dispersed as follows:

• North Dakota State University: $3,010,862 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program that supports the competitiveness of specialty crops.
• Dakota College, Bottineau: $297,325 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Promotion Program to support Farmers Markets as they sell fresh produce to local communities.