Our Funding Source
This project is entirely funded by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant. To read more about the SCBG please follow this link: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/business-dev-loans-grants/specialty-crop-block-grant
Specialty Crop Grant Online Forum Goal:
Since November 2020, the University of Minnesota Research Team of Professor Alan Smith, Professor Chengyan Yue, Researcher Corissa Marson, Researcher Marie Abbey, and Carrie Stowers have been studying methods for "Identifying and Overcoming Stakeholder Barriers to Adoption of Biotechnology in MN Specialty Crops". Funded by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant, the survey data was collected in 2021 and the next step will be to gather feedback from producer and consumer groups.
Our goals for this forum and the overall project include:
1. To learn what issues surround bioengineered specialty crops and are of most concern to growers and consumers
2. Create educational materials tailored to address those issues
We are searching for opportunities for growers to save labor and consumers to have better food. We are not here to change organic standards or lobby for any other policy changes.