USDA Definition of Specialty Crop

The purpose of this document is to facilitate coordination among the various US

Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies with programs that address the needs of
specialty crop producers, handlers and processors. Although a common definition of
specialty crops across these agencies is desirable for USDA stakeholders and customers,
it is also recognized that the mission of each agency is unique and so the application of a
common definition might vary. It is also recognized that individual states may wish to
modify the definition used by USDA to satisfy local or regional needs. The agencies
involved in this effort were the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Office of the Chief Economist
(OCE), U.S. Forest Service (FS), the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
and the Risk Management Agency (RMA).
Specialty crops are defined in law as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and
horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. This definition, although more
exact than previous legal definitions, leaves a certain amount of latitude in interpretation.
Fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery crops and floricultural crops are all considered to be
horticultural crops. Regardless, the specific mention of these crop groups means that
plants so classified automatically qualify as specialty crops. Where interpretation is
needed is in which plants, not specifically mentioned in legislation, can be classified as
horticulture (sic) crops.
Horticulture Defined
Horticulture is defined as that branch of agriculture concerned with growing plants that
are used by people for food, for medicinal purposes, and for aesthetic gratification.
Horticulture is divided into specializations. The terms used to describe these
specializations derive from millennia of common usage and are sometimes at odds with
botanical nomenclature. For example, vegetables are described as herbaceous plants of
which some portion is eaten raw or cooked during the main part of a meal. Fruits, for
horticultural purposes, are described as plants from which a more or less succulent fruit
or closely related botanical structure is commonly eaten as a dessert or snack. By these
definitions, plants such as tomato, squash and cucumber are considered vegetables
despite the fact that the edible portion is defined botanically as a fruit. The delineation of
plants by common usage was legally established in 1893 by the unanimous U.S. Supreme
Court decision in the case of Nix vs. Hedden.
Over the last 60 years, agriculture, including horticulture, has become increasingly reliant
on science and technology to maintain profitable production. The scientific study of
horticulture is divided into various sub-disciplines. Pomology is defined as that branch of
horticulture dealing with fruit and tree nut production. Fruit production includes the socalled tree fruits; such as apple, peach, and orange, and small fruits; such as strawberry,
blueberry, and raspberry. Olericulture is defined as that branch of horticulture dealing
with the production of vegetables and herbs. Floriculture is that branch of horticulture

dealing with the production of field-grown or greenhouse-grown plants for their flowers
or showy leaves. Environmental horticulture is that branch of horticulture that deals with
the production of plants for ornamental use in constructed environments, both indoors
and outdoors.
There are many facets to environmental horticulture. Nursery production involves
growing plants under intensive management for use in another location. Nurseries are
defined in a variety of ways: a) the type of plant grown, such as fruit tree, turf or
Christmas tree nurseries; b) the function of the nursery, such as production, wholesale,
retail, mail-order or landscape nurseries; and c) the production system, such as fieldgrown or container-grown. Landscape horticulture involves the design, installation, and
maintenance of both outdoor and indoor environments. Public horticulture involves the
design and maintenance of arboreta, public gardens, parks, and athletic facilities.
Horticultural therapy involves the use of horticultural plants to improve the condition of
people with physical, intellectual or emotional disabilities. Horticultural therapy also
includes the use of plants in hospitals and other medical facilities to ease the pain and
suffering of patients. Home horticulture involves the use of horticultural plants as a
recreational activity, generally by non-professionals. Home horticulture is the most
popular hobby in the United States with a commercial value of over $35 billion in 2012.
Crop Defined
There are many definitions of the word crop. When referring to plants, USDA
considers crops to be those plants that are cultivated either for sale or for subsistence.
There are many plants that are specialty crops when cultivated, but are also collected
from wild populations. Wild plants are not considered specialty crops even though they
may be used for the same purpose as cultivated plants. This is somewhat common among
medicinal herbs and woodland plants. There are a number of native ferns that are
collected from wild populations for use in the floral trade. There are also a number of
marine plants that are collected from wild populations both for direct consumption and
for industrial uses. Although these are specialty uses, wild plants are not considered
specialty crops by USDA. However, natural populations of native plants that are brought
into cultivation, such as sugar maple trees, pecans, blueberry, huckleberry and cranberry
are considered specialty crops by USDA. In order for a plant to be considered cultivated,
some form of management must be applied. The intensity of the management is not
critical to determining whether a plant is cultivated or not. This definition includes
plants, mushrooms, or plant products harvested from wild areas whose populations are
managed, monitored and documented to ensure long-term, sustainable production. If a
naturally occurring population of plants is brought under management and that plant
satisfies the definition of specialty crop presented in the second paragraph of this
document, then those plants would be considered specialty crops. It is common for such
plants to be designated wild-harvested for marketing purposes. Such a designation
does not preclude a plant from being considered a specialty crop as long as the above
criteria are met. For the purpose of some programs in which state agencies are the
eligible entities, states may choose to define plants or mushrooms collected from the wild
as specialty crops.

Similarly, some cultivated plants have multiple uses. Amaranth may be grown as a leafy
green, or it may be grown as a grain. Leafy greens are vegetables, therefore amaranth
grown in such a manner would be considered a specialty crop. However, grains are not
specialty crops, therefore amaranth grown for grain would not be considered a specialty
crop. There are many other examples of crops with multiple uses and an exhaustive list
would not be possible here. However, the following groups of crops are not considered
specialty crops: commodity or program crops, (any crop for which a grower receives
federal payments), grains (corn, wheat, rice, etc.), oil seed crops (canola, soy bean,
camelina, etc), bio-energy crops (switchgrass, sugar cane, etc), forages (hay, alfalfa,
clover, etc.), field crops (peanut, sugar beet, cotton, etc.), and plants federally controlled
as illegal drug plants (cannabis, coca).
The following appendices give examples of plants that are considered specialty crops by
USDA. These appendices are not intended to be all-inclusive, but rather are intended to
give examples of the most common members of the various groups.

Appendix A List of Plants Commonly Considered Fruits and Tree Nuts

Almond
Apple
Apricot
Avocado
Banana
Blackberry
Blueberry
Breadfruit
Cacao
Cashew
Citrus
Cherimoya
Cherry
Chestnut (for nuts)
Coconut
Coffee
Cranberry
Currant
Date
Feijou
Fig
Filbert (hazelnut)
Gooseberry

Grape (including raisin)

Guava
Kiwi
Litchi
Macadamia
Mango
Nectarine
Olive
Papaya
Passion fruit
Peach
Pear
Pecan
Persimmon
Pineapple
Pistachio
Plum (including prune)
Pomegranate
Quince
Raspberry
Strawberry
Suriname cherry
Walnut

Appendix B A List of Plants Commonly Considered Vegetables

Artichoke
Asparagus
Bean
Snap or green
Lima
Dry, edible

Beet, table
Broccoli (including broccoli raab)
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage (including Chinese)
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chive
Collards (including kale)
Cucumber
Eggplant
Endive
Garlic
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Leek
Lettuce
Melon (all types)
Mushroom

Mustard and other greens

Okra
Pea
Garden, English or edible pod
Dry, edible

onion
Opuntia
Parsley
Parsnip
Pepper
Potato
Pumpkin
Radish (all types)
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Salsify
Spinach
Squash (summer and winter)
Sweet corn
Sweet potato
Swiss chard
Taro
Tomato (including tomatillo)
Turnip
Watermelon

Appendix C: A List of Plants Commonly Considered

Culinary Herbs and Spices
Ajwain
Allspice
Angelica
Anise
Annatto
Artemisia (all types)
Asafetida
Basil (all types)
Bay (cultivated)
Bladder wrack
Bolivian coriander
Borage
Calendula
Chamomile
Candle nut
Caper
Caraway
Cardamom
Cassia
Catnip
Chervil
Chicory
Cicely
Cilantro
Cinnamon

Clary
Cloves
Comfrey
Common rue
Coriander
Cress
Cumin
Curry
Dill
Fennel
Fenugreek
Fil (gumbo, cultivated)
Fingerroot
French sorrel
Galangal
Ginger
Hops
Horehound
Hyssop
Lavender
Lemon balm
Lemon thyme
Lovage
Mace
Mahlab

Malabathrum
Marjoram
Mint (all types)
Nutmeg
Oregano
Orris root
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper
Rocket (arugula)
Rosemary
Rue
Saffron
Sage (all types)
Savory (all types)
Tarragon
Thyme
Turmeric
Vanilla
Wasabi
Water cress

Appendix D: A List of Plants Commonly

Considered Medicinal Herbs
Artemissia
Arum
Astragalus
Boldo
Cananga
Comfrey
Coneflower
Ephedra
Fenugreek
Feverfew
Foxglove
Ginko biloba
Ginseng
Goats rue
Goldenseal
Gypsywort
Horehound
Horsetail
Lavender

Liquorice
Marshmallow
Mullein
Passion flower
Patchouli
Pennyroyal
Pokeweed
St. Johns wort
Senna
Skullcap
Sonchus
Sorrel
Stevia
Tansy
Urtica
Witch hazel
Wood betony
Wormwood
Yarrow
Yerba buena

Appendix E
Plants Commonly Considered Floriculture and Nursery Crops
This list includes the major segments of floriculture and nursery
crops. For each segment, a non-exclusive list of the most common plants is
provided. Providing a complete list for each segment would not be practical
given the thousands of different ornamental plant taxa that are commercially
produced.
Annual bedding plants (begonia, coleus, dahlia, geranium, impatiens,
marigold, pansy, petunia, snapdragon, vegetable transplants, etc.)
Broadleaf evergreens (azalea, boxwood, cotoneaster, euonymus, holly,
pieris, rhododendron, viburnum, etc.)
Christmas trees (balsam fir, blue spruce, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, living
Christmas tree, noble fir, scots pine, white pine, etc.)
Cut cultivated greens (asparagus fern, coniferous evergreens, eucalyptus,
holly, leatherleaf fern, pittosporum, etc.)
Cut flowers (carnation, chrysanthemum, delphinium, gladiolus, iris, lily,
orchid, rose, snapdragon, tulip, etc.)
Deciduous flowering trees (crabapple, dogwood, crepe myrtle, flowering
pear, flowering cherry, flowering plum, hawthorn, magnolia, redbud,
service berry, etc.)
Deciduous shade trees (ash, elm, honey locust, linden, maple, oak, poplar,
sweetgum, sycamore, etc.)
Deciduous shrubs (barberry, buddleia, hibiscus, hydrangea, rose, spirea,
viburnum, weigela, etc.)
Foliage plants (anthurium, bromeliad, cacti, dieffenbachia, dracaena, fern,
ficus, ivy, palm, philodendron, spathipyllum, etc.)
Fruit and nut plants (berry plants, citrus trees, deciduous fruit and nut trees,
grapevines, etc.)
Landscape conifers (arborvitae, chamaecyparis, fir, hemlock, juniper, pine,
spruce, yew, etc.)
Potted flowering plants (African violet, azalea, florist chrysanthemum,
flowering bulbs, hydrangea, lily, orchid, poinsettia, rose, etc.)
Potted herbaceous perennials (astilbe, columbine, coreopsis, daylily,
delphinium, dianthus, garden chrysanthemum, heuchera, hosta, ivy,
ornamental grasses, peony, phlox, rudbeckia, salvia, vinca, etc.)
Propagative materials (bare-root divisions, cuttings, liners, plug seedlings,
tissue-cultured plantlets, prefinished plants, etc.)

Appendix F
Examples of Ineligible Crops
The following lists are not intended to be all inclusive but to provide
guidance based on previous inquiries.
Oil Seed Crops (including oil and non-oil culivars)
Camelina
Canola
Cottonseed
Crambe
Flaxseed
Linseed
Mustard seed
Peanut
Rapeseed
Safflower
Sesame
Soybean
Sunflower seed
Field and Grain Crops
Amaranth for grain
Buckwheat
Barley
Corn
Cotton
Grain sorghum
Otas
Peanut
Proso millet
Rye
Quinoa
Rice (including wild)
Sugar beet
Sugarcane
Tobacco
Wheat

Forage Crops
Alfalfa
Clover
Hay
Range grasses