(Wines&Vines) - In spite of uncertainty about future agriculture programs due to Congressional failure to pass the 2012 Farm Bill, the California State Board of Food and Agriculture’s October meeting in Sacramento focused on the success of California projects that have benefitted from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP.) The meeting also highlighted the Oct. 1 announcement by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) that California has received $17 million in 2012 grant awards for 68 projects statewide. The program has funded several regional wine association marketing projects in recent years, and it awarded 2012 funds for new grower/vintner projects in El Dorado, Lake and Sonoma counties.