Awards
totaling $1.2 million for 10 projects to grow New York agriculture
through research, protection and promotion of the state’s specialty
crops were announced last week.
Projects for specialty crops, which rank highly in the nation in terms of both production and economic value, will receive money through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to provide assistance for
research and grower education projects to boost competitiveness
of New York farms and enhance long-term viability of agri-businesses.
Specialty
crops include a wide range of agricultural products, including fruits
and vegetables, herbs, flowers, shrubs and commercially-grown
trees.
Six grants for research and grower education projects based at
Cornell University will help provide innovative solutions for a number
of critical pest, disease and other profitability challenges to help New
York’s farmers improve their practices, enhance
operations and remain competitive.
In
addition, the Department of Agriculture and Markets will implement four
statewide initiatives that will benefit a broad spectrum
of specialty crop commodities by providing increased sales and
marketing opportunities, and support economic development in local
communities throughout the state.
Funding
for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is provided through the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to help states improve
the competitiveness of specialty crops. The Department of Agriculture
and Markets administered the program in cooperation with the New York
Farm Viability Institute, which evaluated proposals in the areas of food
safety, research and grower education, and
marketing.
The following six research and grower education projects based at Cornell University were awarded funding:
** $105,568
to increase consumer demand for fresh, local vegetables year-round by
supporting farmer entrepreneurs with the necessary business analysis
tools
to successfully enter the emerging field of controlled environment
agriculture.
** $51,916
to help growers reduce pesticides by 30 to 40 percent and improve
growers’ profitability by offering a series of one-day, in-depth
training courses
on state-of-the-art spray application techniques.
**
$112,149
to evaluate management strategies of leafroll viruses and develop a
comprehensive, integrated pest management (IPM) program to be
disseminated
to the local grape community to increase the overall quality of
production and vineyard profitability.
** $111,561
to find better ways to fight the damaging Cercospora leaf spot disease,
which affects beets. New York is the nation’s second largest producer
of table beets for the fresh and processing markets, and demand is
likely to continue to rise with the
opening later this year
of Love Beets USA, LLC’s new
beet processing and packaging plant in Rochester. Efforts will include
research to find a more effective fungicide, as well as developing
optimum methods for rotating crops and disease and
weed management strategies;
** $108,977
to reduce the impact of leaf mold in tomatoes produced in high tunnels
(covered structures where tomatoes grow horizontally on tall trellises.)
** $109,
829 to help New York apple growers adopt precision management
techniques to reduce loss and ensure that a higher percentage of
Honeycrisp apples
meet the quality criteria necessary for the fresh market. Cornell
Cooperative Extension’s Lake Ontario Fruit Program will coordinate this
project.
The following four promotion and marketing projects were awarded funding:
** $280,000 to educate consumers about the many environmental, economic, and health benefits of specialty crop consumption.
** $100,000
to increase the capacity of schools to procure and serve
locally-produced specialty crops and help schools in carrying out their
farm-to-school
plans and initiatives.
** $90,000
to assist specialty crop industry groups in providing information,
raising awareness and promoting the state’s specialty crops to buyers
and sales
leads at the New York Produce Show in New York City.
