Fredonia, New York
September 9, 2002
by Peter Seem
The New York State (NYS) Department of Agriculture and Markets
will provide $1.2 million through their Specialty Crop funding
to support New York State's specialty crop industry. Of that,
$345,000 will go to
Cornell
Univeristy researchers, with an additional $75,000 to the
Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Program, which
Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station jointly
operates along with the Chautauqua County Department of Economic
Development and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and
Extension Program, Inc.
"The Specialty Crops program provides new initiatives for unique
and creative ideas that might have otherwise foundered for lack
of funding," said Robert Seem, associate director of Cornell's
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY.
Specialty crop funding provides as much as $100,000 in matching
funds for costs associated with advancing New York's specialty
crops.
The announcement was made by the NYS Commissioner of Agriculture
and Markets, Nathan Rudgers, at the Lake Erie Regional Grape
Research and Extension facility, in Fredonia, NY, on August 15.
"The Department [of Ag. & Markets] is very pleased by the number
of quality proposals received for this funding opportunity,"
said Rudgers. "The specialty crops grown in New York State are
indeed special and important to New York's agricultural
industry. The projects awarded funding will help ensure that
agriculture in New York State will remain diverse and thrive
into the future."
In the competitive grant process, 31 projects totalling
$1,185,000 were funded from the one-time appropriation of $169
million that Congress allocated to the states for specialty
crops. New York received $3.1 million of these funds, which also
helped launch the Pride of New York Program and New York City
market development.
Researchers at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva
received $166,000 from the specialty crop fund. Phillip
Griffiths, assistant professor in Geneva's horticultural
sciences department, was awarded $35,344 for a project to
develop virus resistant snap bean varieties. Terence
Robinson, associate professor from the same department, received
$32,710 to develop an integrated fruit production protocol to
improve European market potential for New York apples. Two more
projects from the horticultural sciences department received
funding, both managed by professor emeritus Richard Robinson.
His program to breed New York pumpkins for multiple disease
resistance received $21,622, and his program to breed improved
varieties of endive, escarole and chicory was awarded
$17,488. John Roberts, assistant professor in food science and
technology in Geneva, directs a program aimed to provide a
market analysis of new sauerkraut blends to enhance the
sales of New York cabbage, and received $14,000. Also from the
Geneva campus, William Turechek, assistant professor in plant
pathology, was awarded $45,000 for a program to develop enhanced
integrated pest management approaches to managing the strawberry
sap beetle.
The Lake Erie program in Fredonia received $75,000 for program
development and site preparation for its 21st Century Vineyard
Laboratory Project. When fully implemented, the project will
provide 30 additional acres for field trials, a new access road,
additional meeting space for extension-based education programs,
and a modern juice and wine quality laboratory. The enhancements
to infrastructure will aid the facility in attracting and
retaining top graduate students, research faculty and extension
personnel.
"The grant to the Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and
Extension Program, Inc. will permit the grape industry,
Chautauqua County, and Cornell to continue the revitalization
process the Vineyard Laboratory facilities at Fredonia," said
Seem. "This grant has come at a critical time in the evolution
of our plans and will allow us to complete the initial
feasibility and design studies necessary to attract full funding
of the project."
Funding for researchers on Cornell's Ithaca campus included
$19,902 to Paul Curtis and $29,048 to Michael Hoffman in the
department of natural resources to assess the ShuRoo device for
reducing deer damage to orchards and evaluate biodegradable
nonwoven fibers to mange pests of specialty crops, respectively.
Walter DeJong, in plant breeding, received $75,000 for
accelerated development of potato varieties resistant to a new
race of the golden nematode. Joseph Hotchkiss, chair of food
science, received $10,000 to develop a process and packaging to
extend the shelf life of apple slices. And Rui Hai Liu, also in
food science, received $75,000 to quantify the health benefits
of New York onions.
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