Ithaca, New York
December 7, 2001
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Initiative for Future Agriculture and
Food Systems has awarded a $1.2 million grant for the creation
of a new organic farming network managed by Cornell University's
Department of Horticulture.
The group, the Northeast
Organic Network (NEON), is composed of university
researchers, farmers, extension educators and nonprofit
organizations. It will examine ways to enhance production and
consumption of locally grown organic food in the Northeastern
United States.
"We will coordinate research, extension and outreach efforts
among the Northeast organic community, land grant universities,
agricultural experiment stations, as well as the public and
private sectors, to determine how organic food production will
improve small farm viability in this region," says Anusuya
Rangarajan, Cornell assistant professor of horticulture and an
organizer of NEON. "The growth in organic markets, development
of national organic standards, concentration of consumers in the
Northeast and recent federal recommendations to ensure small
farm viability make this project timely and relevant."
Over the next two years, NEON will develop enterprise budgets
and farm-business management information for established organic
farms in the Northeast. At the crop-production level, the group
will address information gaps in soil fertility and crop- and
pest-management practices through applied research. It also will
develop support tools to improve organic farming management.
NEON partners include the University of Maine, the Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University, Northeast
Organic Farming Association of New York, Northeast Organic
Farming Association of New Jersey, the New England Small Farm
Institute, the Organic Materials Review Institute and New York
Certified Organic, as well as several farm operations. In
addition to Rangarajan, the Cornell founding members include
Anthony M. Shelton, professor of entomology; Laurie E.
Drinkwater, associate professor of horticulture; Charles Mohler,
senior research associate in crop and soil sciences; Antonio
Ditommaso, assistant professor of crop and soil sciences;
Wen-Fei Uva, senior extension associate in applied economics and
management; and Brian Caldwell of Cornell Cooperative Extension
(Tioga County).
Related World Wide Web sites:
The following site provides additional information on this news
release.
The Northeast Organic Network:
http://www.neon.cornell.edu
Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander,
Jr.
Office: 607-255-3290
E-mail: bpf2@cornell.edu
Cornell University news release
N4037
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