PORTLAND, N.Y. — The New York Wine and Grape Foundation partnered with the New York State Wine Grape Growers and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program, Inc., to submit a petition last fall to NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) to establish a statewide “Grape Research and Development Order.” The “Research and Development Order”, commonly known as a market order, is an assessment administered cooperatively by the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and NYSDAM. It will provide a grower supported, grower funded and grower led funding stream for research.
The grape industry in New York State, which is the 2nd largest producer of juice grapes and 3rd largest producer of wine nationally, is an over five-billion dollar per year business. Research in viticulture and enology ensures the future vitality of our grape, grape juice, and wine industries.
The need for problem-solving research will only increase to meet the challenges of identifying rapid responses to emerging pests and pathogens as a result of climate variability, winter injury, consumer preferences and changes in markets. The proposed “Grape Research and Development Order” will be a reliable source of funding to support problem-solving research and extension projects that will benefit all New York State grape growers.
Other New York State agricultural commodities and US grape growing regions utilize grower assessments to support research. There are five active “Research and Development Orders” in New York State: Dairy, Apple, Cabbage, Onion, and Sour Cherry. The New York apple industry offers a successful example of this mechanism. The apple growers voted to establish the New York Apple Research and Development Program in 1990. Since then their program has generated over $200,000 annually. The apple growers recently approved to double their assessment because their order has been successful at solving industry problems, generating profitable practices, and introducing new products and technologies.
The NYSDAM will hold public meetings to receive grower feedback about the proposed “Grape Research and Development Order”:
July 10, 2017 — 6:00 to 8:00 PM
Cornell Lake Erie Laboratory
6592 West Main Road
Portland, NY 14769
July 11, 2017 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Cornell Lake Erie Laboratory
6592 West Main Road
Portland, NY 14769
July 12, 2017 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
NYSAES Jordan Hall
614 West North Street
Geneva, NY 14456
July 13, 2017— 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Cornell Cooperative Extension
203 North Hamilton Street
Watertown, NY 13601
Public comments can also be emailed to Mark McMullen, Program Manager, Department of Agriculture and Markets, Mark.McMullen@agriculture.ny.gov
–New York Wine & Grape Foundation
For more articles out of New York, click here.