U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer toured Cornell's Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva Feb. 22, where he discussed new research in grape genomics and pitched a plan to improve education in math and science nationwide.

Schumer's visit to the research park, known as the Technology Farm, began with an informal discussion with scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Grape Genetics Research Center, the facility's anchor tenant, about the latest developments in the New York state grape and wine industry.

"Things are profoundly changing," Christopher Owens, a USDA research scientist at the center, told Schumer. "The techniques in genetics are advancing rapidly."

As one of only a handful of U.S. universities studying grape genomics, Owens said, Cornell is at the heart of those advances. Scientists are currently working to develop grapes that are more resistant to cold temperatures, diseases and pests, as well as studying such qualities as color intensity and stability.

"The facility here in Geneva is critical," said John Martini, a local grape grower. "It enhances the local industry."

Schumer praised the collaborative efforts and promised to advocate for support in the Senate. "We will help you," he said. "Science and technology, and their combination and marriage to agriculture -- that's our future."

Schumer toured the facility, meeting with business owners and scientists along the way. Then, in a town meeting with area leaders, he made a pitch for "Math for America," a bipartisan bill he co-sponsored to create a national Math-Science Teacher Corps.

"One of our great problems for the future is our need for good science and math teachers," he said, noting that as manufacturing jobs decline, educating today's students in science and math is essential for staying competitive in the global economy. The bill proposes measures to raise national standards for math and science teachers, reward qualified teachers with financial incentives and build prestige for the profession.

Schumer said he expects broad support when he introduces the bill in the Senate this spring. "It's a good idea for America," he said, "and it's a good idea for upstate New York."

Schumer concluded with a request for ideas or concerns from the audience. "Give me my homework," he said.

Gary Harman, Cornell professor of horticulture and plant pathology, asked about bridge loans for beginning entrepreneurs. "You can't get money from a venture capitalist until you have a product," he said, and innovators are often forced to drop ideas or take out precarious mortgages to fund them.

Schumer agreed. "That has not been on my front burner over the last three to four years," he said. "But now it's gonna be."

Other questions covered local development, the war in Iraq (adding more troops "makes no sense to me," he said), illegal immigration and its effects on the agricultural community (he supports a plan for a national employment identification card), and a brief diatribe about the Boston Red Sox. (Schumer, suffice it to say, is a Yankees fan.)

The visit was Schumer's 17th to Ontario County since he took office in 1998.

The Technology Farm, a 20,000 square foot building on 72 acres, opened in 2005 to foster collaboration between faculty members in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Ithaca and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. Its tenants include several businesses developed and run by Cornell researchers and alumni.