Cornell researchers win $3.7 million in grants to help create vibrant New York agricultural future

Projects ranging from such traditional issues as increasing productivity on dairy farms to creating new markets by using 21st-century Internet strategies to link small- and medium-sized producers to buyers are being supported by $3.7 million in grants to Cornell from the New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI), a state-supported nonprofit corporation. The grants have been awarded to researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell Cooperative Extension.

The 27 funded projects are designed to produce measurable results at the farm level and create a vibrant and viable agricultural industry statewide.

The grants range from $6,000 to test whether harvesting hay at a particular time of day affects milk quality in dairy herds to $325,000 for a multidisciplinary approach to combating the cucumber mosaic virus in snap bean, a new threat to New York agriculture that has cost the state $10 million since 2001 in the processing industry alone.

One project funded in Ontario County trains farmers how to interact with media on farm-related stories to improve neighbor relations, while another provides New York FarmNet with $216,208 to assist at least 75 farms statewide in developing business plans for new ventures.

A healthy environment is also high on NYFVI's agenda. Lois Levitan, program leader of Cornell's Environmental Risk Analysis Program in the Department of Communication, received $226,890 for outreach efforts to raise farmers' and farming communities' awareness of recycling of agricultural plastics, including silo bags and greenhouse pots. Each year, about 2.5 million pounds of plastic film are discarded by New York's dairy farms alone.

Developing and implementing integrated pest management practices is another way to minimize risks to the environment. Daniel Peck, soil ecologist and entomologist in Geneva, N.Y., received nearly $200,000 to develop best-management practices for controlling invasive crane flies, a major new threat to turfgrass. Improved detection and monitoring techniques, selection and timing of control products and cultural control tactics will be investigated and promoted.

"We are exceptionally pleased with our partnership with the NYFVI," says Michael Hoffmann, director of the Cornell's Agricultural Experiment Station and CALS' adviser to the NYFVI board of directors. "The institute has engaged the agricultural community across the state and is responding to identified needs by supporting highly relevant research and outreach activities. It is a new funding model that other states and land-grant universities need to seriously consider."

The NYFVI was established in 2003 with initial funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business-Cooperative Service and continuing support from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and in-kind support from CALS.

Lauren Chambliss is a communications specialist with the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station in Ithaca.

Media Contact

Media Relations Office