Farm Viability grant recipients will create and share knowledge that helps NY farmers improve their bottom line 20 projects, 1.6 million awarded
The New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI) Board of Directors announced 20 projects were selected for funding in its competitive Farm Viability grant program. The projects chosen will help farmers improve yields, lower input costs, reach new markets and develop new opportunities. All the projects funded have the potential to improve a farm’s economic viability.
“There’s a number of ways to help a farm’s finances, but overall it comes down to identifying new ways of increasing yields while reducing costs, and supporting ideas that develop market opportunities.” said Jim Bittner, Chair of the Board of Directors of NYFVI and owner of Bittner-Singer Orchards.
“New York is fortunate that its state government invests in agricultural research and education. On behalf of the Farm Viability organization, I would like to thank Governor Cuomo along with Senator Patty Ritchie and Assemblyman Bill Magee and their respective Agriculture Committees for their support of our mission in the NYS budget.”
“The modest investment we’re making in a malting barley project with the Harvest NY Cornell Cooperative Extension team, will make a real difference for crop farmers. This project will develop an overall supply chain analysis, build a New York production budget for malting barley, and educate growers on the opportunity. A successful grower can make significantly more money in malting barley than other cash crops, but they need the right information to get started.” said Mike Jordan, NYFVI Vice Chair and owner Olde Chautauqua Farm.
All proposals were evaluated by NYFVI’s extensive farmer review network to ensure the projects selected for funding address on-the-ground priorities. The volunteer board, comprised of ten farmers from across the state made the final funding decisions.
Grant applications were evaluated in five areas: Producer Involvement, Relevance to NY Agriculture, Farm-Level Impact, Outreach and Budget. The 20 projects selected represent a cross-section of NY agriculture, with research and education efforts that will benefit farms of all sizes and production practices. Project work is beginning immediately.
Project Highlight:
John Scotti of Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County will receive $65,000 to help New York’s commercial fisherman develop Community Supported Fishery (CSF) business models on Long Island. Currently almost all of the local catch travels to a distributor in the city before just a small percentage returns to the area for sale at retail outlets. Once there it competes with the imported products that currently dominate the market. This program will educate consumers about the importance of local Fresh, Indigenous, Sustainable and Harvested (FISH). Scotti’s set his goals high, with hopes of seeing 5% of the landed value of LI harvested seafood consumed through CSF programs. That equates to approximately 117,000 pounds of product with a value of $2.3 million.
2016 New York Farm Viability Grant Recipients Highlights for each of the 2016 projects can be found at www.nyfvi.org.