The Bottom Line No. 8 (link to full issue), July 24, 2024
In this issue: I’m Back! Welcome our new berry specialist, Heather Kase. Strategies for NYS Grown and Certified Grant. Reminder to update your farm information in the NYS Ag and Markets Farm Directory. Last Call for Producers impacted by 2022 Natural Disasters to apply for Emergency Relief Program. Opportunity for farmer’s market farms to participate in Point of Sale Data research project. Automatic vegetable transplanter. GAP Certification Cost Share, Overtime Tax Credit Advance. Upcoming programs.
News
Welcome New ENYCH Berry Specialist, Heather Kase!
On July 1 we welcomed our new Berry Production Extension Specialist, Heather Kase. Heather is based out of the Hudson Valley Lab in Highland but serves the 17 counties in the ENYCH region.
Heather is experienced in bio-control in fruit and vegetable crops, prior to joining our team she worked for BioBee covering much of the East Coast. She is looking forward to having a “smaller” territory to cover!
You can reach Heather by email at hjk77@cornell.edu and by cell phone at 518.925.3089.
Please Update Your Information in the NYS Farm Directory
The NYS Department of Agriculture has launched an online Farm Directory to connect consumers to producers of farm products. The Department knows that not every farm offers products to the public at the farm site, so each farm can indicate whether it is open to the public or if there are other ways to access their products. There is also the option to opt out of participation in the Directory. The Farm Directory is active on the Department’s website. If you own a farm and want to participate in the Directory, please visit the Department’s website and create your farm listing.
Research
Do You Use Square POS at Your Farmers Market? Join Cornell Marketing Research Project!
Editorial Note From Liz: Better direct market price data could be used to help justify improved crop insurance and NAP payments and strengthen business plans for farms seeking loans and grants. USDA is collecting less and less fruit and vegetable data, especially at the county level. Your participation in this project could be good for the ag industry in New York.
The Cornell Agriculture Marketing Research Program (CAMRP) at Cornell University is recruiting NY farmer participation in research involving the use of point-of-sale (POS) software at farmers markets. The purpose of the project is to study customer spending and identify opportunities for farms to adopt marketing practices to increase customer spending and daily market sales. Read more about the research here.
Additionally, the POS data can be used to create weekly Farmers Market Price Reports to share average pricing for certain farm commodities (fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy) across the state. They are seeking farms selling fruit, vegetables, meat and/or dairy products at farmers markets to participate and pay farms $25 for each week of qualifying sales data.
Tool of the Week
Labor Saving Technology Focus – The Agriplanter
The NY Grown and Certified Grant will fund 90% of the cost of labor saving technologies. When I was in Western NY, I had the opportunity to see an automated transplanter, the Agriplanter, demonstration by Puehler AgCo. According to the company representative, the 2-row planter (with associated “stuff”) would cost around $270,000.
This was an example of technology that could be considered for the NY Grown and Certified Grant – if a farm could demonstrate that it would be cost-effective. Here is a link to a video of the transplanter in action. An article last January in AgAlert discussed the experience of California growers who have adopted this type of technology.
Funding Opportunities
Governor Hochul Announces New Refundable Farm Employer Overtime Tax Credit Application Period Now Open
The Farm Employer Overtime Credit is a refundable tax credit available for eligible farm employers who paid overtime wages after January 1, 2024.
Farm employers who have registered in the new online portal at taxcredit.agriculture.ny.gov may enter eligible employee overtime information and submit their application to the Department of Ag and Markets for a certificate of advance payment of eligible overtime. Farmers may also wait until August to apply for reimbursement for the entire January 1-July 31 period. A user guide to the credit advance is available to help walk you through the process of applying for the advance.