Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack August 2 announced 19 grants totaling $36.5 million for research and extension to support American farmers growing fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops including floriculture. The grants are funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
Two faculty in the Horticulture Section of Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science were among the recipients:
- Lailiang Cheng, $4.3 million for Accelerating the Development, Evaluation and Adoption of New Apple Rootstock Technologies to Improve Apple Growers Profitability and Sustainability.
- Thomas Björkman, $2 million for Developing an Eastern Broccoli Industry Through Cultivar Development, Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Production and Delivery.
“America’s specialty crop farmers face many challenges ranging from a changing climate to increasing production costs. Investing in cutting edge research helps uncover solutions to keep their operations viable and ensures Americans have access to safe, affordable and diverse food options,” said Vilsack. “The universities, state departments of agriculture and trade associations that partner with USDA address challenges at the national and local levels to help sustain all parts of America’s food and agriculture system, whether the farms are small or large, conventional or organic.”
More information:
- Two specialty crop projects receive over $6M in USDA grants [Cornell Chronicle 2016-08-08]