April 14, 2009
CONTACT: Marion Horsley, (804)225-3820
Todd P. Haymore, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), has announced funding for
seven agriculture related projects which will promote and enhance the
competitiveness of Virginia’s specialty crops. The projects resulted
from the competitive grant process established by the VDACS Division of
Marketing for USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Block
Grant funds.
Commissioner Haymore commented, “This diverse group of
innovative projects will extend the success and profitability of
specialty crops in Virginia and help agriculture maintain its status as
the largest industry in the Commonwealth. I congratulate these
organizations for advancing ideas that will help growers add value and
enhance market opportunities across Virginia.”
The Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 authorized
the USDA to provide funds to the states to promote specialty crops
including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and nursery crops.
When considering grants for the USDA Specialty Crop Program, VDACS gave
priority to projects that included the following activities: assisting
farmers in transitioning into specialty, high value agricultural
initiatives that address the eligible specialty crops; increasing net
farm income through high value or value added enterprises; finding new
ways to market or to add value to specialty agricultural products;
developing pilot and demonstration programs in specialty agriculture
that have the potential for transferability within rural Virginia.
VDACS is awarding grants totaling $123,565.74 for these
projects:
1. Sustainable Fresh Market Tomato Nitrogen Fertilization, awarded
to Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension
Center, lead Mark Reiter (Painter, VA) – Grant funding will support
the development of new fertilizer application practices for fresh market
tomato production in Virginia to replace those originally formulated for
different growing conditions. The new practices will be designed to
ensure fertilizer efficiency and reduce nutrient losses to the
environment, while maintaining productivity and helping farmers remain
profitable.
2. Organic Control of Powdery Mildew in Winter Squash Crops,
awarded to the Virginia Association of Biological Farming, lead Gary
Scott (Petersburg, VA) – In an effort to meet rising consumer demand
and provide information to farmers about reliable organic control of
powdery mildew on winter squash, the grant money will fund replicated
field trials of four biological control products on six varieties of
winter squash at each of six locations across Virginia in 2009 and
2010.
3. High Resolution Vineyard Site Suitability Mapping of Virginia,
awarded to Virginia Vineyards Association, lead Tony Wolf (Winchester,
VA) The grant funds will be used to improve vineyard site selection,
appraisal and development by creating a high-resolution Geographical
Information System (GIS) which will be available online to industry
end-users and the public. The vineyard GIS will incorporate digital
climate, soil, physical land features and satellite imagery data to
assist with high resolution appraisals of site-specific parcels of
land.
4. Creating Conditions for a Sustainable Commercial Organic
Blueberry Operation, awarded to Eastern Mennonite University, lead Roman
Miller (Harrisonburg, VA) – The grant will underwrite the development
of a model system of specialty agriculture by determining the economics
and best practices of a small, sustainable commercial org
anic blueberry
operation. The study’s examination of soil preparation, pest
management, productivity, selection of cultivars, marketing strategies,
drip irrigation and high hoop horticulture will benefit regional
farmers, students and horticulturalists.
5. A New Nursery Production and Marketing System, awarded to
Virginia Tech, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center,
lead Bonnie Appleton (Hampton Roads, VA) – The grant money will
support the development of a new approach to producing, holding and
marketing landscape-caliber trees. In the new system, bare root trees,
grown in inorganic substrate production beds, will be harvested,
shipped, and marketed for planting in the landscape. System developers
will test alternative substrate components, materials to prevent root
desiccation, and the response of various tree species to bare rooting.
6. Pumpkin Promotions, awarded to Virginia Cooperative Extension,
Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, lead
Allen Straw (Hillsville, VA) – By providing support to implement
promotional strategies and to research optimal varieties, crop
protectants, cultural practices, fertility and other issues, the grant
will help Virginia pumpkin growers increase their already high quality,
yield and sales of premium Virginia Grown pumpkins.
7. Enhancing Productivity of Small Beekeepers in Southside
Virginia, awarded to Southside Beekeepers Association, lead Cynthia
Estienne (Emporia, VA) – The grant funds will help the Southside
Beekeepers Association purchase honey processing and bee education
equipment in order to achieve its goal of promoting the use of honeybees
for pollination, increasing the consumption of honey, educating members
and the general public about bees and beekeeping, and facilitating the
production of quality honey products by small local producers.
