ALBANY —
New York state continues to be a leading agricultural state
with 36,300 farms producing $4.7 billion in products annually, according to a
report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. New York ranks
among the largest producers in the nation for some goods, including ranking
second in wine production.
“While farming in New York is mainly a small, family
business, its economic impact is widespread,” DiNapoli said. “Farming supports
thousands of New Yorkers in a variety of industries and services, such as food
processing, trucking and tourism. Farms also protect open space and improve
public health by meeting the rising demand for nutritious, locally grown food.
We need to do all we can to make sure New York farmers can successfully
continue their way of life.”
The report was announced at the New York State Fair, a
showcase for New York’s agricultural community since 1841.
Most of the state’s regions contribute significantly to New
York’s agricultural production, with the Finger Lakes region leading the way
with 30 percent of statewide agricultural sales. The North County accounts for
14 percent while Central New York produces 12 percent.
Milk remains New York’s largest farm product, accounting for
almost half of the state’s agricultural sales in 2010. New York was the
nation’s fourth-largest milk producer and ranked first in the production of
cottage cheese and sour cream. Further, New York is well on its way to being a
national leader in the production of Greek-style yogurt.
New York was the second-largest producer of wine in the
nation behind California, producing 36 million gallons of wine in 2010. The
volume of wine grape production, which accounted for about 35 percent of the
state’s grape production, rose by 17 percent in 2010.
New York had 374 wineries in 2012, more than triple the
number in 2000, according to the New York Wine and Grape Foundation.
Three-quarters of the wineries were located in three areas: the Finger Lakes
and surrounding counties, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley.
DiNapoli’s report provides details on New York’s agricultural
sector, including:
Apples are New York’s largest fruit crop with the state
ranking second nationally in apple production.
Yogurt production reached 553.67 million pounds in 2011, more
than double the amount produced in 2008.
New York was the second-largest producer of maple syrup and
cabbage in the United States in 2010.
The average New York farm is smaller than 200 acres, less
than half the national average.
Suffolk County on Long Island is New York’s top producer of
floriculture, pumpkins and sod.
With this heavy investment of time and resources, Fox
works hard to ensure that the data used to make the decision to register a
variety is of good quality. A breeding program struggles when pertinent
information cannot be obtained, which can happen for any number of reasons. If
the weather is too dry, then assessment of disease resistance cannot be done.
If a location is heavily wind damaged, lodging resistance cannot be estimated.
Frosted grain cannot be used to make grain quality decisions. Having multiple
test locations, as Fox does, helps to avoid these obstacles, while also
providing additional opportunities to see specific plant stress conditions that
are difficult to create in a breeding nursery environment. "I run a fairly
big wheat breeding program; having material at various locations helps to
protect the program from losing material all together and ensures getting an
adequate amount of data to make good decisions each year.
"I measure my success based on variety surveys: if
farmers grow my varieties, then I must be doing a good job. This is more
important to me than counting the number of my scientific publications. I am
proud when farmers grow my varieties."
Being ecosensitive, Fox is planning to implement a
carbon neutral system in his house in Winnipeg to supplement water and heating;
he also plans to build a rain collector and has been composting for years.
Using fewer resources makes sense to him, as well as using them wisely.
Fox dreams of being the best wheat breeder in Western
Canada and of the Winnipeg Jets winning the Stanley Cup. “Then, Canada could
feed its hockey players the best organic wheat varieties! After all, we already
have Kane wheat, and one of the Jets star players is named Evander Kane....”
(This article was written by Nicole Boudreau,
Organic Federation of Canada, on behalf of the OACC with funding provided by Canada's Organic Science
Cluster (a part of the Canadian Agri-Science Clusters Initiative of
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Growing Forward Policy Framework). The
Organic Science Cluster is a collaborative effort led jointly by the OACC, theOrganic Federation of Canada and industry partners. OACC
newspaper articles are archived atwww.oacc.info one
month after publication. For more information: 902-893-7256 oroacc@nsac.ca.)
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