New York Farm Viability Institute Website Press Releases 

PRESS RELEASE: April 21, 2006
Contact: R. David Smith, New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc., 315-453-3823

Budget Includes $5 Million for New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc.

Syracuse, NY -- The New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc. (NYFVI) will receive $5 million through the 2006 New York State budget to continue its success story of measurable farm level impacts for New York farmers, producers and farm-based businesses. Institute-funded projects are retaining and creating jobs and enterprises, increasing the sales of agricultural and horticultural products, and increasing the profitability of farm-based enterprises statewide.

“The Institute has consistently proven its merit by the number of success stories told by farmers and producers as a result of the first round of projects,” Empire Council of Agriculture Organizations President Steve Griffen said. “The first $1 million in funding from the USDA resulted in more than $25 million in agricultural investments in New York. These are exactly the results that were hoped for when the New York Farm Viability Institute was created.”

State legislators and Governor George E. Pataki increased State funding to the Institute for a total of $5 million for 2006. The NYFVI received $3.2 million from New York State in 2005. The 2006 funding will allow the farmer-led, not-for-profit Institute to increase its ability to explore the opportunities for and overcome the barriers to financial success for New York’s farmers and agricultural and horticultural industries.

New York State Senator and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Catharine M. Young and New York State Assemblyman and Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair William Magee fully supported the increase in funding for the Institute.

“There is no question as to the valuable work the Institute is undertaking on behalf of all agriculture and agri-business in New York,” Senator Young said.

“The Institute has provided accountability for the use of New York State funds. The agricultural community is taking ownership of this organization and realizing its potential for addressing their concerns,” Assemblyman Magee said.

All NYFVI-funded projects, selected by the Institute board with input from farmer review panels, must show farm-level impact and serve as models for other producers. More than 50 farmers were involved in the selection of the 33 projects funded for 2005-06.

The New York Farm Viability Institute was created in 2003 as a result of a collaboration of the Empire State Council of Agriculture Organizations, the USDA Rural Development Program, NY Farm Bureau, Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

“The New York Farm Viability Institute is one of the most innovative new resources for our farm families,” said New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Brennan. “I am pleased that this funding will be able to provide even more support for this exciting new venture, which will help ensure agriculture remains a viable and competitive sector of New York’s economy.”

“The Institute is innovative and unique in its ability to involve farmers in every phase of a project,” NY Farm Bureau President John Lincoln said. “Farmers identify what project areas they would like to see addressed and they decide on what projects receive the funding.”

The Institute funds projects for agricultural enterprises of all sizes and across all commodity areas. Current projects include dairy, maple, sod, grapes, vegetables and fruit trees. The Institute’s grant programs provide funds for agriculture innovation, extension innovation and applied research. Requests for new project proposals will posted on the web at www.nyfarmviability.org on May 1.

To learn more about the Institute, visit www.nyfarmviability.org or contact the New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc., 159 Dwight Park Circle #104, Syracuse, NY 13209, 315-453-3823.