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Grants available through state-funded vineyard improvement program

PORTLAND — The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets through the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) has established a reimbursement grant opportunity funded by the Southern Tier Agricultural Industry Enhancement Program. As a result of the Concord Summit held in Westfield, in April of 2018, Commissioner Richard Ball introduced this program available for Concord vineyards in the Southern Tier which includes Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, and Tioga Counties as well as Erie and Niagara counties.

The goal is not to remove Concord grapes from the industry, but instead to remove abandoned or poorly producing Concord vineyards and then replace them with an agricultural commodity. This can even be with a new Concord vineyard. Removing sources of pest and infection will help neighboring commercial vineyards by reducing the amount of inoculum present and reducing the inputs required to keep those vineyards “clean.”

So far there have been had eight applicants for this program, with the first payment to be distributed. Applicants have been submitted from Chautauqua, Steuben, Schuyler, and Niagara counties. The amount of Concord acreage represented on those applications amounts to over 98 acres and of those acres, about 40 are currently committed to being replanted as grapes, with the remainder changing to peaches, apples, raspberries, and some to seed crops.

If you have, or know someone that has a vineyard that might be eligible, go to www.lergp.com and click on the Vineyard Improvement Program button in the middle of the page.

The program requires that the Concord vineyard be removed and then replanted to whatever the grower/landowner decides will work best in their business plan, however the land does need to be returned to agricultural use. Because it is a reimbursement grant, payment is made once all of the work has been done and receipts submitted. As outlined on the website, the applicant can be reimbursed 50 percent of removal costs up to $1,500 per acre and 25 percent of replant costs up to $1,500 per acre for a possible total of $3,000 per acre. Each applicant can apply only once and the reimbursement cannot exceed $50,000.

The Vineyard Improvement Program began on Oct. 15, 2018 and runs through Oct. 15, 2022. Applications can be submitted online at www.lergp.com. It is a rolling application period; first come first served, until funds are expended. Priority will be given to abandoned vineyards close to vineyards in commercial production. Questions regarding this program can be directed to Kim Knappenberger at ksk76@cornell.edu.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania; and participating industry partners National Grape Cooperative (Welch’s), Constellation Brands and Walkers Fruit Basket. The LERGP extension team provides research-based educational programming for commercial grape growers throughout the year at venues across the Lake Erie grape belt. For more information on LERGP, call 716-792-2800 or visit http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu.

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