2007 Farm Business Resolutions

Did you make any New Year's resolutions for yourself this year? Did you make any for your grape farm business?Here are some suggestions to consider adding to your own ideas:

Set a couple of rewarding goals for your business in 2007 and then strive to meet those goals.

Learn or update your production costs by acre and by ton.

Try one new production or pest management practice on your farm in 2007. Please try it on one block or better yet on one half of one block. Don't try the new practice on your ENTIRE farm. Have a control in order to properly evaluate the new practice.

Make a concerted effort to reduce skips.

Cornell Announces Site For New Lake Erie Grape Research and Extension Facility

For those of you who may have not seen the announcement in any of the local papers, Cornell University has chosen a site to build the new viticultural research and enology facility. The site is a 53-acre farm owned by Jim and Penny Deakin in the town of Portland, NY. We are in the process of planning how new experiments might be set up at the new location, what new plantings we will want to establish, and how we will use the vineyards more in our extension work. The initial groundbreaking for the new facility will hopefully take place in the spring.

This announcement has been a long time coming, and a number of people have worked for a number of years to see this process coming to fruition. This is an exciting announcement for us here at the Vineyard Lab and for the grape industry in New York and Pennsylvania.

You can read the full press release from Cornell by clicking here.

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Wine & Grape Foundation Selects Mason Selkowitz McDermott for Concord Grape Juice Project

Note: This project was just recently announced by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. It is a welcomed effort on their part to help increase the demand for Concord grape juice by promoting its health benefits. As mentioned below, the program will be discussed more in depth at Viticulture 2007 on Friday, February 9th, when we have devoted a significant portion of the program to topics of interest to juice grape growers. Come hear about this project and how you might be able to get involved to help to promote this industry and the products it produces. - HCW

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation has selected Mason Selkowitz McDermott (MSM) of Penfield to conduct a major promotion of the health benefits of Concord grape juice in the coming months.

The promotion will include advertising, public relations, printed materials, a new Web site, and various other elements. The overall program and some of the materials will be unveiled on February 9 during "Concord Day" of the Viticulture 2007 conference at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

"We are delighted to be working with MSM on this important project, which is intended to benefit New York State's Concord grape growers and grape juice industry," said Foundation President Jim Trezise. "Their firm did a superb job promoting the diversity, quality, and health benefits of New York apples, and we look forward to the same creativity and results."

Concord grapes account for about two-thirds of New York's total vineyard acreage and tonnage, with over 600 family farms covering over 20,000 acres and producing an average of 100,000 tons of grapes each fall. A large majority of Concord vineyards are in the westernmost part of the state, which was just designated as New York State's first-ever agricultural heritage area: the Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt Heritage Area.

In recent years, Concord growers and juice producers have been facing challenging times due to a combination of increasing international competition, the low-carb craze, unusual weather patterns, and other factors. A significant amount of research has indicated that Concord grape juice has significant health benefits in several important respects such as preventing heart disease and memory loss, which until now have not been adequately promoted.

The purpose of this program is to build consumer awareness and demand by featuring Concord grape juice as a great-tasting, versatile product that promotes a healthy lifestyle. A committee of representatives from the Foundation, various grape juice producers, and the Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt Heritage Area are working with MSM to shape the program.

"We are very excited about this project, especially since its purpose is to help our fellow New Yorkers who produce Concord grapes and grape juice," said MSM President Helen McDermott. "Our experience with the New York Apple Association provides a solid foundation for this program, which we are confident will benefit the grape industry and the State of New York."

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is a statewide, private, not-for-profit trade association representing grape growers, grape juice producers and wineries throughout the State. Since its creation in 1985, the Foundation has received international recognition for its programs of research and promotion in support of the industry.

Mason Selkowitz McDermott provides full-service marketing communications expertise to an array of local, regional and national clients.