On Tuesday, December 10, Judson Reid, senior extension specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), spoke to the New York State Assembly Agriculture Committee about the burgeoning economic impact of CCE’s successful Harvest NY pilot program. Committee chairman Bill Magee invited Reid to talk about his work with the Cornell Vegetable Program and as a supervisor for the Harvest NY team, which has had numerous positive impacts on western, NY agriculture and the regional economy since it was formed in 2012.
For example, the program, which builds upon existing extension resources to generate agriculture-driven economic development, has played an important role in helping to support the region’s yogurt processing boom by training hundreds of new employees in dairy foods sanitation and safety. In addition, it has enhanced and expanded access to local food hubs and produce auctions to increase revenue for area vegetable producers. It has also worked with local dairy farmers to modernize their operations to increase milk production and herd size. Reid emphasized the importance of continued state funding for this important program and urged lawmakers to consider a new proposal that would expand Harvest NY statewide, providing similar benefits to farmers, producers and rural economies across New York.
Reid also spoke about his favorite vegetable, hot peppers, and field trials the Cornell Vegetable Program is currently conducting on newly developed varieties of vegetables that aim to meet growing demand from New York’s Latino and Asian populations for locally sourced ethnic vegetables.
