Progress report for LNE23-459
Project Information
Widely cultivated in Northeast gardens since its introduction to the region in 1877, the kiwiberry is a high-value and nutrient dense perennial fruit strongly suited to the diverse agroecological systems and markets of the Northeast. Globally, commercial kiwiberry acreage has more than doubled since 2019; and interest in this underutilized crop is growing among regional farmers, consumers, and processors. Despite it many merits, however, commercial vineyard establishment remains hampered by kiwiberry being a relatively unfamiliar and unsupported crop with a 5-7 year return-on-investment. Through this NE SARE Research & Education project, a region-wide cohort of 40 farmers will acquire the knowledge and skills needed for successful kiwiberry production via guided, hands-on establishment and management of small pilot vineyards (12 vines each) on their own farms. Beyond educating interested farmers about kiwiberry production best practices, the project will result in the establishment of 320 fruiting vines across the region, serving as demonstrations for further expansion, opportunities for consumer education, and a long-term revenue source for the participating farms (≥$80,000/year, in total).
The distributed network of pilot vineyards created through this project provides not only an effective educational framework but also an ideal research platform for participatory, multi-environment trialing of improved varieties for the region. Since its launch in 2013, the Kiwiberry Research and Breeding Program at the University of New Hampshire has been at the forefront of developing molecular characterization methods, improved varieties, and economically viable production practices for Northeast farmers. Using an innovative citizen science research design known as tricot (“triadic comparison of technologies”), 20 advanced selections from the UNH program will be assigned in a partially-replicated manner across the 40 pilot vineyards, augmented by the region’s current recommended variety (‘Geneva 3’). While learning hands-on about commercial kiwiberry cultivation, farmers will provide simple preference (best/worst) feedback about the advanced selections, thereby enabling identification of new superior varieties for the Northeast. Following the same augmented tricot approach, farmers will also evaluate fruit samples from the UNH research vineyard, further supporting variety selection while becoming familiar with kiwiberries from the perspective of the consumer.
Although increasingly recognized as a key strategy for food system resilience, farming system diversification via novel, underresourced crops is risky for farmers. By providing needed materials and compensating participating farmers for their time (60% of total direct costs), this project seeks to mitigate such financial risks and opportunity costs. Another important benefit lies in the establishment of a knowledgeable community of practice of regional kiwiberry producers. By convening this first cohort of pioneering farmers and connecting them via shared training, resources, and an online forum, the project lays the groundwork for ongoing farmer-to-farmer support and innovation, further removing barriers to experimentation and helping to jumpstart this promising industry.
Through this project, at least 35 Northeast specialty crop farmers will be trained in kiwiberry production best practices; will establish pilot vineyards of advanced kiwiberry selections on their farms; and will provide simple preference feedback to the UNH breeding program to inform downstream variety commercialization efforts. Returns on project investment include enhanced practical understanding of kiwiberry production among participating farmers, at least 20 farmers reporting a belief that kiwiberry production will be a valuable enterprise for their farm operation, and the first formalization of a farmer network in the region for this emerging crop.
Widely cultivated in Northeast gardens since its introduction to the region in 1877, the kiwiberry is a high-value and nutrient dense perennial fruit strongly suited to the diverse agroecological systems and markets of the Northeast. Globally, commercial kiwiberry acreage has more than doubled since 2019; and interest in this underutilized crop is growing among regional farmers, consumers, and processors. Despite it many merits, however, commercial vineyard establishment has been hampered by kiwiberry being a relatively unfamiliar and unsupported crop with a 5-7 year return-on-investment. Through this NE SARE Research & Education project, a region-wide cohort of 42 farmers acquire the knowledge and skills needed for successful kiwiberry production via guided, hands-on establishment and management of small pilot vineyards (12 vines each) on their own farms. Beyond educating interested farmers about kiwiberry production best practices, the project resulted in the establishment of 320 fruiting vines across the region, serving as demonstrations for further expansion, opportunities for consumer education, and a long-term revenue source for the participating farms (≥$80,000/year, in total).
The distributed network of pilot vineyards created through this project provided not only an effective educational framework but also an ideal research platform for participatory, multi-environment trialing of improved varieties for the region. Since its launch in 2013, the Kiwiberry Research and Breeding Program at the University of New Hampshire has been at the forefront of developing molecular characterization methods, improved varieties, and economically viable production practices for Northeast farmers. Using an innovative citizen science research design known as tricot (“triadic comparison of technologies”), 11 advanced selections from the UNH program were assigned in a partially-replicated manner across the 42 pilot vineyards, augmented by the region’s current recommended variety (‘Geneva 3’). While learning hands-on about commercial kiwiberry cultivation, farmers provided simple preference (best/worst) feedback about the advanced selections, thereby enabling identification of new superior varieties for the Northeast. Following the same augmented tricot approach, farmers also evaluated fruit samples from the UNH research vineyard, further supporting variety selection while becoming familiar with kiwiberries from the perspective of the consumer.
Although increasingly recognized as a key strategy for food system resilience, farming system diversification via novel, underresourced crops is risky for farmers. By providing needed materials and compensating participating farmers for their time (60% of total direct costs), this project effectively mitigated such financial risks and opportunity costs. Another important impact of this project was the establishment of a knowledgeable community of practice of regional kiwiberry producers. By convening this first cohort of pioneering farmers and connecting them via shared training, resources, and an online forum, the project laid the groundwork for ongoing farmer-to-farmer support and innovation, further removing barriers to experimentation and helping to jumpstart this promising industry.
Research
Through this project, the research objective is to answer the following three questions:
1. Based on multi-environment, participatory, on-farm trials throughout the Northeast, which advanced kiwiberry selections from the UNH breeding program are the most promising for commercial production in the region?
2. Do any of these advanced lines compare favorably to the current standard cultivar ‘Geneva 3’?
3. By observing the challenges faced by farmers in establishing a kiwiberry vineyard under diverse conditions throughout the region, can we more clearly define the recommended range of environmental variables suitable for successful kiwiberry cultivation?
Jan 2024: These remain the three research objectives.
Integral to the project’s educational plan is the opportunity provided to farmers to gain hands-on, relatively risk-free experience managing a small kiwiberry vineyard on their own farms while receiving comprehensive support through targeted webinars, workshops, and a community of peer farmers. The research objective seeks to leverage this network of coordinated but decentralized vineyards as a platform for the needed multi-environment testing of advanced selections from the UNH Kiwiberry Research and Breeding Program.
Treatments
The treatments are 11 advanced female selections (i.e. potential releasable fruiting varieties) and 1 advanced male selection (i.e. pollenizing variety) of kiwiberry developed by the UNH Kiwiberry Research and Breeding Program since 2013. These selections are considered “advanced” due to their having performed reliably well, both agronomically and in terms of fruit quality, over multiple seasons at the NH Agricultural Experiment Station in Durham, NH. Because we are interested not only in the relative performances of these selections with one another across a range of environments (Research Question 1) but with the region’s standard commercial cultivar as well (Research Question 2), cv. ‘Geneva 3’ is also included in the set of treatments, essentially acting as a control. Similarly, four standard male cultivars ('Meader Male', 'Opitz Male', '74-46', and '74-52') are included to ensure adequate pollen supply and to benchmark the advanced male selection. To address Research Question 3, participating farms were chosen at least in part by their representaion of hardiness zones 4b-7b within the region, a range which brackets the zones in which kiwiberry is known to do well (zones 5a-7a). Hardiness zone therefore functions as proxy environmental factor, with the farms themselves serving as independent samples/replications achieved via stratified sampling. (Jan 2024: Following an additional season of field observation and in an effort to increase the power of this study, we decreased the number of advanced female selections undergoing multilocational evaluation in this project from 20 to 11.)
Methods
Materials Guided via the Education Plan and compensated for their labor by the project (based on 1.5x required hours per activity, as observed over the years at the UNH research farm), each participating farmer will establish and manage a small, pilot kiwiberry vineyard on their farm. Consisting of two parallel rows of a t-bar trellis system, the ~1,200 s.f. vineyard will be sized to accommodate 12 vines (8 female/fruiting vines and 4 male/pollenizing vines – see Example Vineyard Layout) and will follow recommended layout and construction practices, as detailed in our program’s production guide (Hastings and Hale 2019).
Experimental Design A recently developed variety evaluation methodology known as tricot ("triadic comparison of technologies") reduces the effort required by individual farmers while still allowing systematic comparisons among numerous selections (van Etten et al. 2020). In tricot, each participating farmer is tasked with evaluating only 3 different varieties; and the feedback provided is simple and categorical (best vs. worst), greatly easing the tasks of data collection and reporting. In sets of 3, the 20 advanced selections (2 vines of each) will be distributed in a balanced fashion to the 40 farmer participants. To allow comparisons to the control variety without impacting the power of the study, vines of ‘Geneva 3’ will also be planted at each farm, raising the total number of fruiting varieties to 4 in what is essentially an augmented tricot design (see Williams et al. 2011). Because the planted vines will not produce fruit for at least the first two seasons, fruit samples sourced from the UNH Research Vineyard will be mailed to all participating farmers each October, following the same augmented tricot design.
Data Collection and Analysis
Developed as an efficient methodology for citizen science research, tricot is designed to minimize the burden of data collection and reporting for participants by posing simple questions requiring no more than stating which treatments are best/worst for a given trait (see Example Feedback Form). Depending on the season, traits of interest include: Winter survivability, vine vigor, ease of trunk establishment, lateral renewal, flowering time, and flower density. Participating farmers will provide such feedback twice a year (May and September), and the same approach to data collection will be followed for collecting preference data on the mailed fruit samples each Fall. Tricot data consist of rankings and its analysis is based largely on the Plackett-Luce model (van Etten et al. 2020). Following the established tricot analytical pipeline (e.g. see climmob.net), all data will be combined at the end of the project to identify the most promising selection(s) for downstream commercialization for the region.
Farmer Input
There is clear and growing interest in kiwiberries as a potential new enterprise among many farmers throughout the region (see Farmer Interest), and one of the most common questions received by our program is, “What varieties should I grow?” At its most basic level, the research proposed here is meant to answer that question while simultaneously seeking to translate the years of investment in developing promising new varieties for the region.
Regarding the contribution of farmers to the research objective, it is important to recognize that the tricot methodology relies completely upon the observations and preference data provided by participants (i.e. no farmers, no research). To make the act of field-based data collection and subsequent reporting as easy as possible, participating farmers will be provided clearly formatted hard-copy single page data collection forms when they are needed, along with postage prepaid envelopes for their easy return. This highly structured input will be complemented by onboarding survey data (e.g. to understand the environmental characteristics of each farm) as well as solicited conversational feedback during grower training events. Because such input is critical to the project’s success, the budget includes fair compensation for the time farmers spend collecting and reporting data throughout the project period.
Finally, just as the on-farm impacts of this project are expected to persist well beyond the project period in the form of a new profitable enterprise for farmers across the region and a community of practice for those farmers, it is worth noting that the research impacts are similarly expected to grow over time. Through this project, an information-sharing community of 40 farmers will be trained and a network of 40 experimental vineyards will be established across the region. Through the relationships forged during this project, it is our hope that performance data will continue to be shared after Year 3 and that at least some of the participating growers will be interested in continuing to trial new genetics, using their established vineyards as platforms for future innovation.
Jan 2024: There are no research results to report yet.
Education
Engagement
The project will recruit one diverse cohort of 40 farmers, with the intention of retaining at least 35 for the duration of the project. Recruitment starts with a call of interest via regional listserves, including those targeting historically underserved populations. Already begun, this process will continue until the project start date. Interested farmers complete a short questionnaire regarding baseline site suitability and general willingness to commit to project activities. Pending grant approval, all interested farmers complete a second short questionnaire, one that confirms continued interest and requests voluntary diversity information. Capturing geographic, climactic, and social diversity as broadly as possible, 40 farmers will be selected and individual follow-ups conducted to verify suitability, clarify responsibilities and commitments, and address questions/concerns. To cultivate an ongoing positive relationship with non-selected farmers and thereby strengthen the long-term prospects of a regional kiwiberry industry, all knowledge and educational resources generated by the project will be openly shared.
Following recruitment, a coordinated set of engagement activities will impart the knowledge and skills necessary for commercial kiwiberry production. Each Spring, farmers attend a virtual pre-season meeting in which the Project Management Team (PMT = PL + Key Individuals) presents and fields questions about all on-farm project activities for the upcoming season. Each meeting is preceded by circulation of a written summary of those activities, including their timing. The first meeting will additionally be used to explain the compensation process for time spent on project activities, introduce farmers to one another, and launch the project homepage and online forum for supporting peer-to-peer exchanges and communications from the PMT.
Farmer engagement also includes the provisioning of materials (e.g. vines, fruit, supplies), supplemental asynchronous educational resources (e.g. video tips), and optional pruning workshops at the UNH vineyard. Farmers are engaged via routine solicitation of feedback on both the educational (specific and summative evaluations) and research (tricot feedback) aspects of the project. Selected members of the cohort also have the opportunity to co-present the project outcomes at sub-regional meetings, thus engaging an even broader audience of potential stakeholders.
Learning
The educational goal is to impart to the cohort the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed for economically viable kiwiberry production. As part of this effort, farmers will be educated about the reasons some consider kiwiberry to pose an invasive risk and how producers should manage their operations in light of such concerns. Pedagogically, the project is based on a model of directed hands-on learning, facilitated by guiding farmers step-by-step through the process of establishing and managing their own small kiwiberry vineyards. Although the basic educational content is found on the UNH research program website (Hastings and Hale 2019), the practical understanding and competency that comes from reading such information pales in comparison to that which comes from discussing it with others and, ultimately, actually doing it. Over 3 seasons, the project scaffolds hands-on learning with timely virtual meetings, focused supplementary resources and training opportunities, and a forum for peer-to-peer exchange. By compensating participants for their time, the project reduces the financial risks and opportunity costs inherent to a new, long ROI enterprise, thereby creating the “breathing room” for farmers to invest in the acquisition of new skills. Finally, by evaluating fruit of various cultivars and providing preferential feedback, farmers are also exposed to kiwiberries from the consumer perspective. This is critical, as producers of any novel crop must understand they are on the front lines of building market demand and educating customers.
Evaluation
Project target achievement is verified through: 1) Regular pictorial documentation of the pilot vineyards - Because all learning objectives are associated with observable hands-on activities, evaluation of learning is clearly linked to physical outcomes (e.g. a completed trellis), documentation of which serves as a pre-requisite for compensation. 2) Comparative before-after participant surveys - Bookended on-boarding and final surveys track participant learning over the course of the project, including understanding, skill compentency, and perceptions. 3) Completion of the research objective – Critical to the research objective is timely farmer data collection and submission, itself dependent on completion of all hands-on learning activities and also tied to compensation. The research objective thus provides an independent verification of the education objective of the project.
Alongside these summative evaluation activities, farmers are regularly solicited for input via annual post-meeting surveys, a more substantive mid-project evaluation, invited email communication with the PMT, and more informally via the monitored online farmer forum. In consultation with the PAC and larger PMT, this real-time feedback informs subsequent resource development and outreach strategies.
Milestones
- Engagement: 9/22-4/23. Farmer recruitment. A regionally representative cohort of 40 farmers (hereafter, “the cohort”) is recruited via electronic circulation of the project opportunity, followed by two short online screening questionnaires, direct dialogue with the PL, and a final selection process involving input from the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) and Project Management Team (PL + Key Individuals). Verification: 40 selected farmers sign letters of commitment. COMPLETE: Of the 253 farmers who answered the call for interest and participation in this project, a diverse cohort of 42 were recruited and successfully onboarded from across 10 NE SARE states.
- Engagement, Learning, and Evaluation: Recurring online project planning and review meetings for the PAC (yearly, March/April) and the PMT (yearly, April, August, December). The former will address high-level strategy development for meeting the performance target, especially in light of cohort feedback. The latter will address details of curriculum design, effective farmer engagement, and necessary pivoting based on farmer feedback. The first meeting (4/23) will be a combined meeting. 1-2 cohort members, chosen on a rotating and volunteer basis, will be invited to participate in each subsequent PMT meeting. IN PROGRESS: PAC project planning and review meetings have taken place as scheduled throughout the first year and will continue as proposed.
- Engagement, Learning, and Evaluation: Pre-season online grower trainings (yearly, April/May). The core platform for engaging and educating the cohort about the principles of commercial kiwiberry cultivation and the specifics of on-farm activities, these interactive webinar-style trainings are designed and delivered by the PMT, with content-specific PAC involvement. Cohort participation is verified via attendance tracking and real-time polling. Farmer compensation is tied to both attendance and completion of a training evaluation, generating feedback for ongoing curriculum adjustment. COMPLETE: The first online webinar/grower training was held on May 9 and 10, 2023, with participating farmers able to choose whichever time worked best for them. All 42 farmers attended, and feedback was solicited via in-depth phone interviews (see Milestone 10). IN PROGRESS: Pre-season grower trainings for Years 2 and 3 will be carried out, as proposed.
- Engagement: Shipment of project materials to cohort (5/23-6/23), including vines of advanced selections and a kit of specialized tools and consumables needed for completing on-farm project activities (vine-tying tool, KiwiKlips, etc.). Needed vine replacements will be shipped 5/24-6/24. This activity is overseen by the UNH-based members of the PMT (PMT-UNH: PL, Project Manager, graduate student), with receipt of materials verified via shipment tracking and submitted photos by cohort members. COMPLETE: Various logistical constraints led to a significant delay in vine shipment (mid July instead of early June 2023), but all vines were ultimately shipped and received by the participating farmers. Shipment of specialized tools and consumables (i.e. a Kiwi Kare Package) to all participating farmers was completed in early August 2023. IN PROGRESS: A full inventory of needed vine replacements will be conducted in April 2024 and shipments will follow in June 2024.
- Engagement and Learning: The project URL is launched by PMT-UNH (4/23) to serve as the home for up-to-date project information (e.g. upcoming activities, links to resources, etc.) as well as a portal to the project’s online farmer forum, a platform for peer-to-peer cohort engagement and learning. The homepage will be regularly updated and the forum regularly monitored throughout the project by the Project Manager and the PL. Cohort engagement is tracked via site and resource access statistics. COMPLETE: Based on discussions during the initial project planning and review meetings, PAC and PMT members decided to use Mighty Networks as the secure online platform for this project. The project URL (https://noreastkiwiberries.mn.co) was successfully launched in April 2023. All 42 participating farmers successfully joined this online community, and all project communication has been through that platform (P2P chat, events, resources, etc.).
- Engagement and Learning: Hands-on vineyard establishment and management activities. Supported by the annual online trainings and the resources hosted on the project’s homepage, cohort members establish pilot kiwiberry vineyards on their farms over the course of the project. Year 1: Site selection and preparation (by 5/23), vine planting (6/23), and trellis construction (by 5/24). Year 2: Trunk and preliminary cordon establishment (by 7/24). Year 3: Cordon and initial lateral establishment (by 7/25). For each milestone, farmer compensation is tied to photographic verification of activity completion. IN PROGRESS: Pilot vineyard site selection was completed by all 42 farmers, and all shipped vines were successfully planted by August 2023. As of January 2024, eight farmers have successfully completed and photo-documented trellis construction. Because the lionshare of farmers’ project time is related to vineyard establishment, trellis completion has been the release criterion for Year 1 compensation checks.
- Engagement and Learning: Recurring evaluation of advanced selections (yearly, March and October, excluding March 2023). The PMT develops and mails hard-copy tricot evaluation forms to cohort members, who complete and return them. Milestone completion is verified by the completed forms received by the PMT. Farmer compensation is tied to timely receipt of the completed forms. IN PROGRESS: Due to the delay in vine shipment in 2023, the first tricot evaluation form will be circulated this coming Spring (April 2024) and will focus on winter survival to inform needed replacements.
- Engagement and Learning: Recurring tricot evaluation of fruit samples (yearly, October). The PMT prepares and mails fruit samples from four advanced selections for preference feedback by cohort members, along with hard-copy tricot evaluation forms. Milestone completion is verified by the completed forms received by the PMT. Farmer compensation is tied to timely receipt of the completed forms. IN PROGRESS: A deep freeze event on May 17, 2023, resulted in the loss of nearly the entire 2023 kiwiberry crop at the NH Agricultural Experiment Station. Although essentially no fruit of the project’s advanced selections was available, the PMT managed to send small samples of ‘Geneva 3’ and ‘Ananasnaya’ kiwiberries to the 42 participating farmers, giving many their first experience handling, ripening, and tasting kiwiberries.
- Engagement and Learning: Short video tips. Based on conversations with the PAC and PMT and informed by ongoing cohort feedback, the PL and graduate student will produce short (~3 min) video tips to illustrate recommended on-farm practices and/or clarify farmer understanding. At least two such tips will be produced each year, one in-season (summers) and one off-season (winters), with links to the resources hosted on the project’s homepage. Farmer engagement is tracked via access statistics. IN PROGRESS: To date, three such videos have been produced and disseminated to participating farmers via the project website. These short videos covered vine propagation and sourcing, vine establishment, and winter pruning following initial establishment season. The next three videos are scheduled for the upcoming season and will cover fertilization, trunk selection and training, and cordon management.
- Evaluation: Bookended on-boarding (5/23) and final (2/26) project surveys. Developed collectively by the PAC and PMT, with particular input from the extension education experts in each, a pair of surveys (before/after) will be used to track changes in grower knowledge of commercial kiwiberry production as well as perceptions of the challenges, opportunities, and fit of such an enterprise on their farms. Milestone completion is verified by completed surveys received by the PMT. Farmer compensation is tied to receipt of the completed surveys. COMPLETE: An extensive on-boarding survey, conducted by phone, was developed collectively by the PAC and PMT and successfully implemented by the project graduate student. Between July 2023 and January 2024, each of the 42 growers completed this survey (15-40 minutes each), providing an in-depth assessment of farmer knowledge in Year 1 of this project. NOT BEGUN: The Year 3 final project survey.
- Evaluation: Mid-project evaluations (yearly, December). In addition to evaluations of specific activities like the yearly pre-season trainings (see above), cohort members are requested to complete short project evaluations each December to assess learning and skill acquisition to date as well as to solicit suggestions for the upcoming pre-season training (see Draft Verification Tool). Milestone completion is verified by completed evaluations received by the PMT. Farmer compensation is tied to receipt of the completed evaluations. NOT BEGUN: Based on conversations among the PAC and PMT, the first mid-project evaluation (short Qualtrics survey) is scheduled for rollout to the participating farmers in February 2024, prior to the PAC’s meeting (early March) to discuss planning for the Year 2 pre-season webinar (early April). In subsequent years, such mid-project evaluations and formal solicitations for input will also be issued in February.
- Engagement and Learning: Project presentations at sub-regional meetings (11/25-2/26). In Year 3, the PL will spearhead presentations at 3 grower-facing meetings to engage and educate a broader population of farmer stakeholders across the Northeast. Targeting New England, NY, and the mid-Atlantic, each presentation will be facilitated by one of the extension education experts on the PAC/PMT and co-delivered with one member of the project’s cohort. Milestone completion is verified by tracking presentation attendance, supplemented by a short voluntary questionnaire of attendees. NOT BEGUN: These Year 3 activities have yet to begin.
- Engagement and Learning (NEW): Based on initial PAC and PMT project planning and review meetings, it was decided that the PL should also offer monthly “office hours” to give participating farmers a chance to interact with the PL more frequently and discuss questions, concerns, or ideas related to the project. IN PROGRESS: Since September 2023, the PL has offered such a monthly office hour (Zoom) and will continue to do so throughout the project. To date, attendance has ranged between 2-8 per session.
Milestone Activities and Participation Summary
Educational activities:
Participation Summary:
Performance Target Outcomes
Target #1
20
Beyond the small pilot vineyards established through this project as proofs of concept and sites of hands-on learning for the 42 participating farmers, the long-term objective of this project is to have at least 20 northeast farmers recognize kiwiberry production as a viable enterprise for their farm operation and pursue acre-scale vineyard establishment.
For the farmers directly involved in this project, the objective is to see at least 20 acres of commercial kiwiberry production coming online in the northeast within a year or two of project completion, based on cv. 'Geneva 3', new UNH varieties evaluated in this project, or a combination of both. This first generation of kiwiberry adopters will serve as the vanguard for this new agricultural enterprise in the region, leading to further production increases long-term.
The measurable benefits that will result from the long-term integration of kiwiberry into the region's diverse farming systems include: 1) Increased farmer income resulting from at least 20 farms integrating a profitable new perennial cropping system into their operations; 2) Increased availability of an in-demand, regionally competitive, delicious, and nutrient-dense fruit for northeast consumers.
42
So far, as per the project timeline, all 42 farmers have selected a site on their farms for a pilot kiwiberry vineyard and have planted the kiwiberry vines provided to them, according to the directions provided by the PMT. To date, 8 farmers have completed the infrastructure establishment required for such a vineyard and have received compensation for that work. Other farmers in the project have until the end of May 2024 to complete that work.
In aggregate, the 42 pilot kiwiberry vineyards established through this project occupy nearly 27,000 s.f. (approx 0.6 acres).
The vines in this project are still in the estabishment stage, so no measurable benefits have been observed yet.
Below please find a short narrative in regard to each of the following aspects of the project's Performance Target:
"Through this project, at least 35 Northeast specialty crop farmers will be trained in kiwiberry production best practices; will establish pilot vineyards of advanced kiwiberry selections on their farms; and will provide simple preference feedback to the UNH breeding program to inform downstream variety commercialization efforts."
The response to the project's call for interest was far greater than originally anticipated, allowing the PMT to recruit not 35 but 42 farmers to the project. All 42 farmers have selected a site for their pilot vineyard on their farms and are in the process of establishing the envisioned vineyard. Specifically, all 42 farmers have planted the vines supplied to them. At least 8 farmers have completed the extensive infrastructure investments required. All 42 farmers participated in the Year 1 pre-season training webinar, and all are active members of the project's online website and community forum.
"Returns on project investment include enhanced practical understanding of kiwiberry production among participating farmers, at least 20 farmers reporting a belief that kiwiberry production will be a valuable enterprise for their farm operation, and the first formalization of a farmer network in the region for this emerging crop."
An in-depth assessment of current farmer knowledge vis-a-vis kiwiberry production was conducted, providing a baseline for comparison at the end of this project. At this point, all 42 farmers see kiwiberry as a potential viable new enterprise on their farms, which is the main reason why they are participating in the project. Over the course of this project, in which they are guided through vineyard establishment management and have a chance to assess the "fit" of kiwiberry to their site and operations, we believe at least 20 will invest further in this new crop. In terms of building the first farmer network in the region for this emerging crop, this is well underway through the convening of this group of 42 growers in this project, their P2P interactions facilitated by the project's online forum.