Development of Ethnic - Specialty Vegetable Production - Marketing Resources

Development of Ethnic - Specialty Vegetable Production - Marketing Resources

Summary

Ethnic populations, soon to be one-third of the U.S. population, rely on fresh produce as staples in their diets. Concentration of many ethnic groups in the Northeast has created large potential markets for local growers. Increasingly, farmers are asking how to produce these new crops to meet the demand. The PI’s are compiling several years of research data on production and marketing of specialty and ethnic crops into an online resource, and along with demonstration trials, will soon be ready to provide reliable production information. A professional development conference is planned for New York City to educate extension and industry personnel about the potential of ethnic and specialty produce markets.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• Performance Target 1: Seventy-five vegetable production and marketing educators in the Northeast all will subscribe to the veg-prod internet discussion group (veg_prod@yahoogroups.com).
  Five additional subscribers were added to the veg-prod in 2003. The 45 subscribers who responded to initial discussions of plans for the associated In-service Training Conference on Production and Marketing of Ethnic Vegetables have been identified and kept informed of progress of the project.

  Performance Target 2: Of the 75 vegetable workers discussing specialty/ethnic vegetable production and marketing on the veg-prod listserv, observing initial demonstrations, and making use of the resources of this project, 20 will establish working demonstration plots of specific crops and their production strategies useful to their local clientele.
  Screening demonstration trials and specific crop research/demonstration trials were conducted at 3 sites in 2 states in 2004 (see Accomplishments).

  Performance Target 3: Of 75 extension, USDA and other vegetable production and marketing officials throughout the Northeast, 50 will understand, accept, and advocate the production and marketing specialty/ethnic vegetables to farmers.
  In NY, MA and NJ alone, 35-40 extension and Dept. of Ag officials are working on various aspects of specialty/ethnic vegetable production and marketing outreach efforts. Similar programs have been established through direct and indirect contact by this project in MD and PA. Of the 45 inquiries for information about the In-Service Training Conference, less than 5 were from NY, MA or NJ.

Accomplishments/Milestones

• Demonstration Plots
  New York—Two field days at demonstration trials with about 30 farmers in attendence.
  New Jersey—Continued demonstration trials of ethnic peppers and Hierloom tomatoes.

  Web site
  www.worldcrops.org now lists 30 crops and their utilization in 48 countries. More are being added regularly.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

• NJ Extension and Dept. of Agriculture’s multi-disciplinary team continues to pursue collaborative efforts to address emerging ethnic produce market opportunities.

  Through a $75,000 USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program grant, NJ Dept. Of Ag./NJAES continue to analyze US Census data to discover and explore NJ’s ethnic communities and to find paths to connect NJ farmers with ethnic produce markets.

  50 people attended the ‘Specialty Crops’ session at the 2005 NJ Annual Vegetable Meetings in Atlantic City.

  VanVranken has been invited to address the Berks County, PA vegetable growers’ study circle on the topic of ethnic/specialty produce market demand, growing and harvesting needs with approximately 20 Mennonite and 10 English growers.

Collaborators: