The campus of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, New York, is an integral part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences of Cornell University. Geneva is a 50-mile drive from Ithaca, NY, where the main Cornell campus is located.

The bare facts about the Geneva Experiment Station follow:

• The Station was established in 1880, making it the sixth oldest experiment station in the United States.

• The Station's budget is approximately $21.1 million; $11.3 million is funded through SUNY's base budget (year 2000 figures).

• Currently, 253 staff and 50 professors (18 with at least 20% extension appointments) are employed at the Station.

• At any one time, 25-90 graduate students are conducting research for their theses under the guidance of professors at Geneva.

• At any one time, there are around 15 visiting scientists, 10 postdocs, 20 research associates and 6 extension associates at the Station.

• Academic programs are housed in four departments: Horticultural Sciences, Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Food Science and Technology. The focus is on improving the genetics, cultivation, protection, post-harvest handling, and processing of fruit and vegetable crops.

• Support is provided by employees in the following units: the Computer Center, Library, Communications Services, Buildings and Properties, and the Field Research Unit.
  
  
• Two pilot plants at the Station provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, processors, and wine, beer, and cider makers to add value to New York State's raw products: the Fruit & Vegetable Processing Pilot Plant, and the Vinification & Brewing Technology Laboratory.
  
  
• The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (NECFE), a joint program with the University of Vermont, provides comprehensive assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs, thus promoting sustainable economic development of rural communities.

• The Station is the headquarters for the college's statewide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU), responsible for the U.S. collection of apple and cold-hardy grapes and selected seed-propagated crops, such as onion, garlic, broccoli, cabbage and winter squash, is located on the Geneva campus.

• The station has a branch in the Hudson Valley at Highland, with three professors and six support personnel assigned there; five technicians are also located in western New York at the Vineyard Laboratory at Fredonia, where faculty from Ithaca and Geneva conduct research on grapes.

• The central campus consists of 20 major buildings, several smaller buildings for storage and similar purposes, and 5 houses with apartments rented to graduate students, visiting scientists, and employees.

• The station has eleven farms for experimental plot work close to the Geneva campus with a total of 870 acres. There is also one acre of glasshouse space on the campus.

Programs at Geneva cover the continuum from in-depth to applied research, to extension or outreach for user groups. A blend of classical methodologies and cutting-edge technologies is utilized to accomplish the mission of the Station. Cooperative efforts with faculty on the Ithaca campus are increasing, and thanks to new distance learning technologies, this linkage is expected to be strengthened greatly in the future. Many faculty at Geneva also work closely with county and regional extension personnel through the state.

Fruit and vegetable crops are a valuable part of the New York agricultural economy, and the value-added benefit of processed products increases their worth to the state. Growing horticultural crops is technically complex because of many factors, including: the perennial nature of some crops; the consumers' demand for cosmetically perfect fresh-market produce; and the public's perception that some methods used to control diseases and pests of these crops post risks to the environment, farm workers, and consumers. In addition, competition from other regions of the U.S. and from other countries poses challenges to this segment of New York's agricultural economy. Other challenges exist for the processors of these commodities, including disposal of processing waste in an environmentally acceptable manner.

The station has a strong commitment to strengthening the state's fruit and vegetable industries from 'the farm to the fork'. Many publications remind us of the importance of an adequate supply of fruits and vegetables in the human diet and the difficulty of producing these crops due to the loss of crop protectant chemicals. The ever-present challenges to the production of these crops and products provide a continual need for many of the programs at the Geneva Station.

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