FROM THE EDITORMartin Goffinet |
FROM THE EDITORMartin Goffinet |
The dead of winter will soon be upon us. These are the days when grape research in the field is finished, but data analysis and interpretation take over. And grape research is a data-intense activity. This is also the time that everyone involved in grape research, extension, growing and processing takes a hard look at all sorts of data and what they can tell us about our progress and about possibilities. Researchers begin their report writing and develop grant proposals for research efforts, extension specialists develop their winter grape conferences, growers assess their farm business, and processors take stock of products and markets. All of these efforts are ultimately dependent on the grape farm and the varieties grown, their productivity and quality. Statistical analysis shows the grape farm and the varieties of grapes produced have changed over time. This change has been considerable over the last two decades, based on data gleaned from the Agricultural Statistics Service and agricultural economists. Our lead-off article, by Cornell viticulturist Robert Pool, is an analysis of data gleaned from the New York State Orchard and Vineyard Surveys, the most recent taken in 1996. Growers can learn a lot from the trends exposed by these surveys taken through the years. Grower participation in these ongoing surveys is critical to understanding these trends and using them to advantage in our industry.
Over the last few years there has been much interaction between the grape-related research folks, cooperative extension personnel, the grape growers and the post-harvest grape industry concerning industry-wide, as well as regional needs for grape research. Partnerships between academia, the industry and various organizations relating to the vine and its products have begun to forge strong arguments for public and private increases in research funding. Indeed, we are now seeing more state, regional and federal recognition of the need for increased grape research support and the types of projects funded. In this issue two such partnerships are presented for your information: (1) The development and operational procedure of the 2-year-old Viticulture Consortium is presented by its Eastern Project Manager, Dr. John Bourke. Bourke presents a listing of Consortium-funded projects for 1996 and for 1997. (2) The American Viticulture and Enology Research Network (AVERN) is discussed by Dr. Alan Lakso, AVERN Northeastern Regional Representative. AVERN does not provide research funds, but it has been in development to support communication between the grape industry, grape researchers and grape extension educators.
Well, have a happy New Year! This issue concludes the 8th year of Grape Research News. I thank all contibutors for their articles this year, with special thanks going to the production team that gets out this publication: Linda McCandless, Cathy Weeden, Elaine Gotham, Bruce Moore, Joe Ogrodnick, Rob Way, Matt Lewis, Sandy Antinelli and Beverly Dunham. This publication is made possible by funding from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. If you have ideas about the types of research news you'd like reported in these pages in the future, drop me a line at the Department of Horticultural Sciences, NY State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY 14456. Or e-mail me at: mailto:mcg2@cornell.edu