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June 28, 2001
CONTACT: Linda McCandless, llm3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2417
by Peter Seem
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GENEVA, NY: Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman presented the USDA's highest honor for research and development activities to the Northeast 183 (NE-183) program on June 4, at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. Secretary Veneman presented the award to Peter Hirst, NE-183 group leader, "for providing timely information to apple growers nationally about the likely success of establishing new cultivars in different regions while meeting consumers' desire for diverse and tasty apples." NE-183 is a research program that uniformly and fairly evaluates apple varieties throughout the Northeast and the country.
The award recognizes efforts to expand economic and trade opportunities for United States agricultural producers, and "could not have come at a better time," according to Robert Seem, the program's administrative advisor. "US apple producers are reeling from low world market prices and they must strengthen their current production by providing a more diverse selection of apples to consumers domestically and internationally."
Last year, the program received the Award of Excellence from the Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors. At Cornell University, where New York program activities are centered, Susan Brown and Cy Lee work with one of New York's three NE-183 test plots at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. David Rosenberger, James Schupp and Richard Straub manage another plot at the Hudson Valley Laboratory, in Highland, NY. Ian Merwin manages the third on Cornell's Ithaca campus