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by Annie Cunningham

In 2001, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) received $800,000 as part of a congressional appropriation to promote Ohio specialty crops. ODA is using approximately $150,000 of these funds to conduct industry-wide marketing activities that promote Ohio specialty crops. In 2002, the remaining $650,000 of these grant funds were distributed to agricultural nonprofit organizations, associations and specialty crop commodity groups that represent specific crop sectors, eight of which were granted to Ohio Farm Bureau’s contract organizations to support particular projects that must be completed by Dec. 31.

OAMP
The Ohio Apple Marketing Program (OAMP) was awarded $20,000 for training workshops for teachers to promote Ohio apples. Since July 2002, Carol Warkentien and Jeanne Golgoski, education consultants for OAMP, have presented the workshop to more than 500 teachers, youth leaders, after-school program directors and farm market owners. As part of the workshop, teachers participate in five different learning stations based on an eight-page activity guide "Ohio Apple Growers: Caretakers of the Future." The guide was designed with Ohio’s proficiency test requirements and education models in mind. During the workshops, participants use hands-on activities to learn about Ohio apples and practice academic skills. The activities target pre-school through second-grade students. Anyone interested in obtaining the guide may do so by contacting OAMP at 614-246-8292 or by visiting www.ohioapples.org. The cost is $18 for a pack of 50.

OAMP also was given $45,000 for point-of-purchase display supplies and education material to promote Ohio apples. This project is designed to give direct marketers, stores and farm markets materials to educate consumers about Ohio apple varieties, apple recipes and apple nutritional information. New promotional items are an apple display box with the updated Ohio Apple Variety Chart and an aluminum apple promotional sign designed for retail apple marketing. Funding from this project also was used to print and distribute educational materials for teachers and farm marketers to educate young consumers about the benefits of eating Ohio apples.

Fruits and vegetables
The Ohio Vegetable & Potato Growers Association (OVPGA) was given $32,752 for promotion of Ohio grown vegetables. This project increased awareness and consumption of Ohio grown vegetables to consumers by designing materials such as point-of-purchase materials for retail outlets, vegetable harvest calendars summarizing produce availability for consumers and grower directories for promotion of Ohio vegetables to wholesale produce buyers. These projects included two media tours that showcased K. W Zellers and Son, Hartville; Whitehouse Fruit Farm, Canfield; GroCo Family Farms, Jamestown; and Windmill Farm Market, Springboro.

The Ohio Vegetable and Small Fruit Research and Development Program (OVSFRDP) was awarded $27,500 for improvement of ecologically based pest management for tomato diseases using plant activators. This project investigated controlling fungal diseases on tomatoes through the use of biopesticide products that activate a plant’s natural defense mechanism and have been labeled for disease control in tomatoes and other specialty crops.

The program also received $22,500 for new weed management programs for sweet corn with Callisto herbicide. The goal of this project was to evaluate the use of Callisto herbicide for weed control in sweet corn and integrate the herbicide into the weed management and crop production practices for sweet corn in Ohio.

The largest grant for OVSFRDP was $150,000 for vegetable and small fruit research and promotion for Ohio growers and consumers. The purpose of this project was to improve the profitability and marketability of vegetable and small fruit crops through research and development by assisting producers in developing new varieties and new cultivar practices. Fourteen research projects were funded by combining block grant funds, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s (OARDC) Industry Small Grant funds and OVSFRDP research funds. Because of the Block Grant and OARDC funds, every OVSFRDP dollar was multiplied 20 times. A list of these research projects may be reviewed on OVPGA’s Web site at www.ohiovegetables.org.

"The Specialty Crop Block Grant created new promotional and research opportunities for Ohio’s fruit and vegetable growers. These activities produced dividends for growers and marketers by increasing consumer awareness of Ohio’s abundant fresh produce," said Tom Sachs, executive director of OAMP, OVPGA, OVSFRDP and Ohio Fruit Growers Society.

OCTA
The Ohio Christmas Tree Association was awarded $25,000 for an Ohio Christmas Tree Enhancement Program. Objectives of this program were to provide technical assistance and grower support in areas of quality tree production, business management, communication and promotion. This project also implemented the OHIO PROUD program within the industry to improve intrastate and interstate market development.

MAAHS
Mid American Ag and Hort Services (MAAHS) was awarded $53,000 for an Ohio specialty crop food safety initiative. This project increases awareness and adoption of good agricultural practices in Ohio specialty crop operations in order to increase the safety and marketability of Ohio grown specialty crops. Tangible benefits include prevention of foodborne illness outbreaks, increased ratings on third-party audit inspections, and recognition by produce buyers throughout the United States. MAAHS is partnering with Ohio State University Extension Agricultural Business Enhancement Center and Center Innovative to carry out this initiative.

MAAHS also received an $11,100 specialty crop block grant from Indiana's Office of Commissioner of Agriculture to develop an Indiana agriculture/horticulture labor law compliance manual. This project not only provided Indiana specialty crop producers with a labor law manual, but also a Web site.

"We appreciate the cooperation and support of the Ohio Farm Bureau in this grant process. The cooperative spirit of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, organization leaders and farmers allowed us to conduct programming that mutually benefits farmers," said John Wargowsky, executive director of MAAHS. "We will continue to pursue new funding mechanisms and build upon the successes of these cooperative ventures."