The Agriculture Department’s decision to stop collecting data on grape production vineyards in New York put the Rochester-Finger Lakes region could derail what keeps New York’s industry competitive with California, Washington State and the world, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Schumer called on USDA to first, re-include New York in USDA’s annual grape production statistics report, and second, resume the 5-year comprehensive Vineyard and Orchard Acreage Survey.
Since USDA produced its last five-year report in 2011, Schumer noted, the number of New York licensed wineries has increased 65% from 285 to 471, while juice grape production has decreased and two new American Viticultural Areas (AVA) were added in New York, all underscoring how the currently available data no longer accurately reflects New York’s current industry conditions, Schumer wrote, adding;
“Simply put, the New York grape and wine industry’s continued growth and security requires annual and five-year USDA surveys to obtain the detailed statistics and information necessary to answer even the most basic questions as recently cited by Cornell such as: “How big was the 2020 grape crop in New York? How much did the spring frost lower yields in 2020 in the Finger Lakes? How many acres of Concord or Riesling are in production? How has this changed over the past five years?”
Data is now lacking on everything from the amount of new bearing acreage, non-bearing acreage, and types of grape varieties grown to tonnage, average price, and data by growing region, Schumer said. Producers need this information to make investment decisions such as whether to acquire more vineyards, and decide which varieties to plant or remove and from which acres.
Farm equipment and supply chain producers rely on it to forecast sales or identify sites for processing plants. Industry associations like the New York Wine & Grape Foundation require it to formulate marketing and sales, or export activities, monitor and capture production trends, research priorities to foster industry growth, and secure governmental assistance to identify and eliminate new threats to production.
“For example, New York’s world-renown Finger Lakes Wine region is bracing to prevent a catastrophic decimation of its vineyards by the invasive Spotted Lanternfly which was first detected in Pennsylvania and has destroyed grape crops across Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the mid-Atlantic. If left unchecked, the Spotted Lanternfly, which has now been detected in several Finger Lakes region counties, can potentially wreak havoc on New York’s grape regions,” Schumer added.
Schumer noted that USDA continues to collect and produce this grape data on California and Washington State for the benefit of those regions, while “New York is disadvantaged and needs parity to remain competitive with other US grape growing regions.
“After all, New York’s grape industry is nationally significant. New York’s wine and grape industry directly creates 71,950 jobs, generating $2.79 billion in wages and $6.65 billion in direct economic impact that attracts 4.71 million tourist visits who yield $1.8 billion in tourism expenditures. By only surveying California and Washington, there is no data coverage of grape production in any eastern state. Excluding New York State also results in about half of the nation’s Concord and Niagara juice grape production not represented in national statistics.
USDA now produces this data on other New York crops with comparable or lower acreage and value than New York’s grapes such as snap beans (31,000 acres $38 million), sweet corn (28,000 acres $40 million), potatoes (14,000 acres, $47 million) and tart cherries (1,600 acres, $0.7 million).