USDA, Cornell Break Ground on National Grape Improvement Center
June 26, 2024 USDA-ARS and Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for a new state-of-the-art USDA grape research facility on the Cornell AgriTech campus.
The 70,000-plus-square-foot National Grape Improvement Center will house the ARS Grape Genetics Research Unit and ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit as well as four Cornell grapevine research projects.
“Ag research conducted by USDA and Cornell University will both enhance U.S. grape production and ensure farmers are better able to fight the impacts of climate change,” Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small says. “The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to work with Leader Schumer to invest in the USDA-ARS National Grape Improvement Center, which in turn helps maintain our nation’s food security while also building a stronger and more resilient food system.”
ARS and university employees will focus on research to advance grape production through interdisciplinary research, breeding and technology transfer. Their work will aim to enhance grape production efficiency, profitability, and sustainability for the U.S. grape industry.
“The USDA-ARS National Grape Improvement Center will provide an excellent platform for deepening the productive synergies in grape research between ARS and Cornell University and will offer tremendous opportunities for collaboration,” ARS Administrator Simon Liu says. “This facility will provide our researchers with greater resources to continue the pioneering work that has cultivated a legacy of innovation and enhanced grape quality worldwide.”
The partnership between ARS and Cornell University brings together researchers with diverse skills and knowledge to develop technology that will solve agricultural challenges impacting farmers, producers, and consumers nationwide.
“On behalf of Cornell University, I am grateful for the federal investment that is building the USDA-ARS National Grape Improvement Center on the campus of Cornell AgriTech,” Cornell University Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff says. “Locating this state-of-the-art facility here recognizes the longstanding and productive partnership between Cornell and the ARS Grape Genetics Research Unit and solidifies the Finger Lakes as the hub of cold climate grape research in the United States.”
Other leaders who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony included:
- Xochitl Torres Small, USDA Deputy Secretary
- Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senate Majority Leader, New York
- Christine Smart, Goichman Family Director of Cornell AgriTech
- Gan-Yuan Zhong, ARS Grape Genetics Research Unit and ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit Research Leader
The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University is a pioneer of purpose-driven science, working across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: natural and human systems; sustainable agriculture and food systems, energy, and environmental resources; and social, physical, and economic wellbeing. We are fundamentally invested in improving the lives of people, their environments and their communities both in New York state and around the world.
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