University of Vermont

I’ll follow up with more details later- this announcement is meant as a notice in case anyone like myself needs to get their hands on some streptomycin today- but the NEWA fire blight models are predicting increasing likelihood of infection over the weekend as temperatures climb. If you have open blooms, be prepared to cover in the event of rain or to add strep to your spray tank if applying thinning sprays in the next few days. I’ll reach out later today with details on thinning, the insect situation, and disease management.

-Terry

—

Terence Bradshaw (he/him)
Associate Professor, Specialty Crops
Interim Chair
Department of Plant and Soil Science
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

University of Vermont
117/210 – Jeffords Hall | 63 Carrigan Dr
Burlington, VT 05405

(802) 922-2591 | tbradsha
https://go.uvm.edu/pssbradshaw

Information for commercial orchard and vineyard managers in Vermont and beyond:

UVM Fruit Website | UVM Fruit Blog
Horticulture Research and Education Center
Message me on Teams

UVM’s Our Common Ground Values:
Respect | Integrity | Innovation | Openness | Justice | Responsibility

UVM is subject to the Vermont Public Records Act and communications to and from this email address, including attachments, are subject to disclosure unless exempted under the Act or otherwise applicable law.

The cool weather is leading to a number of conditions in Vermont apples. Where trees are in some state of bloom, blossoms are opening very slowly. This is extending the overall bloom period. But also helping to maintain viability of pollen, styles, and stigma. It may be taking a while for pollination to happen, but we also have more time for it to happen. At our twilight meeting in South Burlington last Friday, despite the cool weather, there were abundant wild pollinators in the UVM orchards. For inland and upland orchards at pink or even earlier, the weather is delaying blossom opening. I don’t know of any orchards at petal fall but I haven’t been to the warmest corners yet. I would not expect them to be yet, but movement on bud stages is around the corner as weather is expected to warm into the 70s this week.

For growers headed into petal fall, a heavy bloom, and minimal to little cold damage from the April 25 freeze, it would be wise to consider a petal fall thinner. Petal fall means just that- no blooms in the orchard, so if you still have some varieties in bloom do not use carbaryl, an insecticide that is particularly toxic to honeybees, in this spray. I would consider NAA (Refine, Fruitone, etc.) alone or, if petals are truly off, with some carbaryl. Again, where bloom is heavy and conditions for pollination were good, plan to thin on the heavier side. Rates for many thinning materials are very confusing, and include spraying in parts per million, rate per 100 gallons dilute tree row volume, and the usual amount per acre. For most orchards, if a label (use https://www.telus.com/agcg/agribusiness to look up your latest labels) allows it, it’s easiest and totally relevant to default to the amount per acre as you usually do. Refine 3.5 WSSG, for example, gives a table and five paragraphs of information on page three about determining ppm for apple thinning, then one sentence, “Concentrate spray: Use Refine 3.5 WSG at the rate of 0.25 lb per acre (4 oz)-0.50 lb per acre (8 oz) in sufficient water to ensure good coverage at petal fall to early fruit set. Uniform and even coverage is crucial for good results.”

To summarize it, if you have a heavy bloom or hard-to-thin varieties (or both), use the high rate, if either of those is not fully true or you have freeze damage, consider backing off the rate a bit. You should also use NEWA’s apple carbohydrate thinning model to evaluate the effect of weather conditions on thinning effect, but the cool weather overall- even after it warms up to the low 70s this week- means thinning chemicals will be less effective and heavier rates should be used. The good thing is, we can try again next week as out fruit approach the ideal thinning window of 8-12 mm and the 6-BA thinners are more effective.

Cool weather means that blossom infection from fire blight does not look to be a concern this week.

Insect activity has been quiet this season, in no small part likely slowed by the cool temperatures. If you don’t have codling moth traps up yet, it would be good to get them up asap and check daily to record the biofix date from which to start calculating degree days until egg hatch. If you need traps, it would be best to order from Great Lakes IPM immediately, as my stock is out. A quick video of me setting a codling moth trap can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIr_X3hLoQM.

But the warmer weather this week will encourage plum curculio to move into orchards from bordering hedgerows, and they will feed on and oviposit into fruit as they approach ~10 mm in diameter. It is standard practice to mow flowering weeds at 100% petal fall before applying pesticides to avoid attracting pollinators into sprayed areas then to apply a general insecticide to manage plum curculio, European apple sawfly, and some of the lepidopteran pests. Commonly-used materials include Actara, Avaunt, Imidan, and Verdepryn. See the New England Tree Fruit Management Guide for material suggestions.

Keep managing for scab, we’re not done yet and the less-than-promised rains have given sometimes marginal infection periods in the past week. Just stay covered for the time being.

Reach out if you have any questions. tbradsha or (802)922-2591 (cell).

Where trade names or commercial products are used for identification, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied. Always read the label before using any pesticide. The label is the legal document for the product use. Disregard any information in this message if it is in conflict with the label.

The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station, UVM Extension, USDA NIFA E-IPM Program, and USDA Risk Management Agency.

UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work. University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.

Trees at the UVM orchard in South Burlington are at early to late pink bud stage and we expect bloom to start this coming week. This is go-time for setting the crop for 2024, and there are a lot of considerations to take into account as we make management decisions.

First- pest management. This looks like a doozy of a week for apple scab, so stay covered and plan to include both a protectant (mancozeb or captan) and a single site (FRAC groups 3,7,9,11, always rotating between them) fungicide (opens to spray table in New England Tree Fruit guide) in any sprays. This will help with postinfection action for missed apple scab infections as well as help out with cedar apple rust and powdery mildew. Organic growers, I would be applying sulfur with every ½ to 1 inches of rain- you have both washoff and rapid leaf expansion working against you. Today and tomorrow look great for reapplying any sketchy coverage before the next rains come Wednesday and Thursday. The good news on the disease front is that, for now, fire blight is a non-issue as the cool weather hasn’t allowed sufficient bacteria to multiply to make for an infective dose once blooms do open. Keep an eye on NEWA, though, as conditions can rapidly change with just a few warm / hot days.

Insect activity is pretty quiet. We have caught a few tarnished plant bugs at the UVM orchard, and have just hung European apple sawfly, obliquebanded leafroller, and codling moth traps. This is a good time to get those up. As we approach bloom, it is best to keep the insecticides on the shelf to protect both managed and wild pollinators.

Most orchards that were frost affected last year have abundant fruit buds. But look carefully and methodically in your orchards, especially across varied topography, as the cold snap on April 25-26 appears to have done a bit of damage. I am seeing everything from complete bud kill to undamaged buds in the same block. Here is a quick video I made in the UVM orchard of the damage we’re seeing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPn0s_klGPI

Normally I would be suggesting that folks start thinning at bloom with a mild thinner, but I do suggest a good scout of your buds to see if you have significant damage first. I am inclusion longtime UMASS thinning expert Duane Greene’s recommendations for bloom thinning this year from the Healthy Fruit newsletter (always worth the cost of the subscription, which can be found here):

Chemical thinning suggestions for bloom-time (Duane Greene)

• Weather during the chemical thinning season has been widely unpredictable the fast few years. Given this uncertainty it seems prudent to take advantage of each opportunity to thin with the hope that an application or two will be followed by favorable weather to thin. Even if the weather may not be ideal, chemical thinner applications may predispose fruit to drop following subsequent applications. Given this fact we suggest that you take advantage of applying a thinner at each stage of development, especially early. Apples are less susceptible to hormone type thinners at bloom, so the risk of over-thinning is extremely small.

• We experienced an extremely challenging growing season last year and there may be repercussions from that, which may require special attention. Some blocks of trees were damaged last year immediately following bloom which resulted in trees having few or no seeds. Seeds inhibit flower bud formation for the following year. On these trees and on trees that carried a light crop last year we have noted exceptionally good return bloom which will require special attention to thinning. If nearly all spurs have flowers, it will be almost impossible to thin these trees down to an appropriate crop load using only our usual post-bloom hormone thinners. In these special cases it may be appropriate to apply the blossom thinner ATS at bloom at 2.5 to 3%. Cornell recommends 2 applications with the first being made at 60% bloom. (You can also use the Pollen Tube Growth Model on NEWA, however, that is considerably more involved.) There may be some phytotoxicity but this injury does not last long. Normal hormone thinner applications should probably follow based upon observation of initial set. (Note that use of ATS should be recorded as a fertilizer application in your spray records.)

• Generally, an orchardist chooses to use a hormone type thinner at bloom, especially NAA (Fruitone-L, Pomaxa, Refine) or Amid-Thin. I would like to emphasize again that thinners applied at bloom are at least 50% less effective than when applied post-petal fall. I have never over-thinned any apple tree with a bloom application of a hormone thinner, but I think that this application is necessary to start the thinning process. I have noted that thinner application at bloom may not thin by itself but if followed by a thinner application at petal fall or even at the 10 mm stage greater thinning has been noted on tress that also received a bloom spray.

-NAA is often the default thinner selected for the bloom application. Check the production guide for recommendations for a specific varieties that you are thinning. A 10 ppm rate is often standard when applied at bloom.

-An equally viable choice for a bloom thinner is Amid-Thin, although it is less frequently used. Amid-Thin is a mild thinner and over-thinning is very unlikely. The Amid-Thin label has been changed and updated for the 2024 thinning season. In general, higher rates of application are allowed. We suggest that you read the new label. The application rates suggested for specific varieties have been revised and modern varieties have been included. The highest suggested rate of application remains at 8 oz/100 gallons, although higher rates are now allowed. The maximum amount that can be applied in a single application is 20.9 oz with a maximum amount that can be applied in one year cannot exceed 62.7 oz per acre. In previous years I have added a surfactant (Regulaid) to Amid-Thin to improve thinning capability, but this addition did not have a measurable effect on thinning. Since my experience with Amid-Thin is that it is a mild thinner, I would not hesitate to increase the rate applied a little above 8 oz/100 gallons on harder to thin varieties. Proceed cautiously.

Pest and Pollinator Showcases this week:

Orchard Pests and Pollinators On-Farm Meetings – two locations.

Thursday May 9, 4:30-7:00, Sweetland Farm, 97 Kerwin Hill Road, Norwich, VT

Friday May 10, 4:30-7:00, UVM Catamount Farm, 65 Green Mountain Drive, S. Burlington, VT

These are free, hands-on field meetings to increase your identification skills and understanding of common orchard pests, wild pollinators, beneficial insect habitat in tree fruit production. Pesticide applicator (2) and Certified Crop Adviser (2) credits available.

Questions? Laura.o.johnson or 802-656-4827

Where trade names or commercial products are used for identification, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied. Always read the label before using any pesticide. The label is the legal document for the product use. Disregard any information in this message if it is in conflict with the label.

The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station, UVM Extension, USDA NIFA E-IPM Program, and USDA Risk Management Agency.

UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work. University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.

2024-pollinator-showcase (003).pdf

Jim Wargo from Valent U.S.A. passed these recommendations on for growers considering using Promalin on frost-affected trees. These make horticultural sense to me, and Jim highlights the limitations well. -TB

Promalin: What to do when freeze events occur at tight cluster to pink

Apples at tight cluster to early pink are more tolerant to cold temperatures than fully open flowers. Nonetheless, if the temperatures do get cold enough (27/28F), injury to flower reproductive parts can occur. I often get asked this time of year “will Promalin help set fruit after a damaging frost event at tight cluster to pink”. The short answer is yes, but there is a caveat. Don’t run out the next day and spray Promalin as if the trees were in full bloom. Be patient and follow the series of steps below.

Guidance on Promalin use when damaging frost occurs before the bloom stage:

• Do not apply Promalin the next day after a frost event during tight cluster and early pink growth stages: You will be underwhelmed by the results if you do. If trees are at full pink (all five unfurled flowers fully extended) then wait until the first few king flowers open

• Assess flower buds for cold injury at tight cluster to pink: Do this by dissecting flowers that have not yet fully opened to see if the reproductive flower parts are still alive. If you see brown discoloration inside the developing flower, then it means the female part of the flower (pistol) is dead and no pollination or fertilization will occur. The tree will subsequently shed those flowers. Note: In many cases the flowers will open and look fine (no injury to the petals), but that can be deceiving. Make sure to inspect the flower reproductive parts closely as previously mentioned.

• Determine the injury threshold: It’s up to you to determine if there are enough damaged flowers on the trees that may result in reduced fruit set and crop loss. Remember, you don’t need every flower to set. In most cases, the goal is for only one of the five flowers on a spur to develop in to a fruit. It’s also important to have an adequate number of non-fruiting spurs for next year’s crop. Don’t panic if there is modest flower injury. Consider it your first thinning application…

• Decide: If your damage assessment suggests that crop loss is likely then you can make the choice to spay Promalin on the trees to increase fruit set. Apply one pint of Promalin/Acre, timing the application to first flower/early bloom stage . Applications made later than early flowering have been shown to be ineffective in situations where flower injury occurred from freeze events at tight cluster through pink. Use sufficient water volume ~100 gal/Acre to ensure good coverage and apply under slow drying conditions if at all possible.

It’s important to understand how Promalin works and what its limitations are. While I will not go in to all the details in this article, I want to underscore a few key points

1. Promalin IS NOT an anti-freeze type product. It will not lower the freezing point of the plant tissue if applied ahead of a frost event

2. Promalin WILL NOT revive, resuscitate or repair plant/flower tissue that is damaged by freezing temperatures

3. Promalin is basically equivalent to hormone replacement therapy in humans. In the normal pollination process, fertilized ovules begin to develop in to seeds that produce hormones including cytokinins and gibberellins. These hormonal signals tell the tree there is viable seed in the apple. The seed is essentially the offspring, and the tree will continue to nourish the developing seed with carbohydrates and nutrients. However, if fertilization does not happen due to reproductive flower injury or poor pollination weather, then no viable seed will develop. In that scenario, the tree is much more likely to shed the fruit and put it’s energy in to those apples that have the potential to produce progeny. That’s where Promalin comes in. Promalin applied to sterile flowers provides the hormonal signal that would normally come from the developing seed. That’s why it’s important to synchronize the application of Promalin with the trees natural phenology – slightly ahead of or during the early pollination window. Trees don’t receive hormonal signals from developing seeds from tight cluster through pink, so why apply Promalin then? The cytokinin and gibberellins will be long gone by the time bloom comes around. Coincide the application to the same stage the tree is expecting to receive those signals instead. The fruit that develops after Promalin application will have low seed count or no seeds at all, but it will develop to normal size as research studies have shown.

Note on Pears:

There was some confusion abut Promalin being labeled for fruit set on pears. The issue is that both CDMS and Agrian had outdated labels that did not include this use pattern. The Promalin label was updated a few years ago and now allows use on pears for fruit set. It can be used on pears to set fruit in the absence of frost. See below for guidance.

Good afternoon:

I was a bit surprised to see how cold it got this morning, despite not having any frost on my windshield at 6:00 am. We recorded 25.7 degrees Fahrenheit in South Burlington, 21.6 in East Montpelier, 27.3 in Cornwall, 26.3 in Putney, as general examples. Definitely colder that the 30 or so that I was expecting. Fruit buds at the UVM orchard in South Burlington are generally at the tight cluster stage, and the general consensus is that buds at that stage see damage at 27 degrees and may have full crop loss at 21 degrees. I pinched some buds and saw some damage that I outline in this video, for those of you who want to keep an eye on things yourselves:

Some browning in some fruit buds may be expected, depending on where you are at and how cold it got. But it’s still early- buds may recover from slight freezing, and there is a good bit of time to go before bloom. For those who are concerned, please know that I generally won’t recommend any miracles you can put in a spray tank. There are a lot of materials out there that purport to save fruit from frost but a lack of good research on many of them. That said, this is a great time to apply Dr. Warren Stiles’ ‘cold weather prebloom cocktail’ of nitrogen (urea (3 lb./100 gallons dilute, or one of the liquid formulations like N-Pact at label rate), zinc (use label rate of your favorite product) and boron (0.1 -0.3 lb. B/acre) that will help top strengthen fruit buds going into bloom.

As I said before, keep fungicides on ahead of expected rains. The weather the past few days may or may not have led to an apple scab infection period, but we may be facing a pretty substantial one early next week.

—

Where trade names or commercial products are used for identification, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied. Always read the label before using any pesticide. The label is the legal document for the product use. Disregard any information in this message if it is in conflict with the label.

The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station,  UVM Extension, USDA NIFA E-IPM Program, and USDA Risk Management Agency.

UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work. University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.

I don’t have a lot more to say than I said last time- if you’re expecting rain, expect to protect your orchard from apple scab. We are entering the accelerated phase of primary apple scab season now, and given how wet it was last year I expect there is a fair amount of inoculum out there so that even small releases of spores (as a percent of total potential infection) could cause substantial disease. This week I made a quick video where I walk through my thinking regarding whether or not we need a fungicide in the UVM orchard using NEWA, how to predict spray windows using other online tools, and how to select the materials we will be applying using the New England Tree Fruit Management Guide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_sbm7yad-4

Where trade names or commercial products are used for identification, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied. Always read the label before using any pesticide. The label is the legal document for the product use. Disregard any information in this message if it is in conflict with the label.

The UVM Tree Fruit and Viticulture Program is supported by the University of Vermont Agriculture Experiment Station, UVM Extension, USDA NIFA E-IPM Program, and USDA Risk Management Agency.

UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work. University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.

SPRING ORCHARD PEST AND POLLINATOR SHOWCASE

Offered at two locations:

Sweetland Farm

97 Kerwin Hill Road, Norwich, VT 05055

Thursday May 9, 2024 from 4:30-7:00pm

UVM Horticulture Research and Education Center (HREC) and Catamount Educational Farm

65 Green Mountain Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403

Friday May 10, 2024 from 4:30 to 7:00pm

Join the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association and the University of Vermont Extension at these free hands-on field meetings to increase your identification skills and understanding of common orchard pests, wild pollinators, insect habitat, and pollination in tree fruit production. These events are FREE and geared to commercial growers and people that work with them. Pesticide applicator credits available: 2 credits for categories 1A, 10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Certified Crop Adviser CEUs available: 2 Integrated Pest Management credits.

Registration is not required, but helpful for any unexpected announcements regarding the meetings. Let us know if you plan to attend by contacting Laura Johnson at laura.o.johnson or 802-656-4827.

To ask questions about these events or to request a disability-related accommodation to participate in these programs, please call or email Laura Johnson as soon as possible before the event you wish to attend so we may assist you.

Tree Fruit Twilight Meeting and agenda.pdf

Good morning:

The NEWA system that most of us rely on for pest models and forecasting is not importing data from any stations right now because the data centers at the National Weather Service that process the data are experiencing outages. Until it is back up, we’ll need to rely on some rules of thumb to manage apple scab, which is the only real IPM issue of immediate concern right now. We can assume that all orchards except maybe those in the coolest inland/upland sites are in the accelerated scab phase. That means keeping covered with a protectant fungicide (mancozeb for most, sulfur for those managing organically) before every rain, and adding a material with postinfection activity if you think that coverage was questionable going into a wetting event. As they work better in cooler weather and have little activity against fruit scab so are of less use postbloom, Vangard or Scala (FRAC class 9 Anilinopyrimidine fungicides) are good choices.

I just posted a video yesterday on hanging tarnished bug traps to start the monitoring season. For most orchards that sell fruit direct to consumers I don’t worry too much about this pest, but they can cause substantial damage to wholesale-marketed fruit and to peaches. The trap is the same as that used for European apple sawfly, which we’ll hang in a couple of weeks and can be more damaging. Many here know that I am generally not a fan of prebloom insecticides for most Vermont orchards, but they can be an important tool in some situations. I’ll be including regular monitoring updates this season to help you to implement scouting on your farm.

On a similar note, a grower sent me pictures of aphids in their apple buds the other day. It is a bit early to see them, but I advised to wait and watch before taking action. Strating off with insecticide treatments this early in the season is a sure way to throw orchard ecology out of balance and favor secondary pests like mites and aphids that would be controlled by predator insects and allow them to become season-long pests.

More to come, and please keep and eye on https://newa.cornell.edu/, as I am sure it will be back in operation soon.

-TB

__

Terence Bradshaw (he/him)
Associate Professor, Specialty Crops
Interim Chair
Department of Plant and Soil Science
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

University of Vermont
117/210 – Jeffords Hall | 63 Carrigan Dr
Burlington, VT 05405

(802) 922-2591 | tbradsha
https://go.uvm.edu/pssbradshaw

Information for commercial orchard and vineyard managers in Vermont and beyond:

UVM Fruit Website | UVM Fruit Blog
Horticulture Research and Education Center
Message me on Teams

UVM’s Our Common Ground Values:
Respect | Integrity | Innovation | Openness | Justice | Responsibility

UVM is subject to the Vermont Public Records Act and communications to and from this email address, including attachments, are subject to disclosure unless exempted under the Act or otherwise applicable law.

Wine Sensory Evaluation Workshop

April 25, 2024, 9:00am – 12:00pm

Miliea Estate Vineyard, 450 Hollow Rd, Staatsburg, NY 12580

Attendance Fee : $20.00/person

In collaboration with Jeremy Schuster, Viticulture Specialist at the ENYCHP, Dr. Anna Katharine Mansfield and Chris Gerling, Enology Extension Specialists with the Cornell Craft Beverage Institute, will be presenting a wine production-focused, interactive workshop on sensory evaluation.

Topics include:

1) Are you a "super taster"? What does that mean?

2 Sensory thresholds, anosmias, and their critical role in wine evaluation

3) Flaws, faults, and taints, oh my! Sorbate flaws, oxidation, volatile acidity, TCA, Brettanomyces, & agricultural taints will be discussed

4) The perils of sensory descriptors

To register:

https://enych.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=1918

Laura McDermott┃Pronouns: she, her, hers

Sr. Extension Associate, Eastern NY – 415 Lower Main Street, Hudson Falls, NY 12839

Cornell Cooperative Extension|Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program

Website┃Facebook┃Instagram┃Blog┃Podcast

Phone: 518-746-2562

Mobile: 518-791-5038

Cornell Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer

Passing this in from the Agency of Agriculture. -TB

Hello,

The Agency of Agriculture is excited to announce that the Resilient Food System Infrastructure (RFSI) grant details will be released very soon! We’re reaching out to partners, TA providers, and those who supported our stakeholder engagement to offer a “heads up” that the RFA will be released next week; we know there may be an influx of questions once that goes live and we’ve gotten feedback that even a small bit of advance notice is helpful.

Some basics of the grant and the two tracks:

· Grant Overview: One-time USDA funding to build resiliency in the middle of the supply chain (aggregation, distribution, manufacturing, processing, storing, transporting, and wholesaling). Grants will support market development for local and regional food products, promoting value-added products, and fair and safe jobs.

· Track 1 – Infrastructure: Grant details will be announced in mid April, with applications open early Mary to early June 2024. Approximately $2 million will be available in grants ranging from $100,000 – $500,000 with a match requirement (reduced match available). Projects will begin in late fall 2024.

· Track 2 – Equipment-only: Grant details will be announced in August 2024, with applications open in the early fall. Approximately $1 million will be available in grants ranging from $30,000 to $100,000 with no match requirement. Projects will begin in early 2025.

• Applicants can only be awarded one RFSI track; applicants for the infrastructure grant will know if they are being recommended for award to USDA before the Equipment-Only Track opens in August.

· Eligible projects: supporting the middle of the supply chain by expanding processing capacity, modernizing equipment or facilities, construction, packaging capacity, storage space, updated or climate-smart equipment, etc. This funding cannot support meat, poultry, seafood, animal feed, fiber, cannabis, farm production, or retail. On-farm processing or value-add is eligible.

· Eligible applicants: farmers, processors, nonprofits, local government, institutions, food hubs, distributors.

· Priority will be given to projects who benefit limited resource farmers and ranchers, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, and veteran farmers.

We will hold a recorded webinar on April 30, 2024 from 11am – 12pm where applicants can hear more details and ask questions. Register here.

We will also continuously update a FAQ document, as we know this funding is a bit complex. If you have any questions, please send my way, and I can either respond now or include in the FAQ.

Please feel free to spread the word and we look forward to getting all the details online in 2 weeks!

Thank you,

-Julia

Julia Scheier (she/her)

Market Development Section Chief | Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets

116 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602-2901 | http://agriculture.vermont.gov

Tel: 802-522-7042