Developing A $100 Million Broccoli Industry

A Cornell University-led team of industry and academic researchers is launching an effort to develop a $100 million broccoli industry on the East Coast over the next 10 years — a move that could reduce fuel costs, cut carbon dioxide emissions from cross-country trucks, and save water in the Western U.S.

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The effort is backed by a $3.2 million grant from USDA. There will be an additional $1.7 million in matching contributions from participating companies that will help develop broccoli varieties to suit conditions in the Eastern U.S., recruit growers and organize networks for growers and distributors.

Growing broccoli in the East is a challenge due to climate and the lack of a coordinated effort between various sectors of the industry. Today, 90% of broccoli sold in the east is shipped from California and Mexico.

Recent developments in broccoli breeding have made plants more tolerant to eastern heat and humidity. The new project is designed to increase Eastern U.S. production from isolated pockets to build a regional year-round source for Eastern consumers. The project also aims to develop a more sustainable industry that responds to retailers’ and consumers’ desires for local products, reduces fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions from trucking broccoli from the West Coast, and conserves scarce western U.S. irrigation water.

The Cornell-led team includes the USDA, seven other universities and 11 companies, marking collaboration between industry and academic researchers.

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“Our assembled team of breeders, production specialists, and market developers have the breeding stocks and expertise to develop an Eastern broccoli industry,” said Thomas Bjorkman, Cornell associate professor of horticulture and the project’s principal investigator. “We are simultaneously developing a grower base, distribution network, and market. Trying to do one part at a time is sure to fail. It is only by having a comprehensive team such as ours that we can make all the parts of the industry work.”

Source: Cornell University

 

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