Rochester, N.Y. – U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $348,814 in federal funding for the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. The funding allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Market Access Program (MAP) focuses on consumer and brand promotion for small companies and cooperatives. The New York Wine and Grape Foundation will use this funding to expand and maintain promotions for long-term export markets.
“Ensuring that agriculture is able to flourish – and the unique needs of New York agriculture are considered in federal programs – has always been a top priority of mine,” said Senator Schumer. “This direct USDA assistance will allow the New York Wine and Grape Foundation to help small businesses and cooperatives around the state generate increased economic revenue by promoting and marketing their products throughout the world. Helping our local farms and wineries grow their business is a win-win for our agriculture industry and the entire Upstate NY economy.”
“We need our farmers to thrive if we’re going to have a strong and growing economy in New York,” said Senator Gillibrand, first New York Senator to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years. “Our wine industry has grown into one of the finest in the nation and NY was named the 2014 Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. This investment in NYWAG will help bring our award winning NY wines to new markets which helps our farmers, our vineyards, and the agricultural community.”
“The New York wine industry’s strong growth, in both size and reputation, has required that we expand the markets for our products, including to those of other countries,” said Jim Trezise, President, New York Wine & Grape Foundation. “We greatly appreciate Senator Gillibrand’s strong support of the Market Access Program, which is allowing us to do that.”
“Building new markets is an expensive and long-term process which the MAP funding has allowed us to pursue,” said Susan Spence, Vice President, New York Wine & Grape Foundation. “We are now seeing some tangible results, especially in European markets, thanks to our participation in several key trade shows and other activities.”
The Market Access Program (MAP) focuses on consumer promotion, including brand promotion for small companies and cooperatives, and is used extensively by organizations promoting fruits, vegetables, nuts, processed products, and bulk and intermediate commodities. The Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program focuses on trade servicing and trade capacity building by helping to create, expand and maintain long-term export markets for U.S. agricultural products.