Ethnic Vegetables

Relevant Events
Allium Pests!
February 26, 2025
Elba Muck Onion Growers Pre-Season Meeting: SLB in Transplants, Onion Thrips

March 10, 2025
Elba, NY
2025 NYS Processing Vegetable Industry Meeting

March 11, 2025
Batavia, NY
Oswego Muck Onion Growers Pre-Season Meeting: Bacterial Bulb Rot

March 13, 2025
Baldwinsville, NY
2025 NYS Dry Bean Meeting and Cutting Event

March 19, 2025
Geneva, NY
Video: New York State Produce Auctions

Currently, there are 8 produce auctions in New York State. These auctions are aggregation points that allow local farmers to sell their produce in wholesale lots to buyers from across the region. To document the economic impact of produce auctions on agriculture, local businesses, family farms, and produce buyers, the Cornell Vegetable Program worked with Harvest New York to survey top sellers and buyers.
A new Cornell Vegetable Program video shares general information about produce auctions, how buyers and sellers use the auctions to expand their businesses, and how local communities benefit from them.
Evaluations of Specialty Crop Vegetables
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

Each year, the Cornell Vegetable Program will be evaluating new and different vegetable varieties suited for the specialty crop or ethnic markets. Growers are encouraged to check them out here to see how they have performed in Western NY.
Ethnic Greens Trial, 2012
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

Interest in growing ethnic vegetables has been increasing in our region. In response, the Cornell Vegetable Program conducted a two-year ethnic vegetable variety and marketing trial. The focus of the trial was to see how well assortments of vegetables that represent some different nationalities perform in WNY under our wildly fluctuating weather conditions and also to see how growers can market these new vegetables, how customers respond to them at the market, and what is needed to reach targeted communities perhaps. Funding was provided by the Western NY CCE Association group.
Exploring Ethnic Vegetables
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

In and around our larger cities and increasingly out in suburban areas, ethnic communities are expanding. This presentation was made to a small farmers' meeting sponsored by the Cornell Vegetable Program, Ontario County CCE, and through funding by GVRMA. The presentation covered discovering what communities are out there, vegetable varieties available, and marketing. Future work will focus on reporting results from variety trials and marketing economics.
Ethnic Vegetable Workshop Receives Media Coverage
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

The Cornell Chronicle Online covered a recent Ethnic Vegetable Workshop hosted by the Cornell Vegetable Program and CCE Ontario County.


Upcoming Events
Food Safety Lunch and Learn Webinar Series
February 11, 2025 : Part One: What's Going on with Food Safety?
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets FSMA inspectors are expected to step up farm visits this season. Why are they showing up on the farm asking about FSMA? Aren't we exempt? This noontime hour we will discuss the purpose of the farm visits and what produce farmers need to know.
February 18, 2025 : Part Two: What Counts as Food Processing?
In this session, we will discuss what counts as processing and what doesn't. Stories of inspectors coming to farmers markets and auctions telling some growers certain products can't be sold usually without much explanation. We will try to make some sense of things and clear up some misunderstandings so hopefully the upcoming season goes smoothly.
February 25, 2025 : Part Three: Traceability - Benefits for Food Safety and Beyond
Can having a traceback process for your produce (and other farm products) make good business sense regardless of FSMA regulations? We will (try to) make the case for farms to have some sort of traceability mechanism in place.
Allium Pests!
February 26, 2025
Presented by Christy Hoepting (CCE Cornell Vegetable Program) and Ann Hazelrigg (Univ. of VT), this webinar will focus on organic management of pests and diseases of onions, garlic, leeks. The webinar is part of a series supported by the Transition to Organic Partnership Program.
Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Training
March 4 - March 5, 2025
Syracuse, NY
This two-day workshop will train fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPSs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety. (A remote attendance option is available.)