Posted by Our goal at NYFVI is to have the best possible proposals for review by the commodity specific review panels and board. What we’ve observed over time is that choosing the right topic is what really hits home with the reviewers.
If you’re not yet sure of your topic, we encourage you to take a look at the farmer research needs section of the website. There you’ll find the results from surveys of producer groups that strive to identify the topics that are most important to NY farmers. More information can be found in this speech given by NYFVI chair Rob Noble.
Following are some general topics that seem to frequently generate strong interest:
- Weed management
- Soil management practices that increase a farmer’s bottom line
- Bird deterrents
- Labor saving practices
- Alternate solutions for protectants that are receiving regulatory scrutiny
- “Consumer Reports” style of testing for new tools, products, practices, or technology
- Helping farmers understand or access markets, market opportunities
Topics that have NOT been faring as well with reviewers in recent years include:
- Proposals with weak evaluation plans.
- Regional branding programs and/or work that may benefit a specific group of farmers, but will not be replicable by others without further investment. This is often the case with direct market proposals.
- Development of online platforms/software/aps without identifying how the tools will be self-sufficient at the end of the project.
- Development of knowledge, such as an algorithm or predictive model without a proposed plan to make it accessible to farmers.
- Proposals that are competing with options that are already available in the private sector.
- Proposals that fail to collaborate with others in the State working on the same topic.
NYFVI Board Members Wish List
“More measurable farm-level impact for dollar spent”
“Nursery and green industry proposals”
“Conciseness and clarity”
“More work that helps farmers adopt proven practices.”