by David Flint
If farming in New York State is still thriving, despite loss of farms and rapidly changing opportunities and challenges, much of the credit goes to the New York Farm Viability Institute. One of the instigators and driving forces behind that organization has been Larry Eckhardt of Stephentown’s Kinderhook Creek Farm. Eckhardt retired this week from NYFVI’s all farmer, all volunteer Board of Directors after having served since its inception in 2005.
[private]NYFVI Chairman Jim Bittner has long admired Larry’s ability to “cut to the chase and get things done,” He commented that, “Larry’s contributions to the Board have been significant. His wisdom, wit and diligence will be missed.”
Eckhardt served on the Board as the representative of the New York Vegetable Growers Association where he served as President for 19 years. Retiring also at this time from the NYFVI Board is Ron Robbins of Sackets Harbor who represented the the Corn and Soybean Growers Association. State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “I’ve known Larry Eckhardt and Ron Robbins for many years. Both have made outstanding contributions to the New York Farm Viability Institute on behalf of our state’s agricultural sector and I wish them nothing but the best in all their future endeavors.”
The mission of the Institute is to help New York farmers become more profitable and improve the long-term viability and sustainability of the state’s farms, the food system, and the communities which they serve. It grew out of a federal grant from the 2002 Farm Bill to Cornell University. It was one of 10 federally funded Farm Bill centers and the only one that is still active today. NYFVI became an independent incorporated non-profit organization in 2005 and took over the Agriculture Innovation Center. Since 2005 it has been funded by New York State.
“Reading endless proposals and spending a day in a windowless conference room to discuss them isn’t something you think of most farmers as doing. But Larry Eckhardt isn’t like most farmers,” said Outreach Coordinator Aileen Randolph. Among other responsibilities, members of the Board of Directors spend a lot of time identifying and prioritizing farming opportunities and barriers, selecting projects to fund based on these priorities and making funding decisions. Over the past ten years Eckhardt has travelled almost monthly to Syracuse to lend his expertise in these deliberations.
The Institute has adopted a policy of outcome based funding. They do not consider their grants to be cash handouts but “reimbursement for work completed.” the bottom line being, “What is the result of our efforts?” The Institute has funded over 240 projects involving some 1,400 farms in 57 of New York State’s 62 counties.
The projects funded run the gamut from Alfalfa-grass Management for Maximizing Milk Production ($82,000) to organizing a Full-Service, Member-Driven Beef Cooperative ($75,000) to Establishing Energy Sorghum as a Cash Crop ($50,000). But each project must have demonstrated “ a clear impact on profitability and sustainability of farming in New York State.”
According to the NYFVI 2014 Annual Report, “Since 2006 our projects have achieved a six-to-one return on investment as measured by new capital investment, cost savings, and increased farm product sales. In addition, over 1,100 full time, part time and seasonal jobs have been created or preserved. 5,000 producers have participated in our projects and thousands more have been reached with project findings.” [/private]