OBSERVER archive photo. Pictured are grapevines in Chautauqua County.
The New York State Department of Agriculture has issued a crop failure relief rule to assist grape growers affected by the late April frost/freeze event. The rule allows licensed wineries to make or sell wine from grapes grown outside of New York.
The state’s Agriculture Commissioner, Richard Ball, made the announcement this week.
The disaster declaration is based on crop failure reports from the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Lab, which found that up to 51% of the Concord grape variety grown or produced for winemaking in New York State was destroyed in the 2024 crop year.
A frost event in April caused major damage in Chautauqua County. Some growers east of Westfield suffered a complete loss of 100% of primary bud shoots. Cornell had stated “official expulsion” on April 22nd, three days before the frost.
According to a document prepared by the Cornell lab in May, projected crop losses range from 15 to 20 percent at the state line in Ripley, 50 to 75 percent in Westfield and 80 to 100 percent near Silver Creek. By comparison, 0 to 5 percent of the wine grape crop near North East, Pennsylvania, could be affected by the freeze.
Cornell staff have been working with growers and processor representatives since the spring to assess crop damage. Cornell predicted a total crop loss of 60% for Concord vineyards in the New York portion of the Lake Erie growing region, which equates to a crop loss of about 46-51% for Concord across New York State.
Agricultural wineries licensed by the New York State Liquor Authority may apply to the Department of Agriculture to produce or sell wine from out-of-state grapes or juice from the above-mentioned varieties. Farmers must demonstrate that they have been unable to obtain the desired varieties in the required quantity from at least three New York State growers who grow the affected varieties.
The deadline to apply for exemption is October 31.
The Department of Agriculture is planning an industry-wide webinar on Tuesday, September 10th at 1 p.m. to provide information on the application process and answer any questions wineries may have.
Ball said: “This recent freeze event has presented our grape growers and wineries with the challenge of potentially not having enough New York-grown grapes to maintain their viticulture license and, therefore, their markets. With this declaration, we are taking immediate action to help our wineries recover from April’s frigid temperatures and allow them to focus on preparing for the next growing season. We encourage all affected operations to take advantage of this respite and continue to report losses to mitigate the impact of this destructive storm.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also issued a disaster area declaration in response to the April freeze/freeze event, declaring 11 New York counties as primary natural disaster areas and an additional 25 counties as contiguous disaster areas. Farmers in the included counties who were affected by the severe weather may be eligible for emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). For more information, visit the USDA’s Farmer Emergency Loans webpage.
New York is the third largest producer of grapes and the third largest producer of wine in the country. According to the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, these producers generate an economic contribution of $6.65 billion to New York State. There are 471 wineries in New York, growing a variety of grapes on 35,000 acres.
