Apr 18, 2005
New York Growers Renew Marketing Order

New York state apple growers have decided: They want to stick together.

Growers voted 168 to 69 to renew the New York State Apple Marketing Order (AMO), said Steve Greenberg, AMO administrator.

The results were announced April 18. Out of 590 ballots mailed to growers, 244 were returned. Seven ballots were ruled ineligible, Greenberg said.

The marketing order has three broad tasks: promoting the sale of New York apples, conducting market research and providing informational services to growers, said Gerald Verbridge, chairman of the AMO advisory board.

The order collects dues from all commercial apple growers in the state. Each grower pays 8 cents per bushel of apples sold at farm stands, 16 cents per bushel of apples sold through a packer and 8 cents per cwt. for apples sold for processing, Verbridge said.

The order collects about $1.6 million per year from its members, Greenberg said.

Growers must vote to renew or discontinue the order every eight years. Since it was established in 1959, the AMO has never been discontinued, Verbridge said.

In order to renew the AMO, 51 percent of the growers who return their ballots must vote yes.

Greenberg administers the marketing order for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. He works closely with the AMO advisory board, which advises the commissioner of agriculture. The commissioner makes the final decision about what to do with AMO money, he said.

Growers got their ballots in the mail March 15. They had until April 15 to return them.




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