Apr 7, 2007

New York Apple Growers Face Renewal Vote

This spring, apple growers in New York will decide if they want to stick together, or go their separate ways.

On March 15, apple growers will get ballots in the mail, asking them to reauthorize the New York State Apple Marketing Order (AMO). They can vote yes or no. The ballots must be returned by April 15, said Steve Greenberg, market order administrator.

“They’ll have roughly 30 days to decide,” he said. “Hopefully, by April 16, we’ll know the results.”

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 every year from more than 600 growers, Greenberg said.

Growers must vote to renew or discontinue the order every eight years. Since it was established in 1959, the AMO has been approved every eight years, Verbridge said.

“We haven’t witnessed any organized resistance,” he said. “We’ve heard a lot of positive comments about how the money has been used, especially in the promotion area.”

In order to renew the AMO, 51 percent of the voters who cast their ballots must say yes. Normally, about half of the growers end up voting, Verbridge said.

In the last vote, held in 1997, about 300 growers cast ballots. Sixty-two percent voted to renew the order, Greenberg said.

“There have been close votes in the past,” he said. “You never know if there will be opposition.”

A new regulation, which went into effect Jan. 1, might make voters more inclined to reauthorize the marketing order. Growers can now determine, once a year, how their money is used – whether it’s put into advertising, research or information, Verbridge said.

“We’ve heard a lot of positive comments from growers about this regulation,” he said. “It’s an important issue. The AMO board has been trying very hard to get the feelings of growers. We are always open to suggestions and ideas.”

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.

The commissioner also consults with the New York Apple Association, a non-profit organization that represents the state’s commercial apple growers, Greenberg said.