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Grapes Grape program feels BUDGET CUTS Eliminating federal earmarks has cost Washington State University's wine and grape research program about $500,000, says Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling. by Melissa Hansen T hough the viticulture and enology program at Washington State University has largely held its own during the last five years of drastic cuts from state allocations, viticulture and enology researchers are feeling the squeeze from Congress's move to halt federal earmarks. The term "earmark" refers to legislation inserted in the federal budget that directs approved funding to be spent on specific projects, in this case the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research Center and the Viticul- ture Consortium. The two-year moratorium on earmarks eliminated about one-third of the center's research grant funding ($307,000) and about $1 million in research grants for the Viticulture Consortium. Loss of the ear- marks will impact nearly all areas of WSU's viticulture and enology research, says Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling, director of WSU's viticulture and enology program. "All total, between the Small Fruits Center and Con- sortium, losses to WSU's viticulture and enology program equal about $500,000," said Henick-Kling. Small Fruits Center "Viticulture and enology researchers have lost ten research assistantships from the Small Fruits Center cuts," he said. "Pretty much every researcher in our program has received some research funds from the center, from technical support to assistantship funds. The lost research funds pretty much cut across the board of all of our viticulture and enology research projects." Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling is hopeful research funding will be restored in the next Farm Bill. WSU viticulture and enology researchers led about a third of the research projects funded by the center in its most recent funding cycle. Some 30 to 40 projects were funded annually at amounts up to $35,000. Research pri- orities include: genetics, pest management, berry and grape processing, production and physiology, and wine. The research grant funding, with projects approved by an industry committee, allowed industry to respond quickly to emerging pests and issues, such as the spotted wing drosophila. The center was established in 1990 as a research con- sortium to coordinate and conduct research for small fruits—grapes, strawberries, blueberries, cane berries, and such. Administration and its primary research facility are located in Corvallis, Oregon, but the joint research consortium also involves agricultural experiment stations of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, USDA's Agricultural Research Service, and grape and berry industry groups. The center provides a forum for Northwest small fruit producers, processors, and wineries to share problems, determine priorities, and direct federal grant dollars that augment state funded programs. The majority of the center's funding comes from the USDA-ARS Northwest Small Fruits Research budget of $6.4 million and includes funds for ARS researchers, the Small Fruits Initiative (a plant improvement program), and about $700,000 of the center's competitive grants program. With the loss of the $300,000 earmark, no new research projects were funded in 2011 and the request for new research proposals for 2012 was cancelled. The center also supported the Northwest Berry and Grape Information Network, a Web site (http://berry- grape.org) with resources for small fruit production practices, research, and marketing. Viticulture Consortium The Viticulture Consortium, a national research pro- gram established in 1996, is a peer-reviewed grant program that, in conjunction with industry, assists uni- versities and agricultural research stations in developing and maintaining competitive viticulture industries. Cor- nell University in New York administers the Viticulture Consortium East and the University of California, Davis, administers the Viticulture Consortium West. The consor- tium was funded through the U.S. Department of Agri- culture's Cooperative State Research, Extension, and Education Service. During the 2010–2011 funding cycle, Viticulture West funded about $500,000 of viticulture and enology research, according to Dr. Deborah Golino, Consortium West program director. A similar amount in grant money has been distributed to the Consortium East. In the last 15 years, the Consortium West funded some 260 of 1,300 20 FEBRUARY 1, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com