Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

This was the first meeting of the multistate project.

The following organizational matters were settled

• Functional year starts January 1.
• Next business meeting in Savannah in January 2020, with field visits to Hastings.
• Officers
  
  • Chair, Lincoln Zotarelli
  • Vice Chair Christy Hoepting
  • Secretary Brian Ward
• Funding after termination of SCRI grant in 2021 will be from entry fees, Hatch, block and grower grants.

Quality parameters. What do growers, buyers and consumers want? What are "ideal" forms in different niches.

• Supermarket survey
• Consumer willingness to pay
• Distributor reports
• Grower reports
• Alternaria, holding, vigor
• Food safety certification
• Shelf life
• Quality Trials
• Yield trials
• Defects uncovered

Infrastructure What hinders expansion now?

• Growing
• Organic
• Harvest
• Postharvest
• Cooling
  Sanitation
• Transport
• Food hubs
• Distribution
• Organic
• Warehouse
• Fresh cut

Progress What change have we wrought? 

• Genetics
• Quality trial comparison of old and new
• Pipeline enrichment
• Commercial availability
• Seed sales
• Acreage, grower numbers
• Produce market share

Affirm or modify strategic goals Given what we know now, how can we be more effective, impactful, realistic?

• Commercialization
• Demand and purpose of Yield Trial
• Breeding
• Growers
• Discouraged by bad year
• Markets

How do we proceed?

Internal communications

• Outreach materials for extension to growers from other parts of the project

Trials (Protocols)

• Equalize seed quality for Yield trials
• Add metrics?

Outreach

• Determine where  stakeholders look for detailed information
• Webinar
• books
• coordinated posting

Publicity

Academic publications

Feedback and assessment

• Use of advisory board
• Seed sales data
• NASS and AMS data

Objective 1. Engage public and private broccoli-breeding programs.

Short-term Outcomes
In 2018, Cascadia was released by Oregon State University for use in the East.

Output Annual adn interim trial reports were issued to breeding programs from both the Quality and Yield Trials. Various additional analyses were developed for interested breeders. 

Activities Seed increases are in process for numerous promising hybrids that can be committed to Quality and Yield trials in the coming year

Milestones

Eight public and private breeding programs entered 26 entries in the 2019-20 Quality Trial.

Two companies advanced public-private and their own hybrids.

Objective 2. Evaluate new broccoli hybrids developed by public and private (seed company) breeding programs for quality and marketable yield potential at experimental and commercial scales, respectively, at multiple locations in the Eastern US

Short-term Outcomes

Outputs

Activities . In the 2018-19 cycle we will evaluate 36 entries in 12 environments in the Quality Trial and at least seven entries over 10 location in Yield Trial. 

Milestones In the 2017-18 cycle, evaluated 31 entries in 15 environments in the Quality Trial and nine entries over 10 location in Yield Trial

3. Provide timely and relevant information to stakeholders (public and private breeding programs, growers, Extension personnel) through various means, including webinars, field days, trial reports, regional production recommendations, and a project website for use by researchers, extension, growers, and allied industry

Short-term Outcomes

Extension leaders updated production recommendations, advised growers, hosted tours and field days and presented the project at conferences and grower meetings. Bjorkman visited growers in the important winter production region of Immokalee, FL. A booth at the Culinary Breeding Newtwork's Sept. 2018 Variety Showcase in NYC provided expouser to Eastern tastemakers. We maintain an active website, blog, and twitter feed. Elizabeth Bihn and Chris Callahan presented a webinar on produce safety for broccoli producers and developed 3 sanitary design guideline documents.

Outputs
Production information is on the easternbroccoli.org website, revised annually as new information becomes available.

Activities

In 2018, Extension leaders updated production recommendations, advised growers, hosted tours and field days and presented the project at conferences and grower meetings. Bjorkman visited growers in the important winter production region of Immokalee, FL. He is now overseeing a sulfur trial and development of insect control guidelines for broccoli. Ward is conducting SARE grant-supplemented research on no-till production and mulch color. We secured a booth at the Sept. 2018 Variety Showcase in NYC and maintain an active website, blog, and twitter feed. Sams updated a draft postharvest cooling bulletin. Elizabeth Bihn and Chris Callahan presented a webinar on produce safety for broccoli producers and developed 3 sanitary design guideline documents. Wythe Morris gave 18 food safety trainings in WV, MS, NC, and VA. Miguel Gomez drafted an interactive crop budget and updated the NY budget; VA, NC, and FL budgets are in progress. DATA: Gomez supplied cooling cost and energy usage data for the postharvest publication. 

Milestones

Preliminary reports indicate new broccoli production in New York of about 600 acres in 2018.