Researchers at UMass Amherst are supporting the long-term viability of Massachusetts agriculture by helping the state's agricultural businesses become more economically and environmentally sound. Armed with $481,500 in grants from the newly-launched state Agricultural Innovation Center, faculty members in the Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences department are exploring ways to help New England farmers compete in an increasingly tight market. The campus was awarded the most grants (4 out of 10) of all first-round recipients and captured about 18% of the $1.5M that was released from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources for this new grant program.

At the Cranberry Station, a UMass research and extension facility in East Wareham, MA, ANNE AVERILL is using her grant to help local cranberry farmers by providing sustainable pollination solutions and will investigate whether the die-off of honeybees in various parts of the country are having an impact on New England cranberry farming practices. She's exploring pollination alternatives that might counteract a future catastrophic loss in the honeybee population that is essential to successful cranberry crops.

In an attempt to serve an increasing interest in grape growing in New England, DUANE GREENEis using his Agricultural Innovation grant to create a demonstration small-scale farm wine,cider and juice production facility that will allow growers to test what works before starting their own production plants.