2015 Vegetable PWT Research and Extension Priority Survey

Abstract

A survey to establish fresh market vegetable research and extension priorities was developed by Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Vegetable Program Work Team ( PWT ). It was administered through Qualtrics, Cornell’s survey tool, and had a total of 187 respondents. The survey consisted of several general questions and a list of potential priorities. The priorities were divided into 7 major categories (pest management, soil management, cultural practices, food safety, cover cropping, marketing, and wildlife damage) as well as an other category. The priority that ranked the highest was pest management with 30% of respondents choosing this as their primary challenge in vegetable production. Cucurbit was the crop that gave respondents the most problems. The second biggest priority for vegetable growers was wildlife management, specifically deer in sweet corn, followed by damage to cucurbits. For rankings of all priorities see the results and Appendices below. With priorities established extension educators and faculty can better target the needs of growers when seeking external funding, and conducting research or extension activities.