1.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded a $190,955 Cooperative Agreement to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSAGM) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care Federal Grant Program (CFDA 10.025). The purpose of the award is to support the final phase of the Golden Nematode Deregulation Project, which aims to reduce the existing quarantine boundary and meet or exceed a 90% deregulation goal. Key activities include identifying fields eligible for reduced regulation, conducting soil sampling and in-greenhouse bioassay testing, and improving information management systems to support deregulation decision-making. The anticipated outcomes are the deregulation of significant acreage, operational efficiencies that will save public dollars, and reduced burdens on private landowners. The award period runs from Sep 1, 2024 to Aug 31, 2025.

Purpose

The final phase of the golden nematode deregulation project, and the ultimate goal is to reduce the existing quarantine boundary to the smallest possible area and meet or exceed the 90% deregulation goal. In 2024, seven fields in the counties of nassau, seneca, steuben and suffolk will be removed from the GN quarantine releasing approximately 1,021 acres when complete this project will develop and verify the information sets required to support deregulation decision making. IT will also make operational information much more accessible to support decision making and communications with landowners and farmers. 2.

Activities

AGM has identified candidate and exposed fields in the township of southold. Soil sampling which began in september of 2018 will continue until all sampling is complete. AGM will: identify fields eligible for reduced regulation by means of the in-greenhouse bioassay; collect soil samples and forward them to cornell university GN lab to be grown for three successive crops to determine if the field is GN free; sample any previously infested field and their adjacent fields that have been out of host crop production for a minimum of 30 years. Cornell university will: conduct in-greenhouse pot bioassay testing. The pot bioassay test will be performed using the protocols as outlined in the PCN guidelines; will conduct small scale field trials; 3. Deliverables and expected outcomes: the deliverables are improved information management systems that will result in deregulation of significant acreage and improvements in operational activities that will ultimately save public dollars and reduce costly activities required of private landowners. Nysagm inspectors will determine how many fields will require soil sampling with negative results returned in order to reduce acreage and release much of the quarantined areas located on the east end of long island. Historic and current survey information will be collected for eastern suffolk county and this information will be entered manually into the iphis database. Field history for eastern suffolk will be converted and integrated with ownership data and survey data. This information will be entered manually into the iphis database. 4. Intended beneficiary(IES): landowners and farmers through deregulation of fields and associated removal of requirements; real estate values will no longer be hampered by the restrictions of golden nematode regulation. The public through deregulation of significant acreage and related improvements in operational activities. The USDA and AGM through continued knowledge collection/analysis and cooperation. 5. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: