U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is asking the Department of Agriculture to buy Concord grape juice for federal nutrition programs after processor Refresco canceled contracts with about 126 farms in New York and Pennsylvania.
The affected farms include roughly 2,500 acres of Concord grapes, according to local farm officials, leaving growers without buyers as harvest approaches after they had already invested in their 2026 crops.
Schumer made the request Aug. 17 at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory. He asked Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to authorize a purchase through Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933.
USDA uses Section 32 money to buy agricultural products for nutrition programs, including school meals. Similar federal purchases of Concord grapes occurred in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2017 and 2024, according to Schumer's office.
Refresco canceled its Lake Erie-region grower contracts in March. The company had bought grapes from farms across Western New York and northern Pennsylvania.
Chautauqua County is New York's leading grape-producing county and the largest U.S. grape-growing county outside California. Cornell Cooperative Extension estimates that about 800 growers produce at least 150,000 tons of grapes annually on more than 22,000 acres across the Lake Erie Plain.
The regional grape industry supports about 2,000 jobs and generates more than $300 million in economic activity, according to the extension service. The related fruit and vegetable processing sector employs more than 5,000 people.
New York Wine and Grape Foundation Executive Director Sam Filler said a federal purchase could provide immediate relief while the industry develops a longer-term plan. New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said the lost contracts pose substantial economic risk and that harvest is approaching quickly.
Growers are also dealing with higher operating costs. Schumer cited reports showing New York fertilizer prices rising from about $400 to $580 per ton, with anhydrous ammonia topping $1,000 per ton, as well as higher fuel expenses for farm equipment.
Schumer's request remains subject to USDA approval.
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