Today, U.S. Senator Schumer announced that, after his push, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will award organic composting firm Worm Power in Avon, NY with a $99,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant. These federal dollars will link Worm Power, Inc. with Cornell University's agricultural scientists to help the business develop an organic spray to coat seeds-to protect them from disease and help them grow larger as they germinate. Worm Power is a commercial earthworm composting company that takes animal waste from dairy cows, composts it, and uses an innovative process to feed the waste to millions of earthworms to create a fertilizer that doubles as a crop disease-preventing additive - a process referred to as "vermicomposting." The product this process generates eliminates the need for synthetic fungicides that can be harmful to the environment and consumers. In January 2014, Schumer toured the facility and launched his plan to secure federal grant dollars from the USDA to help Worm Power develop this new line of products and grow their business.
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