Local Producers Can Taste Test Products at Fort Drum Commissary

Here is some important information from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County:

Are you a producer trying to market a value added product? 

As part of the Food Hub Initiative Cornell Cooperative Extension and Food Venture Advisors (FVA) invite you to participate in a taste-testing of your product to a potentially significant market – Military Commissaries in the North East.

Northern New York producers making/marketing eligible products will lead the way by showcasing their value added foods at a taste testing in the Fort Drum Commissary from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 17.

Food Venture Advisors is searching for high quality, value added products that can meet required year round quantity and food safety standards and which contain mostly locally produced ingredients.  Producers will be asked to supply samples of their products to FVA.   

Samples should be delivered to CCE – Jefferson no later than Nov. 1. Examples of value added products include locally produced cheeses, pickled vegetables, jams, jellies, meat jerky, mustards etc. 

Producers with products that meet the criteria will be notified and should deliver their samples and for-sale products to the FVA warehouse at 200 Howk St., Watertown on Nov. 14. 

Products will be evaluated to ensure the product meets required quality, ingredients, packaging, production history, estimated capacity, etc.  

On the day of the event, FVA will transport all products to the Commissary in refrigerated vehicles.   Any unused products can be returned to CCE Jefferson office for producers to pick up after the event.   

Producers are invited to attend and participate at the event and will be carpooled onto the Fort from CCE – Jefferson Office starting at 9 a.m. Producers will be allowed to sell their product during the tasting. However, samples are not reimbursable. 

Please bring your own sample spoons, cups, napkins, plates, signage, etc. The Commissary will provide: tables, trash, staff and marketing.

Products which attract significant interest at the event will be selected by the Commissary staff.  Selected products will be stocked on a limited basis and distributed by FVA to the Fort Drum Commissary.   

Note: as with any retail opportunity distribution fees and retail markups apply. However, Commissaries generally mark up products only 5 percent. 

For more information contact Remy Cline at (315) 789-0042.

2 Buildings on North Country Dairy Farm Damaged in Fire

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news04/shop-storage-building-at-naumburg-farm-destroyed-by-fire-20171020 to check out the story.

Development Agency OKs Supports Agreement for Proposed Agribusiness Park in Jefferson County

Great news for Jefferson County and Northern New York!!

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/jcida-approves-support-agreement-for-proposed-agribusiness-park--20170922 to check out the story.

Developer Plans Agribusiness Park in Jefferson County

Go to http://www.wwnytv.com/story/36255320/developer-plans-agribusiness-park-for-jefferson-county to check out the story.

It's County Fair Time!!!

With summer vacation comes one very important event: the annual county fair.

The county fair season in New York State is up and running with the start this week of the Goshen Racing Fair and the Cortland Youth Fair.

More than 50 county and youth fairs will run from the July 4 weekend through early late September, closing out the season at the Long Island Fair Sept. 15-17 and Sept. 22-24.

The Jefferson County Fair in Watertown is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The fair, running from July 11-16, is the longest consecutively running fair in the United States.

County fairs across New York state provide fairgoers with family-friendly fun, great music and food, but also a unique opportunity to learn about local agriculture, including where our food comes from.

"Every summer, millions of New Yorkers gear up for their local county fair and take part as exhibitors, competitors and visitors," said state Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball. 

"We have a great story to tell about our farmers and the hard work they do, and the county fairs provide New Yorkers a first-hand opportunity to learn about our vital agriculture industry," Ball said.

Fairgoers can find a county fair in all 10 regions of the state. A listing of  county fairs can be found at http://www.nyfairs.org/Fairsbydate.htm

Market Your Products to Customers Subject of Thursday Forum

From the office of state Sen. Patty Ritchie:

State Sen. Patty Ritchie is encouraging those in the food, beverage and agriculture industries from throughout Central and Northern New York to attend a free event that will help connect them to resources that will help grow their businesses. 

Sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Empire State Development, state Department of Agriculture and Markets and Cornell University Cooperative Extension, “Access to Capital” will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 25 at Jefferson Community College in Watertown. 

Participants will get an inside perspective from experts and lenders during three different panel discussions on a variety of topics, including financing, lending, alternatives to traditional bank loans and access to training and technical assistance.

“This event is the perfect way for those in agriculture-focused industries to learn about the tools and assistance available to them to help their business grow,” said Ritchie, who serves as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “I encourage anyone who is just starting out, or looking to expand their business to attend this event.”

“Access to Capital” will take place at the Jules Center Amphitheater, located at Jefferson Community College. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to attendees.  

Following lunch will be a “resource expo,” featuring nearly 20 participants from local, state and national organizations, including area banks, the USDA, Cornell Cooperative Extension Association and the Development Authority of the North Country.

Registration is required.  To do so, go to www.ritchie.nysenate.gov this link.

Craft Beer Trail Bill Passes State Senate

From State Sen. Patty Ritchie's office:

A bill that would help support local businesses and farmers by creating a “craft beer trail” has passed the New York state Senate. 

New York state-grown hops

Similar to the way in which wine trails have been established throughout the state, the bill sponsored y Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, (S.1914) would create a unique tourist destination — known as the “North Country Craft Beer Trail” — by linking craft breweries in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties.

“More and more frequently, people are looking to eat—and drink—locally made products,” said Ritchie, who serves as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“By creating the North Country Craft Beer Trail, and potentially establishing other Craft Beer Trails throughout the state in the future, we can support local businesses, create jobs and boost the bottom lines of our hardworking farmers.”

In recent years, New York’s craft beer sector has grown dramatically, with the number of breweries growing from 95 in 2012 to 320 in 2016. In addition, New York state is fourth in the country when it comes to craft beer production and the industry has a total economic impact of $4 billion. 

This legislation is the latest effort by Ritchie to highlight locally produced goods. Last week, the Senate passed two measures supported by Ritchie that will help expand markets for New York’s hard working farmers, which will provide the opportunity to easily enjoy fresh, locally grown products across the state.

The measure was sent to the Assembly, where it is sponsored by Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Assemblyman Bill Magee. 

Police Seek Suspect Who Shot, Killed Cow

Police are seeking a person who shot a cow on a Jefferson County farm.

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/state-police-seeking-suspect-who-shot-killed-cow-in-lyme-20161109 to read the story.

Ag Commissioner to Assess Drought Damage in Finger Lakes

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball will be in the Finger Lakes today looking at drought damage.

He will visit the following farms:McCormick Farms in Bliss; Edward Sharp and Sons, Byron; Stein Farms, LeRoy; and Branton Farms, LeRoy.

Ball also went to Jefferson County earlier this week to assess drought damage there.

Adams Fire Department Wins Equipment for Silo Safety

Go to http://www.twcnews.com/nys/watertown/north-country-blog/2016/07/26/adams-fire-dept-wins-national-silo-safety-equipment.html?cid=facebook_TWC_News_Central%2FNorthern_NY to check out the story.

Day on the Farm Coming Saturday in Jefferson County

Great event coming up this Saturday in Jefferson County.

Farmers Showed How They Handle Manure

Letter to the editor about manure in the Watertown Daily Times:

Check it out at http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/opinion/farmers-showed-how-they-handle-manure-20160720

Revised Ag Website for Jefferson County

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/agricultural-development-program-announces-more-user-friendly-and-informational-website-20160626 to check out the story.

LeRay Farm Added to Fort Drum Buffer Program

Check out this story from the Watertown Daily Times:

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/leray-farm-added-to-fort-drum-buffer-program-20160603 to see the story.

Organic Cheese Plant Working to Meet Demand

By TED BOOKER
EMPIRE FARM & DAIRY
 
Health-conscious consumers sometimes choose to eat organic cheese over the regular variety, and they’re willing to pay more for it because of how it’s made.
 
Those are the kinds of consumers being targeted by Homestead Heritage Cheese, an arm of certified organic dairy farm Homestead Fields on Eiss Road near the hamlet of LaFargeville in Jefferson County. A creamery built on the farm started making cheese curds in October for the business, which is a brainchild of farm owner W. Edward Walldroff and his son-in-law, David Van Pelt II.
 
During a tour of the creamery at the 130-cow, 700-acre farm, Walldroff said the launch of the cheesemaking business came after years of careful planning. While the facility is now making only cheese curds, he said, production will be expanded next spring to include cheddar and possibly blue cheese.
 
Production has started on a small scale at the creamery, where a partial batch of cheese curds is made once a week using a 245-gallon vat and other equipment bought from a company in the Netherlands. But Van Pelt said he believes the business will expand rapidly as more retailers decide to buy wholesale batches of cheese curds. He said the farm, which became a certified-organic operation in 2006, is among a handful across the state that make organic cheese.
 
“We’d like to soon be in New York City and in a couple of artisan cheese stores in Rochester,” said Van Pelt, who completed a course in the summer of 2011 at the University of Vermont’s Institute of Artisan Cheese to become a cheesemaker.
 
The business already has begun to sell organic cheese curds to retailers in the north country, Walldroff said. Eight-ounce packages of curds - priced in stores from about $6 to $8 - are sold at the Mustard Seed health food store in Watertown, 1000 Islands River Rat Cheese in Clayton and a bookstore at St. Lawrence University in Canton. 

“We want to sell it in college towns where there’s a more health-conscious population,” Walldroff said, adding that his long-term business plan calls for eventually opening a retail store in a community along the St. Lawrence River. “We’d like to be able to do it in the next two to five years, and it would be like a health-food store.”
 
Walldroff, whose family has operated the farm here for five generations, said the farm has been run for nearly a decade as an organic operation. To receive a national organic certification, milk is made without using any antibiotics or pesticides. Cows are fed only a mixture of grasses and grain grown organically on the farm.
 
Cheese products made by the farm will complement the organic beef it already sells to area businesses, Walldroff said. The beef comes from the farm’s cull cattle - those not producing enough milk or getting too old.
 
“It all starts with the barn on the ground and the breeds of cattle that are going to produce milk for the best cheese,” Walldroff said. “We’re producing cheese here that others aren’t going to be able to duplicate, and we’re marrying it to an upscale market as a value-added product.”
 
Van Pelt is responsible for making cheese curds each Sunday at the creamery, in the same structure as the milking parlor. The process starts at 6:30 a.m. and typically finishes about 9 p.m., he said, after curds are packaged.
 
The farm bought the cheesemaking equipment in the fall of 2014, thanks to a $12,000 loan from the Development Authority of the North Country’s value-added agriculture loan fund and a $48,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Enterprise Grant program.
 
Though the stainless steel vat has room to make larger batches of cheese curds, Van Pelt said, he is now making batches of about 80 to 100 pounds to meet the demand of clients. To start the process, milk is pasteurized by heating it to a temperature of 145 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.
 
He said milk then is cooled to below 100 degrees. Live cheese cultures are added to the milk, which begins to thicken as it’s agitated in the vat. The mixture is stirred slowly until it’s thick enough to cut into slices with a curd knife. 

As part of the process, called “cheddaring,” the semisolid curd is separated from liquid whey that is released from the bottom of the vat. The whey is fed to cattle.
 
“Cheesemaking suits my personality and detail-oriented career background,” said Van Pelt, an accountant at Carthage Area Hospital for five years before joining the farm about four years ago.
 
About 150 packages were made from an 87-pound batch of curds, he said. The curds, which are lightly salted, stay fresh for about a week.
 
Walldroff said he plans to build a concrete “aging facility” at the farm next spring that will be used to age cheeses. He said the aging process can last from six months to two years. 

The climate-controlled facility will be built by Jason Schnauber, a co-owner of the farm who is engaged to marry Walldroff’s daughter, Monica Schnauber, a Clayton native, said his construction experience has come in handy on the farm. He helped build the creamery during the past two years. But he said his daily chores vary widely.
 
“One day I’m a farmer,” he said, “and the next I’m a veterinarian or a builder. Every day has a different chore.”

Pamelia Couple Donate Control of Sheep Farm to Land Trust

A Pamelia couple have protected their sheep farm land by going through the Ontario Bays Initiative, a land trust based in Chaumont.

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/pamelia-couple-donate-control-of-sheep-farm-to-land-trust-20160313 this Watertown Daily Times site to see the story.

Jefferson County Seeks Teens for Healthy Teen Ambassadors Program

Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Jefferson County’s 4-H Youth Development Program is recruiting 4-H Healthy Teen Ambassadors.   

This is open to all youth ages 14-17 in Jefferson County. There are no costs to participate, but space is limited. The deadline to register is Feb. 29.

The 4-H Healthy Teen Ambassadors will attend a training March 18 to 20 at the Amboy Center in Oswego County as part of a regional training with teens from across the state.  

Teens will be trained in the 4-H Choose Health:  Food, Fun and Fitness curriculum developed by Cornell University, Kids in the Kitchen curriculum developed by University of Missouri and the Up for the Challenge curriculum developed by the Department of Defense.   

Each curriculum is different, but they all offer research-based education on the benefits of nutrition and physical activity. Teens will be trained to deliver the healthy living curricula to youth in elementary after school programs, day camps, county fairs and other events.  

For additional information, on 4-H or the 4-H Healthy Living Teen Ambassador opportunity contact Cathy Chrisman at 788-8450 or go to  www.ccejefferson.org

Public Hearing Thursday Jan. 21 on Jefferson County Ag Plan

A public hearing is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday Jan. 21 in the second floor conference room of the County Office Building, 175 Arsenal St., Watertown, on the Jefferson County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan.

The current plan was adopted in 2002. The updated plan will give the county new goals and strategies with a long-term vision and direction to guide policies and programs that will enhance agriculture in the county.

There will be a presentation of the plan by the consultants at 6:30 followed by the public hearing.

The draft plan is available for review during normal business hours at the Jefferson County Department of Planning Offices, 3rd floor, County Office Building, 175 Arsenal St., Watertown

It may also be viewed on the Jefferson County website, www.co.jefferson.ny.us under In the Spotlight.

 All interested parties will be heard at the public hearing.

Developer Receives Grant to Study Meat Packing Plant

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/lundy-nets-50000-federal-grant-to-study-launching-agricultural-park-for-meat-plant--20151119 to see the story.

Senate Majority Leader Visits North Country Farm

Jefferson County Farm Bureau member Mike Kiechle discusses agricultural issues with New York State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan of Long Island, right, and state Sen. Patty Ritchie, chair of the Senate Ag Committee, center, during a farm tour visit yesterday at Kiechle's dairy farm in Philadelphia. Photo from Jefferson County Farm Bureau.