Man Killed at Western New York Animal Safari Business

Go to http://cnycentral.com/news/local/deputies-animal-safari-owner-gored-to-death-by-animal to see the story.

New York State Fair Opens Next Week

If there’s anything that says late summer, it’s the Great New York State Fair.

Twelve days of animals, rides, music, fun, education and of course, food, at the Aug. 27 to Sept. 7 event in Geddes, just outside of Syracuse.

2014 State Fair butter sculpture

Probably the least exciting of those is education, but learning is a big part of the fair, according to Acting Director Troy Waffner.

Fair-goers often ask questions of farmers and other producers who show animals or items they grow at the New York State Fair — the first such event ever held in the United States, in 1841.

“It’s our mission to promote everything agriculture in terms of education,” Waffner said. “When I was a fair-goer, I didn’t come here to be educated, but if you tricked me into it, I could find out the most interesting things in the world.”

This year’s fair will offer several new agricultural exhibits for fair-goers and even farmers and producers to check out:

** Equine Avenue exhibit: an interactive demonstration that allows patrons to interact directly with horses, their owners, vets and nutritionists. In a tent outside the Toyota Coliseum.

** Canning demos in the demonstration kitchen. On Aug. 27 and 28, this will feature demonstrations on the best way to can homegrown or locally grown food.

** Sweet potatoes offered in the potato booth for $1. That's in the Horticulture Building.

2014 State Fair Dairy Day Celebrity Milkshake Contest

** A youth horse show in the coliseum on Labor Day.

** New stalls and renovation in the DVM Barn. Dave Bullard, assistant public information officer for the fair, said these improvements will make working in the barn much easier and more pleasant for exhibitors.

** Vegan delight. The first all-vegan/vegeterian food vendor will be in the International Building. Syracuse’s Strong Hearts Café will serve 100 percent vegan fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner and will offer its menu of more than 40 popular milkshakes from its restaurant on East Genesee Street in Syracuse and its satellite location on the Syracuse University hill.

** Gladiola competition. Anyone at the fair at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 can join the new gladiola competition in the Horticulture Building. Fairgoers can try to make a gladiola bouquet arrangement in 10 minutes and then the audience will vote on their favorites.
 
**  War Dog Memorial. The unveiling of the new memorial honoring canines who have served in the military will be at 11 a.m. Sept. 3. The event will include a wreath laying by members of the military, assisted by Gold Star mothers, as well as brief memorial speeches from dignitaries. The memorial is at the Veterans Memorial in front of the

2014 State Fair maple winners

Horticulture Building.
 
** There will be no poultry exhibits due to concerns about the Avian bird flu. The flu has not been found in New York state, and state Agriculture and Markets officials want to keep it that way, so they canceled all poultry exhibits and competitions at county fairs and the state fair this year. 

** The piglets and sows will be back this year in the Swine Building. They were absent last year because of a problem nationally with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.
 

The most exciting of these new exhibits is the Equine Avenue. Waffner said there were comments in the past from fair-goers who were dismayed at not being able to get closer to all the horses for the International Horse Show.

Sheep at the 2014 State Fair

“They couldn’t get that close to them in the horse barns to see their beauty,” Waffner said. “With the horses outside on Equine Avenue, people will be able to pet them, take photos with them, paint them, and people who want to study equine science can check out all the breeds up close. Horses have a special allure, heritage and history.”

Another big change at the fair this year: the poultry building won’t contain any poultry.

The state fair and all county fairs in New York state canceled all bird shows and exhibits this year because of concerns about the Avian flu. 

None of the flu strain has been found in New York state, but the state Department of Agriculture and Markets wants to ensure that poultry in the state remain flu-free.

This also means the popular daily rooster crowing contest will not be held. The poultry building instead will house rabbits and cavies. The state fair is replacing the rooster contest with a rabbit-hopping demonstration on seven days.

There will be a special demonstration on Sept. 1 of combing and cutting fur from angora rabbits and spinning the fur into yarn to make hats and mittens.


The New York State Fair has operated since Sept. 29 and 30, 1841, except for 1942 through 1947, when the fairgrounds were used as a military base during World War II.

With state money given for the promotion of county fairs in 1841, the New York State Agricultural Society created the state fair, and more than 10,000 people attended that first year.

The fair moved around after that — to Albany, then to Rochester and other New York cities. But in 1890, Syracuse was chosen as the permanent site of the event.

This story originally ran in Empire Farm & Dairy magazine. If you're interested in more stories like this, subscribe to the magazine by sending $50 for a one-year subscription or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY  13601 
 

How Do Farmers Care for their Aimals?

Nice blog.

Check it http://www.watchusgrow.org/topics/animal-care-beef-dairy-cattle out here.

Cornell Vet School Beginning Construction Project

News from Cornell University:

The College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell will begin a $63 million capital project to upgrade and expand its infrastructure and teaching facilities to accommodate increasing the pre-clinical (first three years of study) class sizes from 102 to 120 students.

 

Plans call for demolishing 68,000 square feet of existing space, replacing it with 65,000 square feet of new space, and renovating 33,000 square feet. 

Construction is scheduled to start next summer with completion in fall 2017.

 

Cornell currently has the smallest class size among top-tier veterinary schools, due in part to facilities that lack lecture halls and other spaces capable of supporting more than 102 students. The fourth-year class size is now 120 students; an additional 18 students, many from Caribbean schools, complete their clinical training during their final year at Cornell in the college’s veterinary teaching hospital, which already has capacity for the additional students.

 

Additionally, the project will support the growing needs of an annual veterinary conference held at the college that attracts about 700 people. Along with practicing veterinarians and students, the conference is attended by veterinary technicians who will have access to Cornell’s new facilities to augment their programs with experiential learning.

 

“The facility enhancements made as part of this project will enable the college to match the admission size of our veterinary student intake with the capacity of our hospital, thereby achieving the maximum benefit from our extraordinary teaching hospital,” said Michael Kotlikoff, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine.

 

“The program will also benefit regional veterinary technician programs, who need greater hands-on opportunities," he said.. "Having access to Cornell’s facilities will empower the State University of New York and other veterinary technician training programs to attract the most promising students to their programs, provide them with the most effective training and facilitate their ongoing success in practice.”

 

While uniting major teaching, clinical and research spaces of the college, the project enhances the sense of community and collaboration opportunities among students, faculty and staff.

 

The design includes creating a public auditorium; larger classrooms to expand pre-clinical education, including two additional tiered lecture halls; a dining facility closer to the hospital; renovating existing anatomy, tutorial and student surgery areas; and developing meeting and event spaces, an e-learning center and study spaces as well as a central student locker area.

 

Construction plans also include replacing James Law Auditorium with a new three-story structure: The first floor will house the Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library, which is central to the teaching and research mission of the college. The second-floor will contain the modular resource center and E-learning Center, where students and others can access innovative learning tools. The third floor will be used for administrative offices.

 

The project is predominantly funded by New York state with the remainder coming from gifts and other college resources.

 

Lee's Feed Store Celebrates 200 Years in Business

From the Lee's Feed Store website

I don't know about you, but I find this just remarkable.

A store in the valley section of Syracuse (207 Milburn Drive) is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The store put on a customer appreciation day Saturday.

Lee’s Feed Store opened in 1813 when a mill first opened to grind feed for animals at area farms, said owner Al White. Th store has been open continuously since 1813 and became Lee's Feed Store in 1954. Today, the store has one of the largest selections of animal feed and farm supplies in the area.

"Years ago, the farmers would come here by horse and buggy to pick up their feed," White said. Today, with the number of farms dwindling in Onondaga County and environs, the store sells animal feed to other sources, such as individuals, gentleman farmers as White calls them and even sells feed to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.

According to the website, the store sells:

Pet Food including dog food, cat food, bird feed, food for small animals and exotic pet foods. Alsohay and straw, wildlife feed, horse feed and wild bird feeds. Pet foods are alll natural, holistic animal food from EVO, Science Diet, and Iams. Lee’s Feed Store has food for livestock, poultry, sheep, goats, pigs, llamas and more. The store even carries 50-pound bags of feed.

Pet supplies such as dog collars, training crates and outdoor kennels.

Farm supplies including grass seed, hay and straw, wood pellets, rock salt, topsoil and agricultural fertilizer.

Garden supplies including bedding plants, flowers and vegetables, lawn fertilizer, mulch and peat moss.

Equine supplies including stall mats and supplements and warmers.

Propane also is available, along with water softener, salt, welded wire and poultry netting. Seasonal items include live poultry such as baby chicks, ducks and geese.

For more information, call the store at 469-1481 or go to http://www.leesfeedstore.com/ 

Twitter, Blog-O-Sphere Ablaze with Attacks on Panera Bread

Some folks on Twitter and on blogs and other places on the Internet are taking Panera Bread to task for what they call an attack on farmers and ranchers for their use of antibiotics in animals.

See what Panera is http://www.panerabread.com/liveconsciouslyeatdeliciously/#!articles/antibiotic_free_answers saying by going to this link.

Read what Carrie Mess, a dairy blogger (Dairy Carrie) from Wisconsin thinks about this issue by http://dairycarrie.com/2013/07/23/dear-panera-bread-company/ going to this link.

June is Dairy Month -- New Animal Exhibit Coming to the 2013 State Fair

Photo from the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition

A great new ag exhibit is coming to the State Fair thanks to the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition.

Go to http://www.nyanimalag.org/birthing-center-to-debut-at-2013-nys-fair/ to get all the information.

Photo from the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition

Legality of Leaving Animals at the Vet

Interesting legal issue for agriculture.

Check it out here http://networkedblogs.com/LDnkw

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Info Available

A meeting of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Stakeholders at USDA was conducted April 11.

For anyone interested in seeing the meeting, a closed-caption recording of the event is http://www.aphis.usda.gov/stakeholders/   available here. Comments and feedback can be shared by going to partnerships@aphis.usda.gov