Farm Credit East Provides Updates on Agriculture Economic Conditions

Farm Credit East recently launched a section on its website containing snapshots for nine Northeast agriculture industries. 

These snapshots provide industry-specific year-to-date updates on economic conditions in various sectors of agriculture.
 
Snapshots are available for the Northeast’s dairy, fruit, vegetable, nursery and greenhouse, cash field, timber, aquatic/fishing, and livestock industries, as well as an update and outlook on input costs for the region’s producers. 

These snapshots will be updated on a quarterly basis and also contain links to other resources and recent articles relating to each industry.
 
The most recent update reports that overall, U.S. agriculture, as well as that of the Northeast, continues to face some challenging market conditions, but there are also a number of bright spots and some improvements are in the forecast. 

Cash field crops in particular are dealing with adverse pricing and while dairy prices are improving, there continue to be marketing challenges in some areas. Nursery and greenhouse, which have had improving economic conditions for the past few years, are reporting relatively good spring results.
 
To dive deeper into industry-specific snapshots, visit FarmCreditEast.com.

Long Island Fruit Farm Wins Top State Ag Environmental Award

Wickham’s Fruit Farm, in Cutchogue, Suffolk County, has received New York's top agricultural environmental award – the 2016 Agricultural Environmental Management Award. 

Each year, the award honors the outstanding efforts of a New York state farm to protect and preserve soil and water quality. Wickham’s Fruit Farm is the first fruit farm and the first farm on Long Island to receive this accolade.
Wickham’s Fruit Farm was recognized, along with the Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District, during a ceremony at Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls. 

The state Department of Agriculture and Markets, the Empire State Potato Growers, and the American Agriculturist Magazine presented the award to ninth generation farm owner Tom Wickham for the family’s long established history of implementing conservation best management practices that benefit the environment and protect the community.

New York Ag Receipts Outpace National Averages

From New York state:

The growth of agricultural sales in New York outpaced the national average, with cash receipts up 36 percent across the state and only 32 percent nationally. 

In 2014, farmers in New York state also set a new record for sales with $6.36 billion in cash receipts, up from $4.7 billion in 2010, representing a nearly $1.7 billion increase in gross income from sales of crops, livestock and other products.

New York has seen a surge in average gross income and a significant increase in sales of many of the state’s top commodities. Since 2010, the following commodities have shown the greatest increases:

   

· Poultry and eggs up 63 percent to $206 million; · Peaches up 80 percent to $12.6 million; · Honey production up 59 percent to just under $9 million; · Cattle production up 132 percent to $415 million; and · Hay up 173 percent to $147 million.

The national estimates for the same commodities for the same period are:

· Poultry and eggs up 39 percent; · Peaches up 2 percent; · Honey production up 38 percent; · Cattle production up 59 percent; and · Hay up 63 percent.

The New York dairy industry also saw record high dairy prices in 2014, constituting about half of the state’s agricultural receipts.

Two New York State Farms Grow, Harvest Cranberries

As Thanksgiving approaches, New Yorkers (along with other Americans) begin thinking about the holiday feast.
 
One of the items that is paramount to the Thanksgiving table is the cranberry, that luscious burgundy fruit that is native to the swamps and bogs of the Northeast. According to history.com, it is probable the Pilgrims did have cranberries at their first Thanksgivig feast, but not in the sauce form most enjoy today.
 
Native Americans ate cranberries and used them as a natural dye, the website states. “The Pilgrims might have been familiar with cranberries by the first Thanksgiving, but they wouldn’t have made sauces and relishes with the tart orbs. That’s because the sacks of sugar that traveled across the Atlantic on the Mayflower were nearly or fully depleted by November 1621. Cooks didn’t begin boiling cranberries with sugar and using the mixture as an accompaniment for meats until about 50 years later.”
 
Nonetheless, a lot of people today wouldn’t think of putting on a Thanksgiving spread without the cranberry. In New York state, there are two cranberry farms — one in Williamstown in Oswego County and one in Brasher Falls in St. Lawrence County.
 
While they both churn out those tangy berries during each October harvest, the farm owners grow them differently.
 
Peter Paquin, owner of Deer River Cranberries in Brasher Falls, grows about 80 acres of cranberries and does wet harvesting, which means the area where the berries grow is flooded and the berries are harvested.
 
Most of the cranberries grown in the Northeast are grown and harvested from bogs, which are areas of low, soft, marshy ground usually located near wetlands. According to the website for Ocean Spray (responsible for 75 percent of the cranberries sold worldwide, says encyclopedia.com) bogs are where “cranberries love to grow.”
 
Paquin began his New York operation (he already runs some cranberry bogs in Massachusetts) in 2004 after buying a former hay and crop farm in 1999.  It took him a few years to get the ground ready, leveling the soil, digging a reservoir, putting sand in the area and then planting the cranberry plants.
 
He said the yields are good and the quality is excellent. He sells his berries to companies that freeze them and sell in stores and to some who make nutritional supplements from cranberries.
 
He also sells berries to customers who come to the farm during harvest season from Oct. 1 through Oct. 15.
 
In Williamstown, in eastern Oswego County, 180 acres of cranberries are grown in sandy, acidic fields (just right for cranberries) and are dry harvested with machines plucking the berries off the vines. You won’t find any water or bogs here.
 
“This is non-conventional upland harvesting,” said farm owner Marc Bieler.
 
The Oswego County farm — which was the first cranberry farm in New York state — is owned by Atoka Cranberry of Manseau, Quebec, the largest cranberry growing and processing company in Canada. Manseau is about 93 miles east of Montreal near Quebec City.
 
Atoka’s President Bieler bought the farm’s harvest in 2002 when the Oswego Cranberry Co. — which then owned the farm — was going out of business.
 
Then Bieler and Atoka bought the entire farm. Since then, Atoka has been dry harvesting the berries each October.
 
Wet harvested cranberries are used for processed items, such as juice or sauce. Dry harvested berries can be used for fresh sale or items such as dried cranberries. Only 2 percent of commercial cranberries are harvested using the dry method. The majority are harvested by flooding the fields and scooping up the floating berries.
 
Berries harvested in Oswego County go to the processing plant in Quebec where they are cleaned and frozen for use in juice concentrate and as sweet and dried cranberries.
 
Bieler said Atoka makes juice and concentrate for many different labels. Depending on the bid from various grocery stores, he said, people in Central and Northern New York could at one time or another be drinking cranberry juice made from Williamstown berries.
 


Cranberry Nutrition
**Cranberries are one of the most nutritious foods a person can eat.
**One cup of whole cranberries has just 46 calories, no fat, cholesterol or sodium, 18 percent of the daily requirement of fiber, 22 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin C, 5 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin B-6 and 1 percent of the daily requirements of vitamin A and magnesium.
**That cup also has just 4 grams of sugar.



   

New York Fruit Growers Part of USDA Survey on Chemical Use

From the USDA:

Fruit growers in 11 states, including New York, are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service biennial Fruit Chemical Use Survey.
 
The survey will collect information on pesticides and fertilizers used, acres treated and rates applied to more than 20 fruit crops. Beginning this year, NASS is partnering with USDA’s Economic Research Service to ask a set of questions about growers’ microbial food safety practices. 

These data will help measure the impact of the recently passed Food Safety Modernization Act, which focuses on preventing foodborne illness by reducing microbial contamination of food products, including produce.
 
The Fruit Chemical Use Survey will provide much needed information about current crop production practices used in the United States. The results of this survey,which will be published in July 2016, will paint a detailed picture of pesticide use and other pest management practices used by fruit growers across the nation.

SU Prof Creates Tree With 40 Different Kinds of Fruit on It

This is pretty crazy.

Check it out: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/150720-40-fruit-tree-vin

Buy Local Onondaga Grown Campaign Kicks Off

Onondaga County Legislature chair Ryan McMahon and Legislator David Knapp kick off the Buy Local Onondaga Grown campaign at Reeves Farm Wednesday morning.

The Onondaga County Agriculture Council kicked off the county's "Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown" campaign Wednesday morning at Reeves Farm in Lysander.

The campaign will help educate the public on all that Onondaga County has to offer through its agriculture industry. 

The county's more than 700 farms each year pumps about $152 million into the local economy, preserves pristine farmland for all the enjoy and provides consumers with the freshest vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meats, poultry and eggs, honey, maple, flowers and Christmas trees than they can find anywhere.

"What sets this campaign apart is that it provides a direct link between what the community will hear on local media and what they will see at retailers across Onondaga County," said county Legislator David Knapp, who also is co-chair of the Agriculture Council. 

The campaign includes billboards, radio spots, a blog on I Heart Radio stations (http://www.b1047.net/features/onondaga-grown-837/) and stickers boasting the Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown. on produce and products at area grocery stores. 

Since now is the middle of strawberry season, the kickoff event includes Reeves Farm strawberries served over Byrne Dairy ice cream.

To keep engaged with the Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown. campaign, go to Twitter at twitter.com/OnondagaGrown, Facebook at facebook.com/OnondagaGrown or to the website at wsyr.com/features/onondaga-grown-837/ 

Program on Research Results Set for Feb. 27 in Chazy

From the North Country Agricultural Development Program:

North Country farmers will hear the results of on-farm research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 at the Miner Institute in Chazy.

Registration is not required to attend.

The afternoon program is expected to have presentations on:
 
** The Juneberry ‘superfruit’ nursery established with Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funding at the Willsboro Research Farm,
** The latest corn grain variety trials results,
** An update on the Northern New York corn and soybean disease survey and database results which has identifying emerging and potentially new challenges for regional crop producers,
** How evaluating alfalfa-grass crops before and after harvest can improve forage quality,
** Mastitis-causing pathogens that are becoming more prevalent in NY dairy herds,
** Parasite management strategies for sheep and goat producers, and
** Update on how the long-term Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funding that successfully developed a biocontrol for managing alfalfa snout beetle is paying off with extension of the protocol to manage pests in other agricultural systems in Northern New York and statewide.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a farmer-driven research and technical assistance program serving all sectors of the agricultural industry, from dairy and crops to livestock, maple and horticultural production, in Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton and Essex  counties.

Learn more and find research reports posted online at www.nnyagdev.org.

USDA Researchers Come Up With Handy Innovations

I found this to be really cool. I hope you do too.

The USDA has issued a new report scientific breakthroughs discovered by USDA researchers that led to new patents and inventions with the potential for commercial application and potential economic growth. 

Innovations included in the report range from flour made out of chardonnay grape seeds that prevents weight gain to antimicrobial packets that keep food from spoiling, efforts to protect U.S. troops in Iraq from diseases carried by sand flies, new processes for turning grass clippings and raked leaves into bioenergy, and many more.

"Studies have shown that every dollar invested in agricultural research returns $20 to the economy. We have accelerated commercialization of federal research and government researchers are working closely with the private sector to develop new technology and transfer it to the marketplace," said Ag Secretary Thomas Vilsack. "USDA has a proven track record of performing research that benefits the public."

USDA reports receiving 51 patents, filing 147 patent applications, and disclosing 180 new inventions in the last fiscal year, which are detailed in the Department's 2013 Annual Report on Technology Transfer released last week.

Helping drive these innovations, USDA has 259 active Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with outside investigators, which includes Universities and other organizations, including 117 with small businesses. The USDA's technology transfer program is administered by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

Discoveries from USDA's 2013 Technology Transfer Report include:

• A new kind of flour made from chardonnay grape seeds that can prevent increases in cholesterol and weight-gain (the Mayo Clinic is currently conducting human clinical trials on the product);
• New ways to turn lawn clippings and tree leaves from cities into bioenergy;
• An enzyme compound that can be used to develop insecticides to combat sand flies, a disease spreading insect that poses a major problem for U.S. military in Iraq and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of childhood deaths in Africa;
• A computer-based model of the fluid milk process to lower greenhouse gas emissions (the model has been distributed to more than 100 processors in the United States and should help the dairy industry realize its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent per gallon of milk by 2020);
• Oat concentrates, a digestible, functional food from oats licensed for the production of Calorie-Trim and Nutrim;
• A new process for turning old tires into zinc fertilizer;
• A handheld device that uses gold nanoparticles to detect West Nile virus (and potentially other diseases) in blood samples;
• Window cleaners that use a biodegradable solution of nanoparticles that prevent water-beading that are superior to current cleaners;
• A small packet that when inserted in small fruit containers releases an antimicrobial vapor that helps keep fresh fruit from rotting on the shelf.

Over the years, USDA innovations have created all sorts of products Americans use every days, from cosmetics, to insect controls, leathers, shampoos, and of course food products. Here are just a few examples of things USDA research is responsible for:

• Frozen orange juice concentrate;
• "Permanent press" cotton clothing;
• Mass production of penicillin in World War II;
• Almost all breeds of blueberries and cranberries currently in production, and 80% of all varieties of citrus fruits grown in the U.S.;
• "Tifsport", a turf used on NFL, collegiate, and other sports fields across the country, specifically designed to withstand the stress and demands of major team sports. Tifsport is also used on PGA and other golf course fairways, while its sister turf, "Tifeagle", specially designed to be mowed to one-tenth of an inch daily, is used on PGA putting greens.

The 2014 Farm Bill will help to build on these accomplishments by establishing a new Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research that leverages $200 million in public funding and another $200 million from the private sector to support groundbreaking agricultural research.

New Study on What's Killing Honeybees in U.S.

Colony Collapse Disorder has been plaguing the bee population for a few years and all sorts of people have been coming up with ideas on why the bees are dying. 

Go to http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/ to see a story about a new study done on Colony Collapse Disorder.

Remember, bees not only make honey for us all. Without them, we wouldn't have fruit or vegetables, as the bees are needed to pollinate the flowers of these foods so they will develop and grow.

Hail Ruins West Monroe Farmer's Blueberries

Photo from Cornell Cooperative Extension

After frost, hail is a huge problem to the beginnings of fruit in Central New York.

There have been years when much of an apple crop is damaged by hail. And now it's happened again -- but to blueberries.

Go to http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/west_monroe_berries_hail.html for the story.

Fruit Growers Brace for Tonight's Frost

Photo from the New York Apple Association

Some area apple orchards will be trying to protect their fragile fruit tonight as local forecasters are calling for frost.

Mark Fleckenstein of Beak and Skiff in LaFayette said he will be putting out the wind machines and frost pots with burning oil to keep the orchards warm.

"A lot of the apples have been set, but if it gets blow 32 degrees, we can get frost rings on the apples," he said. Frost rings are a scar which makes the apples less appealing to consumers come harvest time.

Statewide, Jim Allen of the New York Apple Association said most varieties have been set, meaning the bees have already pollinated the blossoms. He said areas along Lake Ontario should be protected by the lake's warmer water and other areas should not get cold enough for a full freeze.

He said valley areas, like in LaFayette, would be more in danger of a problem.

"Last week when the temperature hit 80, I was feeling pretty good," Fleckenstein said. "This could be fairly significant."

The National Weather Service is calling for a freeze warning from at 11 p.m. Monday through 8 a.m. Tuesday. Forecasters are calling for temperatures from the upper 20s to lower 30s.

Go to http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=NYZ018&warncounty=NYC067&firewxzone=NYZ018&local_place1=Taunton+NY&product1=Freeze+Warning  to read the warning.

Eric Behling, a fruit farmer in Mexico, said there isn't anything he can do for his apples and hopes warmth from Lake Ontario comes his way.

He will put water on his strawberries to keep them at 32 degrees. He said the flower petals already have fallen from his sweet and tart cherry trees and "they might be OK." If anything, he said he might end up with misshapen cherries if it gets too cold.

He has heard temperature forecasts for his area of 29 degrees to 30 degrees.

Phil Wagner grows peaches, tart and sweet cherries and apples just south of Wolcott in Wayne County. He said "little fruitlets" already are sprouting on his cherry and peach trees so they should come through the cold OK.

But his apples are still in bloom so "if it drops below 30, I'll lose some apples," he said.

Fruit growers were hoping for a better year this year after 2012's devastating crop. Warm temperatures in March 2012 brought on fruit buds and then cold temperatures in April killed off a lot of fruit buds, from apples to cherries to peaches.

Wagner said last year, he lost all his cherries and peaches and had only 15 percent of an apple crop. 

Training Available for Farmers Wanting to Sell Through WIC Program

Go to http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/AP/agservices/fmnp-wic-vf.html to find out what you need to know to apply for the New York State WIC Vegetables and Fruit Check Program and how to sign up for webinars for WIC training.

Cicero Farmers Market Seeks Vendors; Others May Need Vendors Too

Go to http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/town_of_cicero_seeks_farmers_p.html for more information.

Also check out http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/farmers-market-profiles/markets/markets.html this site for the Farmers Market Federation of New York to see if there are any other markets where you could sell your goods. you can search this site by community and then find a phone number to call to see if there are openings to sell your wares.

CNY Orchard Owners Happier This Year

Go to http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/how_about_them_apples_central.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter to check out a story about this spring compared to last spring for the fruit orchards.

Pact Reached On Immigration Reform

From National Hog Farmers Assn.

Go to http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/13/us-usa-immigration-farm-idUSBRE93B18920130413?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews to read a Reuters story about the agreement.

Poor Cherry Crop in 2012 Leads to Lack of Cherry Pastries

Has anyone noticed a lack of cherry-filled pastries and other goodies in their favorite bakeries?

Well, a sign at my neighborhood bakery Wednesday stated there would be no more cherry-filled goodies because of the high price of cherry filling.

I asked a worker about this and she said a bucket of filling soared to $72 in the past couple of weeks.

Luckily, cherry items might be back in the bakery case soon, as this worker said the price of the same bucket of cherry filling this week was down to $37 and the bakery owner placed an order.

Seems the high prices stem from the horrendous cherry crop from parts of the U.S. in 2012. Places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and of course, New York, all went through the high temperatures in March 2012 and then freezing temperatures in April. Trees started to bud in March with the warmth, but then the buds froze in April.

In Central New York, both tart and sweet cherry growers were hit hard, with many losing nearly all of their crops.

So, if you can't find cherry pastries or if the cost of them goes up a lot, just remember what Mother Nature did to the growers last year.

Scientists Develop Flying Robots to Replace Bees

This is cool.

Go to http://thefutureofthings.com/news/11573/scientists-develop-flying-robots-to-replace-bees.html#.UU1TFbDkJss.facebook. Another way technology helps agriculture.

'Locally Grown' Gets Tricky in the Cold

Check out this http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/dining/winter-poses-challenges-for-chefs-with-a-local-ethos.html?_r=0 New York Times story about where restaurateurs turn when they can't get locally grown products in the winter.

World's Fruit Growers Flock to Hudson Valley

Fruit growers from around the world come to the Hudson Valley to see how things are done.

Go to http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130217/NEWS01/302170059 this link to read the story from The Poughkeepsie Journal.