Morrisville State College at the New York State Fair

Morrisville State College will have a strong presence again this year at the Great New York State Fair, featuring a handcrafted scale-model canoe, a student-built hot rod, horses and renewable energy and hemp displays.

The fair runs Aug. 23-Sept. 4.

Fairgoers can learn about renewable energy, horses and horsepower inside the Morrisville State College Bartlett Barn near Gate 4 by the Coliseum. Horses from various equine programs will be housed in the building throughout the fair.

The college also will showcase its Mustang car. Students in the college's automotive programs transformed the 1988 Mustang into a 550 horsepower dragster that accelerates to 130 mph in 10 seconds.

New this year in the Morrisville State College building is a handcrafted canoe, a scale model of those being constructed in a new Introduction to Boat Building course at the college.

Visitors to the building also can obtain an array of information about the college and can speak to faculty and staff about the college's program offerings. Morrisville State alumni are encouraged to stop by and access materials to find fellow classmates, enjoy history about the college and catch up on the college's growth and progress.

Morrisville State College Alumni Day at the fair is Aug. 30.

Visitors also can learn more about the hemp industry at the college's display in the SUNY section of the Horticulture Building. Morrisville is leading research in the experimentation of growing hemp as a commercial crop.

The college also will have informational materials in the World of Horses tent, which features a center ring where fairgoers can see horses up close and talk with their owners and handlers.

Nelson Farms, run by the auxiliary corporation of the college, will once again head the Taste NY Marketplace, a retail store offering food products grown and produced in New York state. The marketplace's new location is in the Horticulture Building.

The college's School of Agriculture and Natural Resources will have an exhibit in the FFA Building.

Morrisville State students also will be competing throughout the fair. They will participate in Forestry Day competitions Sept. 2 in the New York Experience Area. They also will show lambs in the beef Cattle Barn on Sept. 2 and will compete in various equine competitions.

Morrisville State College is the only college in North America to compete with a six-horse hitch, which will also be part of the fair parade on opening day, Aug. 23.

USDA Surveying Sheep and Goat Operations

Starting in late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will measure sheep and goat inventories and wool and mohair production during a nationwide survey.
 
Operators surveyed will be asked to provide information about their sheep and goat inventories, counts of lambs and kids born during 2016, and production and prices received for wool and mohair.
 
“Accurate data on sheep and goat inventory and production is a significant decision-making tool for USDA and the industry to be more responsive to domestic and international markets and consumer needs,” said King Whetstone, Northeast regional director of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

“The information can also help create public appreciation for the many benefits of U.S. sheep and goats and their needed products,” said Whetstone.
 
To make it as easy as possible for producers to participate in the survey, the statistics service offers the option of responding online, by telephone, mail, or a personal interview with a local representative.
 
The statistics service safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data in aggregate, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
 
Survey results will be published Jan. 31 in the Sheep and Goats report. This and all statistics service reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov. 

For more information, call the Northeastern Regional Field Office at (800) 498-1518.

New York's Red Meat Production Up 3 Percent from Last Year

From the USDA:

Total red meat production for New York totaled 3.1 million pounds in June 2015, up 3 percent from the 3 million pounds produced in June 2014 and up 11 percent from May 2015, said Blair Smith, state statistician of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office.

Commercial cattle slaughter totaled 3,100 head, up 7 percent from June 2014. The average live weight was down 21 pounds from the previous year at 1,141 pounds.

Commercial calf slaughter totaled 2,000 head, 62 percent below June 2014. The average live weight was up 76 pounds from last year at 198 pounds.

Commercial hog slaughter totaled 3,700 head, up 12 percent from June 2014. The average live weight was up 5 pounds from the previous year, at 229 pounds.

Commercial sheep and lamb slaughter totaled 5,200 head, 41 percent above June last year. The average live weight was 105 pounds, up 7 pounds from a year ago.

New York State Fair 'One Thing' Series -- Today's Feature, Sheep

A couple of sheep at the New York State Fair

Sheep aren't one of the largest agriculture entities in New York state, but they are important just the same.

When I stopped into the goat/sheep barn at the New York State Fair, I talked to sheep owner Cheryl Saxton of Ava, Oneida County. I asked her what 'One Thing' she would like the public to know about sheep.

"They really have a lot of personality," she said while looking over her animals. "And the thing we get asked most often is why they are wearing blankets. The blankets are to keep them clean. People

Another State Fair sheep

think they're to keep them warm." 

There are about 15 to 20 different sheep breeds on display at the state fair and many of them competed in the sheep shows earlier this week.

Of course, sheep are known for being sheared and their fleece being used to make wool fiber. Some also are used for meat and young sheep, called lambs, also are used as a well-known meat product.

Wool production in New York state increased from 2011 to 2012, from 210,000 pounds to 220,000 pounds. There were 70,000 sheep in the state on Jan. 1, 2013, up 13 percent from the 62,000 head a year before.

A total of 45,000 lambs were born in New York state in 2012.