Ritchie Wants Wine Trail for St. Lawrence County

News from state Sen. Patricia Ritchie:

State Senator Patricia Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, who also is chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is planning to introduce legislation in January to establish a St. Lawrence County Wine Trail to help put local winemakers and vineyards on the map, boost local businesses and create jobs in the North Country.

“St. Lawrence County can now proudly say that it has three outstanding local wine producers in Lisbon, Black Lake and Winthrop,” said Ritchie. “Unfortunately, a lot of people have yet to discover River Myst, Bella Brooke and High Peaks wineries. My legislation will literally put these three local businesses on the map. Just as importantly, it will create a new county-wide tourist destination that will provide new business and employment opportunities for neighboring restaurants, stores and attractions.”

Under Ritchie’s plan, the St. Lawrence County Wine Trail would start near Black Lake’s Bella Brooke Winery in Morristown, extending to Lisbon’s River Myst Winery and then to High Peaks Winery in Winthrop. The trail is being designed to also bring visitors to St. Lawrence Brewing’s microbrewery in Canton, allowing the four companies additional opportunities to work together to market themselves.

“The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce has long dreamed of using our local wineries as tourist destinations," said Chamber Executive Director Pat McKeown. "We know that visitors come for our great outdoor offerings, like fishing, hunting and snowmobiling. Senator Ritchie's new plan adds a really great dimension to St. Lawrence County's arsenal of tourist attractions and we are delighted to do whatever we can to help her project gain traction.”

USDA Loan Program Makes Reductions Due to Federal Sequester

News from the USDA:

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced Monday several adjustments to commodity loan programs to accommodate the automatic funding reductions known as sequester that are mandated by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011.


The programs, which provide interim financing for agricultural commodities to be stored after harvest and sold throughout the year when unaffected by harvest-season pressure on prices, are subject to sequester reductions of 5.1 percent. With commodity loan programs operating on a crop year basis and Sept. 30 marking the end of the federal fiscal year, adjustments will occur for the 2013 crop year as follows:

Loan-making for all commodities will be suspended on Oct. 1 and are targeted to resume mid-October. Loan repayment and loan servicing for all disbursed commodity loans will continue. Beginning in mid-October, the 2013 crop loans, and if applicable, loan deficiency payments (LDPs) will receive 5.1 percent reductions. Re-pledged 2012 crop sugar loans are not subject to sequester. 2013 crop loan rates are not affected.

Commodity loans issued by FSA, marketing associations and loan servicing agents are all subject to these reductions.

New York Farm Bureau President Comments on Farm Bill

News from New York Farm Bureau:

Dean Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau, made this comment on the expiration of the Farm Bill.

“It is déjà vu all over again for New York’s farmers. Without Congressional action today, agriculture policy in this country is left in limbo much like what happened one year ago. Only this time, the likelihood of a one-year extension seems remote.

"This only raises the uncertainty level on our farms that are looking to plan ahead for next year as the current harvest season enters its final stages. How does any business set a budget, purchase supplies, or make hiring decisions without having some idea of what governmental policies are in place that have a direct impact on what they do day-in and day-out?

"This is the dilemma facing all of our farms that contribute so much to the physical and economic health of their communities.

"New York Farm Bureau has worked well with our representation in Washington, DC. We urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to act soon in Conference Committee to hammer out a compromise on the legislation passed in the Senate and the House.  Without it, our dairies are put in an especially vulnerable position if volatile milk prices swing too low.
 

"This will continue to leave many of New York’s important fruit and vegetable growers without a reasonable safety net as well. In addition, a number of other cost saving reforms and vital programs will be cast aside if there is no movement to secure a responsible farm policy in the next few months.

"It won’t just be the state’s farmers who will pay the price of not having a Farm Bill in place, but consumers as well, who increasingly want access to local food. We are in the business of feeding people, and it is also important that the neediness of New Yorkers have the ability to put healthy food on their families’ dinner tables,” he said. 

Cuomo Signs Bills Enhancing New York State Wine Industry

This news comes from the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo:


Bills were signed today that will allow wine to be sold at roadside farm markets and will designate portions of state highways near wineries and vineyards as "Wine Trails."

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said his signing of these bills continue the state's efforts to better market and promote New York wine.

“These new laws will build on our continuing efforts to promote New York’s wine industry across the state and beyond, boosting tourism, local economies and job growth,” Cuomo said. 

“We are increasing market opportunities for local producers and farmers and expanding our wine trails to attract tourists to communities across Upstate New York," he said. "Our state is home to hundreds of wineries that produce some of the best wine in the world, and we want both New Yorkers and visitors to come and enjoy them.” 

The farm markets legislation (S.267/A.1512) will create a new site for New York wineries to sell their products by allowing roadside farm markets to sell wine manufactured and produced by up to two licensed farm wineries, special wineries or micro-wineries located within 20 miles of the roadside farm market. 

The governor also signed four wine trail laws: one establishes a new wine trail; one expands an existing wine trail; one both expands two existing wine trails and changes their names; and one simply changes the name of an existing wine trail.

Wine trails help guide tourists to local attractions, vineyards, and wine tasting rooms, and to experience all that New York’s wine regions have to offer.

There are currently 16 wine trails designated by state law. 

“By allowing New York’s wide variety of quality wines to be sold at roadside farm markets, we are opening another door for this important industry," said Assemblyman William Magee, of Nelson, Madison County, chair of the state Assembly agriculture committee. "This is a measure that will support the growth of local businesses in our communities, and provide an important boost to wine producers across the state.”

New York is home to nearly 500 wineries, breweries, distilleries, and cideries. Producers account for more than $22 billion in annual total economic impact in the state and support tens of thousands of jobs statewide.

The state ranks third in the nation in wine and grape production, has the second-most distilleries, and three of the top-producing 20 brewers in the United States are located in New York.

Milk Prices in $21 a CWT Range?

Milk price forecast for 2014 looking good, according to this.

Check out DairyLine http://dairyline.com/friday.mp3 right here.

Some More Good Dairy News

Go to http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/canastota_may_be_the_next_stop_in_new_yorks_state_greek_yogurt_boom_with_state_h.html to check out the story.

A Reflection on What FarmAid Really Means

Hello all.

The FarmAid concert was last Saturday. I couldn't attend, but I saw on Facebook that a number of my farm friends did attend.

So I asked one -- Rebecca Schuelke Staehr of Cayuga Pumpkin Barn -- to write about it. So here's her report.

Enjoy!

Ed and Rebecca Staehr as "farmer heroes" in the ASA booth at Farm Aid's Homegrown Village. The group encouraged everyone to become "farmer heroes" by supporting farmland conservation.

We’ve just returned from Farm Aid – a daylong celebration of farmers, “good” food, and music – held, Sept. 21 in Saratoga, NY.

It was Farm Aid’s second trip to New York State. My husband, Ed, and I are pleased to say, “we were there” – this time around, as well as at the 2007 event on Randall’s Island in New York City.

Now in its 28th year, Farm Aid is an annual concert and much more. Born out of the farm crisis of the 1980s and conceived as a fundraiser to help farmers remain on their land, Farm Aid has evolved to include a Farmer Resource Network, a sort of
clearinghouse that offers information and contacts to hotline callers. Farm Aid runs an annual grant program, mostly for agricultural nonprofits, and has reportedly raised more than $43 million.

For years, the show has been anchored by performances from Dave Matthews Band, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson – peppered with a revolving door of musicians that donate their time to the cause. This year’s lineup included Jack Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Carlene Carter, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and many others.
 
Despite a heavy downpour that began shortly after John Mellencamp took the stage, the Indiana singer-songwriter’s performance was among the evening’s highlights. It really wouldn’t be Farm Aid without the seminal “Rain on the Scarecrow,” a
haunting song that describes a multi-generation farm lost to foreclosure that Mellencamp released in 1985.

Food was center-stage at Farm Aid, too. Farm Aid’s trademarked Homegrown Concessions seeks to bring the good food movement to rock stadiums. The $11 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and nachos with “cheese-like” goop were still there, but so too were veggie burritos, “non-confinement” hot dogs, organic French fries, and antibiotic-free chicken tenders.

A big difference in Farm Aid from the 2007 show was the expanded role thatfarmers and agricultural organizations played, thanks to the Homegrown Village.

Fifty or so groups, including Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Northeast Organic Farming Association, found creative ways to reach out to concertgoers while describing their work.

 The American Stewardship Association encouragedpeople to don a cap and mask and pose for “farmer hero” photos of those that
valued farmland conservation. Somervile, MA artist Cheryl Hirshman asked peopleto decorate a glove with words that represented farming to each participant; the gloves will be part of an installation about the work of farmers.

As Farm Aid has matured it seems to have moved from its more centrist roots toward an idealism that glorifies the small, family farm while vilifying the “factory farm.” Food quality, environmental stewardship, and biodiversity – as Farm Aid
will tell you – are issues of critical importance to farmers, and all living beings.

However, it’s disappointing to see an organization promote division among farmers, even proposing that large farms are crowding out small farms – glossing over the pressure all farmers (good and bad ones, too) are facing from urban development, government regulation, business taxation, and more. Despite the diversity of
business and production practices, farmers are a really small group. It doesn’t make sense to direct the little energy we have in fighting each other.

Equally disappointing is to see the occasionally complex issues around farming over-simplified to good versus bad. Farm Aid, after all, has the nation’s ear.
 
I said this once already – Farm Aid is a concert and much more.

The greatest accomplishment of Farm Aid has always been its ability to raise awareness about farming, and farmers, among the general public. In the days before farmers and local food were trendy, the Farm Aid concert was among the few times each year
that the media might cast a light on agriculture that was positive.

For a few days, we might set aside our stereotypes about the millionaire absentee-owner whocollects farm subsidies, the alleged polluters and animal abusers, and a whole slew of stories that could be summarized as “the dumb farmer.” We could remember – or, learn – that the vast majority of farmers in the United States work pretty hard, for not a lot of money, but a great deal of love, to produce fiber, fuel, and food – the stuff we literally cannot live without.

** Rebecca Schuelke Staehr is co-owner of Staehr Family Farm and Cayuga Pumpkin Barn, a field crop and vegetable farm in New York’s Finger Lakes region.