Cross Island Farms Plans Event for Community Foundation

Cross Island Farms,Wellesley Island, is holding a wine and cheese tasting to benefit the Northern New York Community Foundation from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 24.

It will take place outdoors rain or shine (with tents in case of inclement weather) in the Farm's recently planted “Edible Forest Garden.”

Bechaz Riverdale Cheese of Clayton and The Cape Winery of Cape Vincent will be offering samples and sales of their cheeses and wines accompanied by Jim and Melanie Rafferty of the band “Second Chance.” 

A representative from Northern New York Community Foundation will be on hand to meet and greet attendees.

Informal tours of the garden will be led by Dani Baker, its designer and co-owner of the farm. This event is open to the public for a minimum donation per person at the gate of $10. All proceeds will go to the community foundation.

Cross Island Farm's Edible Forest Garden is the newest addition to Wellesley Island's highly diversified certified organic farm. It is a perennial planting of fruits, nuts, berries, herbs and other edibles comprising a multi-purpose outdoor venue.

Bechaz Riverdale Cheese is a locally owned cheese creamery in Clayton owned and operated by Jeffrey and Melinda Bechaz. It is located on their fourth generation dairy farm. Their Holstein/Jersey dairy herd is pasture grazed/grass-fed. There are no artificial growth hormones used on the farm. Cheese is made fresh every Thursday.

The Cape Winery is a locally owned winery and vineyard located in Cape Vincent owned and operated by David and Sandra Fralick on the historic Deerlick Farm. The limestone soil imparts a unique taste to the cold hardy grapes known as the ‘taste of the Cape’. The Cape Winery has produced many award winning wines including red, white, and rose’ wines varying in taste from dry to sweet.

The band “Second Chance” plays the hits known and loved from the sixties up to the present day. Vocalist Melanie Rafferty is President of Cortel Improvement, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in executive training. Jim Rafferty, keyboard and vocals, is a retired Army major general.

Based in Carthage, “Second Chance” has played at a wide variety of local venues and events.

The Northern New York Community Foundation supports communities in Lewis, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties through college scholarships and grants to charitable nonprofit organizations. Last year it awarded 564 scholarships for a total of $850,000 to college-bound high school students and nontraditional students in the tri-county area.

Grants totaling more than $435,000 were given to 55 nonprofits including the Watertown Urban Mission, the Thousand Islands Arts Center, River Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Volunteer Transportation Center, WPBS-TV, Thousand Islands Land Trust, local food pantries across all three counties and more.

The Community Foundation manages and administers more than 400 charitable funds.

New York Farm Bureau Seeks Intervenor Status in Lawsuit Concerning Farmworkers Rights to Collectively Bargain

From New York Farm Bureau:

New York Farm Bureau is seeking to intervene in the farm labor lawsuit filed against the State of New York and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

The grassroots farm organization will file a motion today (Monday June 20) in State Supreme Court of Albany County to gain intervenor status in a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation. 

The NY Civil Liberties Union Foundation seeks to create a constitutional right for farmworkers to collectively bargain. The ultimate goal of New York Farm Bureau with today’s motion is for the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

New York Farm Bureau is taking this major step to defend farmers, who feel they have been abandoned by the governor and the New York Attorney General. Both leaders have made public statements supporting the lawsuit and refusing to defend state law, despite its importance to agriculture in New York state. 

New York Farm Bureau believes it has the right to intervene because the interest of its members will not be represented by the defendants – the governor and attorney general - and the ability of the organization’s members to continue to produce food for New York residents would be harmed in the event the plaintiffs prevail in this action.

Dean Norton

The motion reads, “Farm Bureau is uniquely situated to represent the varied perspectives of its member farms and to zealously defend the constitutionality of the challenged farm labor exemption.”

Farm Bureau believes the exemption of farmworkers from collective bargaining rights is constitutional, and that the exclusion of farmworkers from the State Labor Relations Act law is based on decades of rational public policy and legal precedent that will be outlined in NYFB’s motions to intervene and to dismiss.

New York Farm Bureau believes that the legal precedent is clear. This is not a question for the courts, and the NYCLUF is attempting to make an end-run around the legislature, which has not approved collective bargaining for farmworkers despite numerous opportunities.

“New York Farm Bureau has a century long record of defending the state’s family farms, and today’s action is one of the most important in our long history. If we can’t count on our state leaders to do the right thing in this case, we are prepared to stand up for our members in court to protect their rights,” said Dean Norton, New York Farm Bureau President.

New York State Sees Huge Maple Season in 2016

From the USDA
 
The Northeastern region of the United Sates saw a “favorable” maple season in 2016, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 
The region, which encompasses New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont, saw maple syrup production in 2016 of 3.78 million gallons, up 27 percent from 2015’s production of 2.98 million gallons.
 
Vermont remained the top maple state in the Northeastern Region and the nation, producing 47.3 percent of the United States’ maple syrup, a record-high production.
 

Sap collecting buckets in Lewis County

New York remained number two in the region and nation with 707,000 gallons of syrup produced. Last year’s 601,000 gallons was the most in the state in 70 years.
 
Massachusetts also reported a record- high production for 2016.
 
Taps in the Northeastern Region totaled 10.8 million, up 5 percent from last year and accounted for 86 percent of the nation’s maple taps, with Pennsylvania reporting a record high number of taps in 2016. New York had 2,515 taps in 2016, up from 2,310 in 2015.
 
Producers were encouraged to tap earlier this season by the warmer-than-normal temperatures. The earliest sap flow reported was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia.
 

The number of taps was up in each of the states in the region, except for New Hampshire which was down from last year.
 
The season in the Northeast Region averaged 35 days, 10 days longer than in 2015. On average, the U.S. season lasted 33 days, compared with 26 days in 2015.
 
The average equivalent price per gallon for maple syrup varies widely across the Region depending on the percentage sold retail, wholesale, or bulk.
 
The 2015 all sales equivalent price per gallon in Connecticut averaged $87.20, up $16.30; Maine averaged $28.00, down $3.50; Massachusetts averaged $50.50, down $5.80; New Hampshire averaged $59.40, up $1.60; New York averaged $42, up $2.30; Pennsylvania averaged $31.90, down $3.20, and Vermont averaged $330, unchanged from last year.
 
The high percentage of bulk sales in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Maine kept average prices below the other states.

It's National Eat Your Veggies Day!!

Vegetables at a local farmers' market

Anyone with a mother probably grew up hearing "eat your vegetables."

Well, today is the day to actually listen to mom. It's National Eat Your Vegetables Day."

According to the National Day Calendar website, June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, so National Eat Your Vegetables Day is one more opportunity to remind everyone about this important part of a healthy diet.

"As part of a main meal or as a snack, vegetables can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Each vegetable has it's own nutritional content through generally they contain little protein or fat and varying proportions of vitamins like A, K, B6, provitamins, dietary minerals and carbohydrates. They also contain phytochemicals and some vegetables also contain fiber, which is important for gastrointestinal function."

"It is recommend by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to consume 3 to 5 servings of vegetables a day. For most vegetables, one serving equals about 1/2 to 1 cup eaten either raw or cooked."

There are a lot of wonderful vegetables grown fresh right here in New York state. Many are in farmstands, farmers' markets and grocery stores now and others will begin showing up as the growing season progresses. 

So get out there and  buy some local vegetables. You can't get fresher than that!!

 

FDA Says Whole Foods Processing Plant Must Clean Up its Act

This is disgusting.

Will definitely keep me out of Whole Foods.

Read it at http://www.wsj.com/articles/whole-foods-must-clean-up-its-act-fda-says-1465936379?mod=e2fb

Dairy Day Celebrated at the State Capitol

Dairy Day at the State Capitol. From left, Chip Pratt, Aileen Randolph of the New York Farm Viability Institute, Sen. Patty Ritchie, and David Grusenmeyer of the New York Farm Viability Institute

State Sen. Patty Ritchie, chair of the state Senate Agriculture Committee, welcomed dairy industry leaders to the State Capitol Wednesday for “Dairy Day,” a celebration of one of New York’s leading industries. 

The event, which is taking place during National Dairy Month, was once a tradition in Albany, and this year, Senator Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined with Assemblyman Bill Magee, who chairs the Assembly Agriculture Committee, to sponsor its return.

“As Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and someone who grew up on a dairy farm, I’m proud to sponsor the return of Dairy Day at the State Capitol,” said Ritchie. “This is a great chance to spread the word to my colleagues, as well as visitors about how important dairy is to our agriculture and rural economies—especially in the rural regions I represent.”

On hand for Wednesday’s celebration were producers of dairy products — including milk, yogurt, cheese and others — from across the state, as well as representatives of various agriculture groups that help support the industry.

Established in 1937, National Dairy Month started out as “National Milk Month,” an event held to promote drinking milk.  Since that time, the observance has grown into an annual tradition that helps to celebrate our state’s 5,000 dairy farms and all the fresh, nutritious foods and drink they produce. 

Coyote Moon Named Winery of the Year

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/coyote-moon-wins-new-york-state-winery-of-the-year-20160615 to check out the story.