It's National Onion Rings Day!!

OK, I'm including this special day for all those onion farmers in Oswego and Madison counties.

According to the National Day Calendar website, today is National Onion Rings Day.

Here is what the website says about the day: 

"Dipped in a batter or in bread crumbs and deep fried, tasty onion rings are a popular hors d’oeuvre or side dish all across the United States and are celebrated each year on June 22 for National Onion Rings Day.

Also found in Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and some parts of Asia, onion rings exact origin is unknown.

• A recipe called “Fried Onions with Parmesan Cheese” is included in John Mollard’s 1802 cookbook “The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined.” Within the recipe, it suggests cutting onions into 1/2 inch rings, dipping them into a batter made of flour, cream, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese then deep frying them in “boiling” lard. It is suggested that they are served with a sauce made of  melted butter and mustard.
• Some believe that a recipe  for French Fried Onions (not claiming to be the originator of the recipe) appeared in the Middletown, NY Daily Times on January 13, 1910.
• The Pig Stand restaurant chain, founded in Oak Cliff, Texas in the early 1920′s is one of the claimants to the onion rings invention.
• A recipe for deep-fried onion rings that are dipped in milk then dredged in flour appeared in a 1933 Crisco advertisement in The New York Times Magazine.  
• In the 1960′s, the A&W restaurant is credited with popularizing the onion rings in fast food restaurants.

To celebrate National Onion Rings Day, head to your favorite “onion ring” serving restaurant and place your order."

Onion Production Forecast Down Slightly from 2014

New York state's onion production is estimated to be down slightly from last year, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The National Agricultural Statistics Services estimates New York will see an onion crop of 2.31 million hundredweight (100 pounds), down 2 percent from the 2.36 million hundredweight in 2014.

Harvested acreage also is down, but yield per acre is projected to be up to an average of 335 hundredweight per acre from the 295 hundredweight per acre in 2014.

Nationally, 92,650 acres of onions are being harvested in 2015, compared to 93,200 in 2014.

Onions are primarily grown on muck soils found in Oswego, Orange, Orleans, Genesee, Madison, Wayne, Yates and Steuben counties. 

"The crop in general looked great so we should be on target for yields comparable to last year," said Jonathan J. Schell, agriculture team coordinator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County.

Hops Becoming More and More Popular in New York State

From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:

By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy

More and more farmers in New York state are turning to a crop from days gone by to bring in additional cash.
 
Hops — that small green plant that looks like a pine cone and gives beer its distinct flavor — was the top crop in Central New York in the mid-1800s, but prohibition and a killer fungus ended all of that.
The surge of craft breweries and home brewers means more hops are needed today, so more farmers in New York are putting in the plant to grow and sell to breweries.
 
Steve Miller, the state’s hops specialist, who works out of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Madison County, said he receives 10 to 15 calls a week from people interested in raising hops as a cash crop. 

He said hops growing in New York started small with a few farmers in the central portion of the state and the Finger Lakes region in the late 1990s.
 
Today, hops are grown in most counties in New York, Miller said. In fact, the number of acres of hops in the state has increased a lot in just the last three years. The 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, the most recent official statistics available, shows only 19 acres of New York land was in use for growing hops that year. Today, more than 300 acres of land statewide is growing hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year.


Gone are the days when people drank beer made only by large companies such as Coors, Anheuser-Busch or Labatt.


“We estimate there is a need for 400 to 500 acres of hops in New York to satisfy the domestic demand,” Miller wrote in his hops FAQs, an informational handout sheet he gives to farmers. It’s also available at http://wdt.me/Hops.


In addition, he said the New York Farm Brewery legislation, which went into effect in January 2013, created new opportunities for on-the-farm brewing and sales.


Kate and Larry Fisher, who run Foothills Hops in the town of Stockbridge, Madison County, were among the first people to get into the resurrected hops industry. 

“We were interested in local history and read a book ... about the early trains that were moving hops and hops workers. Then we went to the Madison County Hops Fest in 1999. From there, we put in one plant, then we were up to 100 plants, which then turned into an industry.”

The Fishers now have six acres of hops that they sell to small farm brewers — Critz Farms in Cazenovia for its hard cider, and Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, Empire Brewing Co. in Syracuse, and Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton, Madison County.

But it’s not as easy as just putting hops into the ground, harvesting and raking in the money, Miller said.

He said farmers should study hops and find out if it really is a crop they want to invest in. Several seminars and conferences are held each year for people interested in the subject.


“This is not the same type of farming at all,” Miller said, comparing hops growing to other popular crops, such as sweet corn or vegetables. “We encourage people to get information first.”
Here are some of the differences farmers will see with hops, according to Miller:

n Harvesting. The harvesting is completely different from other crops. Hops cannot be hand-harvested — it takes an hour to hand-harvest one plant — so machines must be purchased. The average machine can cost about $30,000.

n Equipment: Once hops are harvested, they must be dried, processed, baled and kept in a walk-in cooler. So to get started, a farmer will need a small tractor, trailer, weed sprayer, crop sprayer similar to what is used in a vineyard or orchard, and then a truck, drying equipment, possible pelleter, a cooler and a building for storage and drying. Some growers look at sharing equipment.

n Planting: The cost of plants and trellises for the plants to grow on can cost $15,000 an acre to start.

n Land: About 10 to 15 acres are needed to get a money-making hops operation off the ground. Some New York farmers have as little as a couple of acres. New York varies from the Pacific Northwest, where farmers grow from 500 acres to several thousand acres of hops.

Miller said land preparation is important, and all land where hops will be grown should be well drained, be flat or have a gentle slope, have access to water for irrigation, and have good air circulation and full sun.

“The biggest holdup people have in growing hops is knowledge and equipment,” Miller said.
Fisher said she and her husband advise anyone considering growing hops to spend a year before planting to ready the soil for the plants and be sure to have all the infrastructure — including lines and trellises — ready in advance.

“We didn’t do that (ready the soil), and we’ve been battling weeds ever since,” Fisher said.

In the FAQs sheet Miller provides to hops hopefuls, he said “expenses are variable, but most growers believe they need to have gross sales of more than $6,000 to $8,000 an acre to break even because of initial investment, equipment, harvesting and processing costs.” 

Miller also said “if the hops are poor and your yield is low, you are losing money. The first year you may have some hops, a partial crop the second, and a full crop the third.”


If you like this story and want to read more great news about agriculture, subscribe to Empire Farm & Dairy magazine. A one-year subscription is $50 and a two-year subscription is $75. Send your information and payment to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601

Madison County Day Camp Focuses on History of Farming

Children ages 9 to 12 can learn more about farm life in years past at the Madison County Historical Society’s Charles E. Page Summer History Camp.

The camp is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 13 to 15 at the historical society in Oneida.The lessons and workshops include learning about farming practices, cross-stitch, basket weaving and baking.

The cost is $35 for historical society members and $45 for nonmembers. No refund will be given to those who withdraw after the first day of camp. Children must bring their own lunch each day. Snacks will be provided.

The historical society is offering a scholarship to the day camp valued at the enrollment fee of $45. To qualify for the scholarship, the child must be a Madison County resident between the ages of 9 and 12 years and must submit a 100-word or less essay about where their food comes from and the types of food their family eats daily. 

Essays may be typed or handwritten.

100 Dairy Cows Lost in Fire

Sad story.

Go to http://www.wktv.com/news/local/Farmer-Loses-100-Dairy-Cows-in-Overnight-Fire-256756031.html?fb_action_ids=3982771503923&fb_action_types=og.likes to read it.

Madison County Awarded $4M Grant for Business Park

Great news for Madison County:

Empire State Development is providing Madison County with a $4 million grant to support infrastructure improvements at the Madison County ARE (Agricultural & Renewable Energy) Park. 

The state’s investment will leverage additional funding from Madison County to support the park’s transition to becoming a shovel-ready location for new businesses to locate, grow and create new economic opportunities for the region. 

Like many areas in Upstate New York, Madison County has suffered a loss of manufacturing jobs that once formed the backbone of this region’s economy. Numerous studies and surveys have shown the need for locally based support industries for agricultural producers in Madison County. 

The county is seeking to create a shovel-ready business park near Canastota that will focus on targeting and attracting agriculture and renewable energy businesses to locate and grow. The Agricultural and Renewable Energy Park will provide an economically stimulating, environmentally sound and shovel-ready development area that would be beneficial to the surrounding community.

The $4 million grant will help extend municipal water service to the park, which is critical to creating a shovel-ready site for potential businesses. Madison County plans to invest as much as $5 million in the $10.3 million project. The state funds will come from NY Works, the governor's infrastructure program which is rebuilding roads, bridges, and parks across the state.

“This is great news for Madison County and is the latest example of Governor Cuomo's continued commitment to the Central New York economy,” said Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Becker. “These critical dollars will help us continue to grow the Agricultural and Renewable Energy Park and help us attract even more jobs and opportunities. On behalf of Madison County, I would like thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership and continued support.”

The Agricultural and Renewable Energy Park will use 150 acres at the county’s Department of Solid Waste landfill facility, and the state funds will help pay for extending municipal water to the park, leveraging an investment by the Department of Solid Waste to extend a municipal sewer to the landfill and business park. 

The County Industrial Development Agency will target businesses that coincide with the areas regional strengths and likely include those that produce, process, store and ship a variety of meat, seafood and agricultural products, wood products, products manufactured from recycled materials, and specialty industries. 

The businesses in the park will have access to reliable, locally generated sources of green energy —including electrical energy from the Landfill-Gas-To-Energy facility and a solar energy cap located at the Madison County Landfill.

A green-lumber drying business and commercial greenhouse have already committed to the site, creating at least 13 new jobs, while a recycling business and a company that converts plastic waste into base petroleum fuels is also set to move into the park. These additional opportunities are estimated to represent up to 30 more jobs.

The water infrastructure improvement project will also assist the neighboring Town of Lincoln, which has had water problems for nearly four decades, by bringing municipal water service within reach. 

New York Farmers Give Hops a Shot

Wall Street Journal gives http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324619504579026851948897742.html hops farmers their due in this story.

Learn About Madison County Farms at Open Farm Day Event July 27

Anyone who wants to find out about the diversity of agriculture in Central New York needs to go to Open Farm Day July 27 in Madison County.

During the annual event, about 40 farms open their doors, barns and fields to people who want to come in, tour and learn about the various products and animals produced in Madison County.

Farms vary from dairy operations with Holsteins to vegetable and egg farms to places raising beef, pork and lamb to maple, cider, wine and honey to buffalo, elk and alpacas and even a bit of horticulture with plants and flowers.

The event is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday "featuring lots of local food, farm tours, farm rides, free samples and farm animals," according to the website.

Go to http://madisoncountyagriculture.com/openfarmday/?page_id=11 to see a list of the 39 participating farms and to print out a passport for the day.

State OKs Money for Madison County 'Food Hub"

Check out http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/state_approves_25_million_for.html#cmpid=nwsltrhead this good news for Madison County, NY.

New York's Locavore Ranking Improves

Shoppers look at locally grown produce at the Downtown Syracuse Farmers' Market

Rodale.com has ranked states for how locavore friendly they are. That means, how enthusiastic are consumers in getting out and buying locally grown and raised foods.


Go to http://www.rodale.com/locavore-index?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-Rodale-_-Content-RecentNews-_-IsYourStateLocavoreFriendly to see where New York state ranks.

Buying Local has become more and more popular in recent years in New York state and Central New York. Madison County has its own Buy Local Week each year http://blog.syracuse.com/farms/2011/05/buy_local_week_in_madison_coun.html and more and more farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture locations have popped up recently.