Dairy Day at State Fair Moves to New Day

If you always go to the New York State Fair on Dairy Day, get out your calendars.

Dairy Day is mooooooving this year.

Dairy Day will be Thursday, Aug. 31 at the 2017 State Fair. It had to be moved because the normal day -- the first Monday of the fair -- is change out day for the dairy cattle in the dairy barn. If Dairy Day had been held on the first Monday Aug. 28, there wouldn't have been any dairy cattle in the dairy barn.

"What is Dairy Day without dairy cattle?" asked Mary Ellen Chesbro, New York State Fair coordinator and agricultural manager.

The 2017 fair willl celebrate the 41st anniversary of Dairy Day wit new events and opportunities for fairgoers, said Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner.

New this year, guests will have an opportunity to win gift baskets filled with New York dairy products by visiting popular dairy attractions and answering trivia questions.

In addition, the fair is partnering with two New York State Certified processors to bring top-notch, local dairy products to the fairgrounds, including a New York State Fair-branded cheese. 

In 2016, more than 82,000 people visited the Fair on Dairy Day. 

 

"Dairy Day is a great opportunity to recognize the hard work of our dairy farmers who make delicious products. We are excited to put the industry on display at the fair and highlight their many contributions to agriculture," Waffner said. "I encourage our guests to stop at the Dairy Products Building, Dairy Cow Birthing Center, and join us at the many special activities on Dairy Day as we celebrate our farmers and processors across the state.”

 

New York yogurt

For the first time, guests can enter a drawing to win Taste NY dairy gift baskets by answering trivia questions when they visit three popular dairy attractions on Dairy Day. To participate, guests can pick up a copy of the questions at any of the fair’s six Guest Relations locations. 

They can find the answers by visiting the Milk Bar, Cheese Booth, and Yo2GO Yogurt Bar. When a guest has completed the questions, they can drop off their answers at the Dairy Cow Birthing Center where they will be entered to win. Three winners will be selected at the conclusion of Dairy Day. 

 

Both the Milk Bar and Cheese Booth will be offering delicious, high-quality dairy products made by two New York State Certified Dairy processors — Byrne Dairy and McCadam Cheese. 

Byrne Dairy, a fourth generation, family-owned dairy processor and distributor, will supply milk for the Milk Bar, one of the fair’s longest-standing traditions. The Milk Bar is being sponsored by Tully’s Good Times and New York’s official beverage will continue to be sold for 25 cents per cup. Last year, 398,059 cups of white and chocolate milk were sold. 

A previous butter sculpture

Fairgoers will also have the opportunity to sample and purchase award-winning McCadam Cheese at the Cheese Booth. McCadam will also be unveiling a NYS Fair-branded cheese. 

For the fourth year, a cheese sculptor will also be carving images out of a block of New York state white cheddar at the Cheese Booth on select days. The sculptures are being sponsored by the New York State Cheese Manufacturers Association. 

 

In addition, the YO2GO Yogurt Bar will mark its fourth anniversary at the fair, making it easy for fairgoers to enjoy New York’s official state snack— fresh New York regular and Greek-style yogurt with a choice of 15 fresh toppings. 

The 49^th Annual Butter Sculpture, created by American Dairy Association North East, will be sponsored by Wegmans Food Markets. The sculpture will be revealed Aug. 22, the day before the fFair opens, and will be on display throughout the fair. 

All of these exhibits are located in the Dairy Products Building and open during all 13 days of the Fair. 

 

Dairy Day will also feature a variety of activities to showcase the State’s dairy industry, beginning with the Recognition Awards & Awards Breakfast at 9 a.m. in the Empire Room, with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. 

As part of the awards ceremony, Dairy of Distinction Awards and the Commissioner’s PRO-DAIRY Service Awards will be presented. In addition, winners of the New York State Fair Dairy Products Competition, which includes entries in the cheese, fluid milk and other dairy products categories, will also be announced. 

The “Big Cheese” Auction will immediately follow and be led by auctioneer and chairman of the New York State Assembly Agriculture Committee Bill Magee. This year, the auction will be held in the Empire Room. Guests can bid on blocks of New York state cheese and enjoy samples that will be handed out by dairy princesses.

 
The festivities continue with a Milkshake Contest at 10:30 a.m. in the Chevy Court Pavilion, where local celebrities will compete to see who makes the best shake. The day will end with the Dairy Day Parade, beginning at 6 p.m. in Chevy Court, which features floats, dairy princesses, tractors and milk trucks.

6 Dairy Processors Join New York State Grown & Certified Program

From Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office:

Six additional dairy processors have joined the New York State Grown & Certified program. 

Consumers will soon be able to find the Certified label on select milk, yogurt and cheese products from Byrne Dairy, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, McCadam Cheese, King Brothers Dairy, Hudson Valley Fresh Dairy and Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. 

These dairy processors source their milk from more than 1,200 farms across the State, providing significant support to New York’s largest agricultural sector.

"Dairy is a major part of our agricultural industry and the New York State Grown & Certified program will help to further grow this critical sector of this state's economy," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "By expanding this program to dairy, we promote even more of New York’s finest producers and hard-working farmers, connect consumers to high-quality products and support the growth of local economies."

New York State Grown & Certified is a promotional program that distinguishes agricultural products that are sourced from New York farms and made by producers who meet safe food handling practices and demonstrate environmental stewardship.

Last month, the governor announced a new partnership with Stewart’s Shops to expand New York State Grown & Certified to include Stewart’s milk, ice cream, half and half, heavy cream and eggs. Today’s announcement further advances the program’s goal of growing the State’s vital agricultural industry by highlighting New York farms and processors who meet a higher standard.
  Central New York
 
Byrne Dairy, a fourth generation, family-owned dairy processor and distributor, has already placed the New York State Grown & Certified label on its new line of Byrne Hollow Farm organic milk products, which are sold in Whole Foods Markets, Byrne Dairy stores and other select retailers. 
Later this month, consumers can begin to look for the Certified label on Byrne Dairy’s new line of Byrne Hollow Farm grass-fed milk products sold at BJ’s Wholesale Club locations. In the coming weeks, Byrne Dairy also plans to announce another new and exciting line of products bearing the Certified label. 
Since the very beginning, Byrne Dairy has prided itself on working with hundreds of local and family farms — most of which are located no more than 40 miles from the company’s processing plants — to produce the freshest and best tasting dairy products.

Western New York
  Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. is a food and beverage company owned by 345 New York dairy farm families, and has offered innovative, award-winning, high-quality dairy products to New York State residents for generations. 
With a commitment to quality that extends to every stage of production, from the farm to the consumer, their products include milk, flavored milk beverages, yogurt, dip, sour cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream mix products marketed throughout New York State under the Upstate Farms^®, Bison^®, and Intense Milk^® brands.  
Headquartered in Buffalo, Upstate Niagara will be adding the New York Certified seal to many of their fluid milk products in the coming months.
    North Country
 
McCadam Cheese, which is owned by Agri-Mark, the leading dairy farmer cooperative in the Northeast, has also joined the New York State Grown & Certified program. McCadam, located in Franklin County, manufactures award-winning New York Cheddar, Muenster and European-style cheeses using milk from 588 New York dairy farms that adhere to the highest quality standards. 
McCadam cheeses are sold in over 500 stores across the Northeast, including Hannaford and Price Chopper. Consumers can expect to see the Certified label on their products next year.
  Capital Region
  King Brothers Dairy is a family-owned farm and processor in Saratoga County. It is one of the remaining few dairy processors in the country that continue to deliver glass-bottled milk directly to customer’s doors. 
It is known for its top, purebred Holstein cows and high-quality milk. King Brothers Dairy delivers to customers across the Capital Region, and their products can be found in an increasing number of groceries and small markets in the region.
  Mid-Hudson
  Hudson Valley Fresh Dairy is a cooperative of 10 dairy farmers located in Dutchess, Columbia and Ulster counties. It is dedicated to preserving the agricultural heritage of the Hudson River Valley and produces a wide selection of premium-quality dairy products. 
Its milk, whole-milk, ice cream, half and half, heavy cream, yogurt and sour cream will all carry the Certified label. Consumers can find Hudson Valley Fresh products in nearly 100 locations in the Hudson Valley.

New York City
 
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese is an award-winning, urban cheesemaker located in New York City’s Flatiron District. Its unique, glass-enclosed cheesemaking kitchen gives visitors the opportunity to watch the company’s centuries-old cheesemaking process as it happens. Using milk from four local farms, Beecher’s produces a variety of specialty cheeses that are free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

"The addition of these incredible dairy processors to the Grown & Certified program not only supports hundreds of family-owned farms in nearly every region of the state, it also gives consumers an opportunity to easily identify New York's world-class agricultural products that are made to a higher standard," said state Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball. 

"Shoppers can feel good knowing the milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products made by these companies comes from farms and processing facilities that are committed to food safety and environmental sustainability,” Ball said.

“Byrne Dairy is proud to join the New York State Grown & Certified Program. Having locally sourced, farm-fresh milk for over 84 years, we believe that the Certified label will give our producer partners the recognition they deserve,” said Carl Byrne, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Byrne Dairy.

McCadam, Great Lakes Honored at State Fair Dairy Competition

From the New York State Fair:

When it comes to cheese, McCadam Cheese Co.'s aged cheddar stands alone. 

It not only won its category in the Great New York State Fair's annual Dairy Products Competition, it also earned the Grand Champion award.

McCadam, which was founded in Heuvelton, St. Lawrence County and now is manufactured in Chateaugay, Franklin County, took first and second place in the aged cheddar category, and it also earned first place honors in two other cheddar categories: current cheddar and super-aged cheddar. Great Lakes Cheese Co. of Adams was the runner-up in the current and super-aged categories.

"The high marks across the board for these products reflect not only the great diversity of dairy products available in New York state, but also the incredibly high quality of these products. These are all products that belong in every New Yorker's kitchen," said Acting State Fair Director Troy Waffner.

Among the highlights of the competitions:

• ​ Garelick Farms of Rensselaer earned a perfect score of 100 in the fluid milk category. Stewarts Processing and Upstate Niagara Cooperative tied for second with 96.3 points.
• Upstate Niagara Cooperative's sour cream earned the only other perfect score of the competition, with the product from HP Hood's Arkport plant finishing a single point behind.
• HP Hood swept the gold and silver medals in all three cottage cheese competitions, for full fat, low fat and nonfat cottage cheeses along with two of the three third place "award of excellence" designations.

Dairy products experts gathered recently at Stocking Hall on the Cornell University campus to judge entries in 21 categories, from goat cheese to sour cream to milk.  

Winners of the New York State Fair Dairy Products Competition were announced on Dairy Day at the Great New York State Fair.

June is Dairy Month -- Aged Cheese from Jewett's

Chris Larkin prepares some cheese for a customer.

There's a place in Madison County that is a mecca for anyone who loves cheese.

Jewett's Cheese House, located on Earlville Road about two miles outside the village of Earlville, is the home of about 40,000 pounds of cheese being aged to perfection in temperature controlled 38 degrees.

A visit to Jewett's got my mouth watering as soon as I entered the shop. There was cheddar to sample -- aged about 1 year all the way to 6 years.

And that's not the most aged cheese Jewett's has. Chris Larkin, grandson of the business's founders Granton and Ginny Jewett, said soon (possibly the end of this week), they will be unveiling a 20-year-old cheddar.

Can we all say, "Yum."

Inside the Jewett's store

The business opened in 1970 and is in its third generation. The Jewetts ran a dairy farm when Ginny Jewett decided to open the store.

They began by aging the cheese in coolers on their porch and have progressed to a huge warehouse which stores 44,000 pounds of aging cheddar.

According to curd-nerd.com, aging (also known as ripening or maturing) is an important part of developing cheese. "It allows time for millions of microbes and enzymes to do their thing, breaking down the proteins and fats into a complex combination of acids that influences how texture, taste and aroma are expressed in your chosen cheese. A longer aging time causes a firmer, more intense cheese, whereas short aging times result in a more mild taste and a softer ‘paste’."

Jewett's gets its cheese from McCadam, made in Chateaugay in Franklin County, NY. Then it begins the wonderful aging process to get cheeses from its Sharp, aged nine months, to its Elder, aged 18 years.

Photos by R. Patrick Corbett

I'm not sure what they are going to call the 20-year-old cheese ready to make its debut soon. "This is the oldest we've ever had," Larkin said.

The store also carries many other food items, such as maple syrup, honey, salad dressings, barbecue sauce, olives, mustards, peanut brittle, preserves, nuts, candy and dried fruits -- most made in New York state.

The Jewett's store is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Saturdays.

Go to www.jewettscheese.com for more information.