From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine
By the NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
The New York State Agricultural Society will celebrate its 185th birthday at its annual meeting and forum Jan. 5 in Syracuse.
This is the largest statewide agricultural meeting that brings together all sectors of the food system to explore topics critical to the future of New York agriculture, and to recognize the unique contributions of its stakeholders.
The Society will present eight awards to producers, farm organizations and businesses that are leaders in their communities and specialization.
The deadline for nominations is Sept. 1. Award information and applications for the following honors can be found online at www.nysagsociety.org.
Ag Promotion Awards — The award recognizes individuals, groups and/or teams of partnering organizations that work to improve the community understanding of agriculture.
The award is sponsored by Alpha Zeta Fraternity at Cornell University, American Farmland Trust, and the New York State FFA Foundation.
Business of the Year — The award promotes our state’s food system by recognizing the quality, leadership and innovation demonstrated by New York farms and agribusinesses.
Cap Creal Journalism Awards — Named for farmer, Society member, and Assemblyman Harold “Cap” Creal, the journalism awards were created to inspire more coverage of the positive aspects of agriculture in New York state.
Awards are presented in the following categories: Print – news story, feature, series, editorial;
Audio/video – news clip, feature, internet; Blogs/Online Feature; and Photography. The award is sponsored by Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity at Cornell University.
Century and Bicentennial Farm Awards — The program honors New York farms in continuous operation on the same land by the same family for 100 years or more. The NYS Agricultural Society will recognize farms in eastern NYS counties in 2017. East/West counties identified online at www.nysagsociety.org. The award is sponsored by Farm Credit Northeast Ag Enhancement.
Distinguished Service Citation — The award recognizes individuals who have dedicated a lifetime of service, resulting in outstanding contributions to NY agriculture. See a complete list of past recipients at www.nysagsociety.org. The award is sponsored by NY Farm Bureau Member Services.
FFA Chapter of the Year — The award recognizes a NYS FFA Chapter for service to its community and promotion of agriculture. The award is sponsored by the NYS Grange.
Next Generation Farmer Award — Launched in 2016, this award recognizes both a long-standing operation that is excelling under new leadership and owner/operators who are brand new to agriculture and food production. The award is sponsored by The Voss Group.
NYS Farm Safety Awards — Recognizes farm operators who have unique and successful farm safety programs for their employees. The award is sponsored by Cargill, Inc.
Established in 1832, the mission of the NYS Agricultural Society is to foster, promote, and improve the state’s food and agricultural industry through education, leadership development and recognition programs.
It has played a vital role in the development of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Cornell University’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station, the NYS Fair, and the Empire State Food and Agricultural Leadership Institute (LEAD NY). In 2011, the NYS Agricultural Society Foundation was formed.
For more information or to join the New York State Agricultural Society, visit www.nysagsociety.org or contact Executive Secretary, Ann Noble Shephard, at ann@nysagsociety.org, (315) 727-5449.
Showing posts with label New York State Agricultural Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York State Agricultural Society. Show all posts
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Three New York Farmers Receive Next Generation Farmer Awards from Ag Society
The New York State Agricultural Society this year presented two Next Generation Farmer awards for the first time.
Here is some information on who won the awards for 2016:
The Next Generation Farmer Award is being presented for the first time in 2016 and recognizes excellence from beginning farmers.
Max and Trystan Sandvoss, brothers and new farmers in Genesee County, were recognized as 2016 Next Generation Farmer Award winners.
They started First Light Farm and Creamery in East Bethany in 2010, producing artisanal cheeses from their milking goat herd mixed with milk from a neighboring Certified Organic Jersey cow farm (Grassland Dairy), as well as bottling and selling cow’s milk and whole cream-top yogurt.
The brothers did not grow up on a farm — their father was a lawyer and their mother a teacher in the Hudson Valley. Both received college degrees, but neither received an ag education — Trystan graduated from Northwestern and Max from Harvard.
After early careers on the West Coast, Trystan and Max spent a year apprenticing at a creamery near Seattle. Then they decided to return to New York state to raise Nubian and Alpine milking goats and produce dairy products not far from their stepfather’s farm, Lor-Rob Dairy, with a goal “to make the kind of food we like to eat.”
One of the draws to the Genesee County location was its position midway between Buffalo and Rochester. They sell their cheeses, yogurt and milk at farmers markets and stores in both cities, and have recently offered a ‘Dairy Share’ using a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model of distribution with weekly deliveries to retail stores and drop points.
Max and Trystan go to farmers markets weekly, give cheese-making demonstrations and meet with garden clubs and Rotary groups to talk about farming. Leadership Genesee and other groups have visited their farm.
In all, more than 2,000 people have toured the farm and participated in cheese-making workshops, including guests from Canada and Hong Kong.
Everything that happens at First Light is done locally. Fields are seeded with grass that is grown on the farm or within 10 miles of the farm, and is fertilized with manure produced on the farm. The farm utilizes 100 percent organic practices with no hormones or chemical fertilizers.
Goats are pastured on the farm and fed dry grass from the local area. Whey, produced as a byproduct of the cheese-making, is fed to pigs on a nearby hog operation.
Everything is done with the environment, conservation and animal comfort in mind.
Next on the agenda for First Light Farm and Creamery is expected statewide distribution of their dairy products through a high-end grocery chain with potential expansion to other like-minded retailers.
After five years of hard work and passion, the brothers have figured out how to continue to grow and still enjoy a day off. But it is the stories of middle of the night births during kidding season, milk testing rituals and building a community that make clear the brothers’ love for the farm life that they have chosen.
Todd DuMond, the next generation on his family’s farm in Cayuga County, is recognized as a 2016 Next Generation Farmer Award winner.
Todd has fostered significant growth and expansion of the farm business since returning to what was a 600 acre cash crop farm in 2003, a couple years after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Today, DuMond Ag in Union Springs, farms nearly 5,000 acres.
Eric and Marge DuMond, Todd’s parents, started a small beef cow operation in Saranac Lake in 1980, and moved to the Finger Lakes five years later where they began the cash crop farm. Under Todd’s management, the farm has been on an aggressive growth curve, increasing steadily in size and diversifying business pursuits.
DuMond Grain, a soybean roasting business, was an offshoot that began in 2003 when Todd returned to the farm. In 2010, Todd began DuMond Trucking to provide an improved transportation option for the local farm community.
Similarly, in 2015 Todd expanded DuMond Grain to include corn grinding to produce cornmeal as a new commodity for the business. Most recently, DuMond Ag created a cover crop seed dealership and invested in a row crop farming operation.
One of the most difficult challenges DuMond Ag faces is climate change. As a result, Todd uses a variety of conservation methods that emphasize the relationship between increased weather volatility and the use of precision agriculture.
The use of cover crops and spatial soil analysis helps to protect and enrich the soil by increasing soil water absorption during heavy rains, reducing surface water runoff and possible erosion. Todd also uses reduced tillage and narrow-row planting, as well as subsurface drainage systems, catch basins, stand pipes and conservation strips to protect soil and water resources.
His precision agriculture efforts include precise nutrient application placement. And, when preparing the fields each year, DuMond Ag uses tramlines – the routes that tractors and trucks use to drive in and out of the field are the same year after year, limiting field soil compaction to those tracks.
Todd has served on the New York State Corn and Soybean Growers Association Board for about 10 years. He is also nearing the end of his nine-year term as New York’s representative to the American Soybean Association.
He has built relationships with local agricultural colleges, coordinating tours and talks, and for three years has hosted the Summer Crop Tour, an education day for production agriculture.
Here is some information on who won the awards for 2016:
The Next Generation Farmer Award is being presented for the first time in 2016 and recognizes excellence from beginning farmers.
 |
| Max and Trystan Sandvoss |
They started First Light Farm and Creamery in East Bethany in 2010, producing artisanal cheeses from their milking goat herd mixed with milk from a neighboring Certified Organic Jersey cow farm (Grassland Dairy), as well as bottling and selling cow’s milk and whole cream-top yogurt.
The brothers did not grow up on a farm — their father was a lawyer and their mother a teacher in the Hudson Valley. Both received college degrees, but neither received an ag education — Trystan graduated from Northwestern and Max from Harvard.
After early careers on the West Coast, Trystan and Max spent a year apprenticing at a creamery near Seattle. Then they decided to return to New York state to raise Nubian and Alpine milking goats and produce dairy products not far from their stepfather’s farm, Lor-Rob Dairy, with a goal “to make the kind of food we like to eat.”
One of the draws to the Genesee County location was its position midway between Buffalo and Rochester. They sell their cheeses, yogurt and milk at farmers markets and stores in both cities, and have recently offered a ‘Dairy Share’ using a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model of distribution with weekly deliveries to retail stores and drop points.
Max and Trystan go to farmers markets weekly, give cheese-making demonstrations and meet with garden clubs and Rotary groups to talk about farming. Leadership Genesee and other groups have visited their farm.
In all, more than 2,000 people have toured the farm and participated in cheese-making workshops, including guests from Canada and Hong Kong.
Everything that happens at First Light is done locally. Fields are seeded with grass that is grown on the farm or within 10 miles of the farm, and is fertilized with manure produced on the farm. The farm utilizes 100 percent organic practices with no hormones or chemical fertilizers.
Goats are pastured on the farm and fed dry grass from the local area. Whey, produced as a byproduct of the cheese-making, is fed to pigs on a nearby hog operation.
Everything is done with the environment, conservation and animal comfort in mind.
Next on the agenda for First Light Farm and Creamery is expected statewide distribution of their dairy products through a high-end grocery chain with potential expansion to other like-minded retailers.
After five years of hard work and passion, the brothers have figured out how to continue to grow and still enjoy a day off. But it is the stories of middle of the night births during kidding season, milk testing rituals and building a community that make clear the brothers’ love for the farm life that they have chosen.
Todd DuMond, the next generation on his family’s farm in Cayuga County, is recognized as a 2016 Next Generation Farmer Award winner.
Todd has fostered significant growth and expansion of the farm business since returning to what was a 600 acre cash crop farm in 2003, a couple years after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Today, DuMond Ag in Union Springs, farms nearly 5,000 acres.
Eric and Marge DuMond, Todd’s parents, started a small beef cow operation in Saranac Lake in 1980, and moved to the Finger Lakes five years later where they began the cash crop farm. Under Todd’s management, the farm has been on an aggressive growth curve, increasing steadily in size and diversifying business pursuits.
DuMond Grain, a soybean roasting business, was an offshoot that began in 2003 when Todd returned to the farm. In 2010, Todd began DuMond Trucking to provide an improved transportation option for the local farm community.
Similarly, in 2015 Todd expanded DuMond Grain to include corn grinding to produce cornmeal as a new commodity for the business. Most recently, DuMond Ag created a cover crop seed dealership and invested in a row crop farming operation.
One of the most difficult challenges DuMond Ag faces is climate change. As a result, Todd uses a variety of conservation methods that emphasize the relationship between increased weather volatility and the use of precision agriculture.
The use of cover crops and spatial soil analysis helps to protect and enrich the soil by increasing soil water absorption during heavy rains, reducing surface water runoff and possible erosion. Todd also uses reduced tillage and narrow-row planting, as well as subsurface drainage systems, catch basins, stand pipes and conservation strips to protect soil and water resources.
His precision agriculture efforts include precise nutrient application placement. And, when preparing the fields each year, DuMond Ag uses tramlines – the routes that tractors and trucks use to drive in and out of the field are the same year after year, limiting field soil compaction to those tracks.
Todd has served on the New York State Corn and Soybean Growers Association Board for about 10 years. He is also nearing the end of his nine-year term as New York’s representative to the American Soybean Association.
He has built relationships with local agricultural colleges, coordinating tours and talks, and for three years has hosted the Summer Crop Tour, an education day for production agriculture.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Ag Society Forum: Farmers Must Learn to Deal With Changing Climate
From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:
By DEBRA J. GROOM
SALINA — Oh, the weather it is a changin.’
And oh, how the farmers have to change their operations to deal with it.
Climate change and how it affects agriculture in New York state was the focus of the 184th forum of the New York State Agricultural Society held Jan. 7 at the Holiday Inn in suburban Syracuse.
The day-long forum included talks by a meteorologist and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, a panel discussion by New York farmers on how they deal with changes in the weather and a talk by the administrator of the federal Farm Service Agency.
All agreed weather patterns in New York have changed.
Art DeGaetano, a meteorologist, a professor in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, said data shows “through time, something has changed.”
From about 1980 through today, temperatures on average have been much warmer than normal in the winter.
He said data shows there have been fewer times when the temperatures dropped below zero, summer temperatures are warmer than normal, there are more frost-free seasons and, while annual average amounts of precipitation have stayed about the same (41 inches), there have been more extremes of when areas see two inches or more of rain in a day.
“We’re still seeing 41 inches of rain, but it’s coming in 10 days instead of in a longer period of time.
It’s clearly a different impact,” DeGaetano said.
So what can farmers do to deal with changes in the weather?
Peter Martens, a grain and crop farmer in Dresden, Yates County, and Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel, an organic vegetable farmer in Madison in Madison County, both do much more irrigation and drainage work on their farms than in the past. Irrigation deals with times when there isn’t enough rain, and drainage helps the farms get rid of water from those extreme deluges.
Martens also increased his strip cropping from zero in 2000 to 70 percent of his crops now being grown this way. This helps alleviate the erosion of soil by creating natural dams for water when it rains.
Martens also has had to rethink the type of crops he is growing now that the weather is different. Instead of planting windbreaks that simply act as windbreaks, he is considering planting fruit or nut trees that can act as windbreaks and can be sold “to turn a profit.”
He also is working with nearby dairy farmers by taking some of the crops he grew as weather buffers (straw and beans) and sells them to the dairies for feed.
“When the weather takes away an opportunity, reach out to a neighbor for another opportunity,” he said.
Burkhart-Spiegel said the very first year she and her husband operated Common Thread Community Farm and CSA in 2013, it rained so much in June they thought they’d never get their crops in.
“Six weeks of rain when we’re trying to get our crops in and cultivated,” she said.
So they also put in drainage. Irrigation is used when the rain gods take a vacation.
They use raised beds for some of the vegetables and put in hoop houses and temporary caterpillar houses for raising items like tomatoes.
“I remember when we could plant all our tomatoes outside and get all the tomatoes we needed,” she said. “Now we don’t plant any tomatoes outside.”
The weather changes also have led to more pests, so Burkhart-Spiegel has turned to organic pesticides, uses row covers and even black plastic and landscape fabric when growing some vegetables.
Val Dolcini, the Farm Service Agency administrator, manages offices in “every rural county in the United States in serving America’s farmers and ranchers, providing them with credit, farm and conservation programs and disaster assistance.”
He admits the ever-changing climate makes his job challenging, as more and more farmers and ranchers throughout the United States need federal assistance when weather disasters hit.
“Whether it’s a goliath blizzard like what hit recently in New Mexico, to El Nino to wildfires, we will respond,” he said of FSA.
He said sometimes that means going back to Congress for more money if there have been so many disasters that the agency’s disaster money is depleted.
“In our industry, opportunity is often created out of efforts to overcome new challenges and farmers and ranchers have a proven track record of harnessing ingenuity, know-how and determination to not just survive, but thrive in an ever-changing environment,” Dolcini told the more than 500 people attending the forum.
“That’s why today’s focus on Climate Smart Farming is so timely. As you know, there are many things we can control in life, but there are at least two things that are unpredictable: the markets and the weather. Sudden changes in either can have a major impact on our food supply,” he said.
“And while these forces may be at least somewhat out of our control, it’s how we adapt to them that will determine our success, Dolcini said.
“It goes without saying that the threat of climate change is far too important of an issue to be swept up in the partisan political climate that exists in Washington, DC,” he said.
Dolcini said people in agriculture not only have to figure out ways to avoid climate disasters in the future, but also how to learn from what is happening today to help change farm and ranch operations to increase profitability.
If you like what you read from the magazine, you can subscribe to it by sending $50 for one year or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
By DEBRA J. GROOM
SALINA — Oh, the weather it is a changin.’
And oh, how the farmers have to change their operations to deal with it.
Climate change and how it affects agriculture in New York state was the focus of the 184th forum of the New York State Agricultural Society held Jan. 7 at the Holiday Inn in suburban Syracuse.
The day-long forum included talks by a meteorologist and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, a panel discussion by New York farmers on how they deal with changes in the weather and a talk by the administrator of the federal Farm Service Agency.
All agreed weather patterns in New York have changed.
Art DeGaetano, a meteorologist, a professor in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, said data shows “through time, something has changed.”
From about 1980 through today, temperatures on average have been much warmer than normal in the winter.
He said data shows there have been fewer times when the temperatures dropped below zero, summer temperatures are warmer than normal, there are more frost-free seasons and, while annual average amounts of precipitation have stayed about the same (41 inches), there have been more extremes of when areas see two inches or more of rain in a day.
“We’re still seeing 41 inches of rain, but it’s coming in 10 days instead of in a longer period of time.
It’s clearly a different impact,” DeGaetano said.
So what can farmers do to deal with changes in the weather?
Peter Martens, a grain and crop farmer in Dresden, Yates County, and Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel, an organic vegetable farmer in Madison in Madison County, both do much more irrigation and drainage work on their farms than in the past. Irrigation deals with times when there isn’t enough rain, and drainage helps the farms get rid of water from those extreme deluges.
Martens also increased his strip cropping from zero in 2000 to 70 percent of his crops now being grown this way. This helps alleviate the erosion of soil by creating natural dams for water when it rains.
Martens also has had to rethink the type of crops he is growing now that the weather is different. Instead of planting windbreaks that simply act as windbreaks, he is considering planting fruit or nut trees that can act as windbreaks and can be sold “to turn a profit.”
He also is working with nearby dairy farmers by taking some of the crops he grew as weather buffers (straw and beans) and sells them to the dairies for feed.
“When the weather takes away an opportunity, reach out to a neighbor for another opportunity,” he said.
Burkhart-Spiegel said the very first year she and her husband operated Common Thread Community Farm and CSA in 2013, it rained so much in June they thought they’d never get their crops in.
“Six weeks of rain when we’re trying to get our crops in and cultivated,” she said.
So they also put in drainage. Irrigation is used when the rain gods take a vacation.
They use raised beds for some of the vegetables and put in hoop houses and temporary caterpillar houses for raising items like tomatoes.
“I remember when we could plant all our tomatoes outside and get all the tomatoes we needed,” she said. “Now we don’t plant any tomatoes outside.”
The weather changes also have led to more pests, so Burkhart-Spiegel has turned to organic pesticides, uses row covers and even black plastic and landscape fabric when growing some vegetables.
Val Dolcini, the Farm Service Agency administrator, manages offices in “every rural county in the United States in serving America’s farmers and ranchers, providing them with credit, farm and conservation programs and disaster assistance.”
He admits the ever-changing climate makes his job challenging, as more and more farmers and ranchers throughout the United States need federal assistance when weather disasters hit.
“Whether it’s a goliath blizzard like what hit recently in New Mexico, to El Nino to wildfires, we will respond,” he said of FSA.
He said sometimes that means going back to Congress for more money if there have been so many disasters that the agency’s disaster money is depleted.
“In our industry, opportunity is often created out of efforts to overcome new challenges and farmers and ranchers have a proven track record of harnessing ingenuity, know-how and determination to not just survive, but thrive in an ever-changing environment,” Dolcini told the more than 500 people attending the forum.
“That’s why today’s focus on Climate Smart Farming is so timely. As you know, there are many things we can control in life, but there are at least two things that are unpredictable: the markets and the weather. Sudden changes in either can have a major impact on our food supply,” he said.
“And while these forces may be at least somewhat out of our control, it’s how we adapt to them that will determine our success, Dolcini said.
“It goes without saying that the threat of climate change is far too important of an issue to be swept up in the partisan political climate that exists in Washington, DC,” he said.
Dolcini said people in agriculture not only have to figure out ways to avoid climate disasters in the future, but also how to learn from what is happening today to help change farm and ranch operations to increase profitability.
If you like what you read from the magazine, you can subscribe to it by sending $50 for one year or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
Saturday, August 22, 2015
New York State Fair Opens Next Week
Twelve days of animals, rides, music, fun, education and of course, food, at the Aug. 27 to Sept. 7 event in Geddes, just outside of Syracuse.
 |
| 2014 State Fair butter sculpture |
Fair-goers often ask questions of farmers and other producers who show animals or items they grow at the New York State Fair — the first such event ever held in the United States, in 1841.
This year’s fair will offer several new agricultural exhibits for fair-goers and even farmers and producers to check out:
** Equine Avenue exhibit: an interactive demonstration that allows patrons to interact directly with horses, their owners, vets and nutritionists. In a tent outside the Toyota Coliseum.
** Canning demos in the demonstration kitchen. On Aug. 27 and 28, this will feature demonstrations on the best way to can homegrown or locally grown food.
** Sweet potatoes offered in the potato booth for $1. That's in the Horticulture Building.
 |
| 2014 State Fair Dairy Day Celebrity Milkshake Contest |
** New stalls and renovation in the DVM Barn. Dave Bullard, assistant public information officer for the fair, said these improvements will make working in the barn much easier and more pleasant for exhibitors.
** Vegan delight. The first all-vegan/vegeterian food vendor will be in the International Building. Syracuse’s Strong Hearts Café will serve 100 percent vegan fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner and will offer its menu of more than 40 popular milkshakes from its restaurant on East Genesee Street in Syracuse and its satellite location on the Syracuse University hill.
** Gladiola competition. Anyone at the fair at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 can join the new gladiola competition in the Horticulture Building. Fairgoers can try to make a gladiola bouquet arrangement in 10 minutes and then the audience will vote on their favorites.
** War Dog Memorial. The unveiling of the new memorial honoring canines who have served in the military will be at 11 a.m. Sept. 3. The event will include a wreath laying by members of the military, assisted by Gold Star mothers, as well as brief memorial speeches from dignitaries. The memorial is at the Veterans Memorial in front of the
 |
| 2014 State Fair maple winners |
** There will be no poultry exhibits due to concerns about the Avian bird flu. The flu has not been found in New York state, and state Agriculture and Markets officials want to keep it that way, so they canceled all poultry exhibits and competitions at county fairs and the state fair this year.
** The piglets and sows will be back this year in the Swine Building. They were absent last year because of a problem nationally with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.
The most exciting of these new exhibits is the Equine Avenue. Waffner said there were comments in the past from fair-goers who were dismayed at not being able to get closer to all the horses for the International Horse Show.
 |
| Sheep at the 2014 State Fair |
Another big change at the fair this year: the poultry building won’t contain any poultry.
The state fair and all county fairs in New York state canceled all bird shows and exhibits this year because of concerns about the Avian flu.
None of the flu strain has been found in New York state, but the state Department of Agriculture and Markets wants to ensure that poultry in the state remain flu-free.
This also means the popular daily rooster crowing contest will not be held. The poultry building instead will house rabbits and cavies. The state fair is replacing the rooster contest with a rabbit-hopping demonstration on seven days.
There will be a special demonstration on Sept. 1 of combing and cutting fur from angora rabbits and spinning the fur into yarn to make hats and mittens.
The New York State Fair has operated since Sept. 29 and 30, 1841, except for 1942 through 1947, when the fairgrounds were used as a military base during World War II.
With state money given for the promotion of county fairs in 1841, the New York State Agricultural Society created the state fair, and more than 10,000 people attended that first year.
The fair moved around after that — to Albany, then to Rochester and other New York cities. But in 1890, Syracuse was chosen as the permanent site of the event.
This story originally ran in Empire Farm & Dairy magazine. If you're interested in more stories like this, subscribe to the magazine by sending $50 for a one-year subscription or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
Friday, August 7, 2015
New Award Honors "Next Generation" Farmers; Deadline to Apply is Sept. 15
From the New York State Agricultural Society:
The New York State Agricultural Society is beginning a new
award to recognize the next generation of New York farmers.
The “Next Generation “Farmer award will be presented for the first time at
the next New York Agricultural Society forum in January.
The award recognizes young new farmers, retirees starting a second career or the next generation on an existing farm who has taken operations to the next level.
The award recognizes young new farmers, retirees starting a second career or the next generation on an existing farm who has taken operations to the next level.
To be considered, the next generation farmer, farm couple or
farm partners must:
·
** Have owned or operated a farm for no less than 5 years, and no more than 15 years in New York State;
** Have owned or operated a farm for no less than 5 years, and no more than 15 years in New York State;
·
** Generate at least 50 percent of their gross income from production agriculture;
** Generate at least 50 percent of their gross income from production agriculture;
·
** Have started a new farm, or be the primary next-generation operator(s) on an existing farm that has successfully transitioned from one generation to the next – whether or not within the same family;
** Have started a new farm, or be the primary next-generation operator(s) on an existing farm that has successfully transitioned from one generation to the next – whether or not within the same family;
·
** Be an individual, couple, partners in the farm business.
** Be an individual, couple, partners in the farm business.
Applications for this award must be received by Sept. 15.
The application is available at www.nysagsociety.org
or by contacting Penny Heritage at penny@nysagsociety.org
or 518-384-1715.
The new award is sponsored by USDA Farm Service Agency and
The Voss Group.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Deadline Feb. 16 for Ag Society Foundation Grants
News from the New York State Agricultural Society:
The New York State
Agricultural Society Foundation will be awarding a total of $10,000 in
grants this spring to organizations across the state with a focus on
“Building the Agriculture Intellect of Youth.”
The Foundation will
consider programs targeting youth – junior high age and older – that
improve awareness of how agriculture works.
Founded
in 2011, the organization is leveraging charitable contributions and
partnership opportunities to support agricultural education, leadership
development and industry recognition; the mission of the NYS
Agricultural Society.
“We want to continue to be a vehicle for action,”
said Ann Noble Shephard, foundation chair. “Our goal is to plant
seeds of influence today to help positively change the playing field for
agriculture in the future. Partnering with non-profits in local
communities to help spread the message is a tool that can be very
effective.”
The
new Foundation funded its first round of grants in 2014 — six grants,
totaling $10,000 reached 266,000 people.
Applications for 2015 are due Feb. 16. Details at: http://www.nysagsociety.org/
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Ag Society Honors Farmers, Journalists, Ag Businesses, FFA
The 182nd annual meeting of the New York State Agricultural Society was held Thursday in Salina.
The theme of the event was the future of agriculture and young people going in to farming.
In addition, a number of businesses, farms, organizations and people were honored at the event.
Here is a list of honorees:
Business of the Year: Red Jacket Orchards, Ontario County. In 1958, Joe and Emily Nicholson – owners of Nicholson’s Poultry Farm in Bethpage, NY – were forced to move their establishment to make way for an expressway. They then purchased Red Jacket Fruit Farms, on land well known for its fruit production. They set up an improvised one-windowed shed to display their cornucopia of harvested fruits to passersby. They offered grapes, pears, raspberries, strawberries, and, of course, apples. This became the site of the original Red Jacket roadside stand.
Today, at peak season today, Red Jacket Orchards sells at over 25 markets per week, operating out of a warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Today, much of Red Jacket Orchard’s connection to the world’s greatest food market is based on their Greenmarket operation. Fueled by their customers’ passion and the growth of market operations, Red Jacket Orchards demonstrates the innovation and leadership worthy of NYS Ag Society Business of the Year.
Business of the Year: Farm Credit East. Farm Credit East is a customer-owned lender and financial services leader committed to serving people involved in the business of agriculture, including farmers, nursery and greenhouse operators, forest products businesses, fishermen, lobstermen, part-time growers, agribusinesses and country home owners. Farm Credit East is part of the national Farm Credit System, which was founded in 1916 to promote the growth and prosperity of agriculture throughout the United States.
Cap Creal Journalism Awards:
Printed News Story, Karen Miltner, Democrat and Chronicle, “A Lot Of Green”
Printed Feature Story, Karen Bjournland, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady), “Weaving A Spell: Fiber Tour”
Printed Series, Paul Post, The Saratogian, “Changing Face of Agriculture”
Printed Editorial, David Dudajek, Observer-Dispatch (Utica), “We Must Save The Family Farm”
Audio/Video for the Internet, Karen Miltner, Democrat and Chronicle, “Organic Farming Conference Focuses On Resilience”
Audio/Video News Feature, David Sommerstein, North Country Public Radio, “North Country Wines Survive The Cold, Please The Palate”
Blog/On-Line Feature, David Sommerstein, Julie Grant, North Country Public Radio, “The Dirt – Farm and Food Blog”
Howard Owens, The Batavian, “Genesee County Farms”
Photograph, Julie Lewis, The Daily Star, “Pushing In”
Ag Promotion Award: Isabel Prescott, Riverview Orchards, Rexford, near Clifton Park in Saratoga County.
Ag Promotion Award: Farm 2 Table Program, Erie County Agricultural Society
FFA Chapter of the Year: Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, Oneida County
Century Farm: Robb Farms, Spencerport, Monroe County, established on April 1, 1912 by George Robb, Sr.
Century Farm: Stocks Windy Acres, Owego, Tioga County, established Jan. 2, 1913 by Joseph Guy Stocks II
Distinguished Service Citation: Bob Lewis, of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets
Friday, November 29, 2013
Annual Meeting of the New York Agricultural Society set for Jan. 9
The 182nd annual meeting of the New
York State Agricultural Society is scheduled for Jan. 9 at the Holiday Inn in Salina.
The topic of this year's day-long forum is "Next Generation of Agriculturists." “We will hear from a national expert on leadership and farm
business management, and from a panel of young farmers and agribusiness
persons, sharing perspectives on their future in New York agriculture,” said Penny Heritage, public coordinator for the society.
This meeting is one of the largest
agricultural meetings in the state, bringing together all sectors of the
food system to explore topics critical to the future of New York
agriculture. More than 400 participants are expected to attend.
The meeting is open to the public. Early registration is strongly
encouraged, and discount applies for registrations received before
Dec. 20.
For complete meeting details, go to http://www.nysagsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2014-invitation.pdf
Friday, August 16, 2013
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