Lowville Cheese Cow Keeping Safe from Coronavirus

Lady LeWinDa Milkzalot, the mascot of the Lowville Cheese Store, is keeping her distance and trying to remain healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Cheddar Cheese Festivals Comes to Adams

In the event you missed it, the Cheddar Cheese Festival in Adams was this past weekend.

Check out this report http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/celebrating-cheddar-cheese-in-adams-20180708 on the event and take in all the photographs.

Agri-Mark Calls for Wholesale Price Flood for Dairy Goods

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/agri-mark-calls-for-wholesale-price-floor-for-dairy-goods--20180630 to see the story.

Cow Tail Docking -- Yea or Nay?

Read this story on the issue at http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news04/a-cows-tale-banning-of-cow-docking-draws-mixed-opinions-20180701

Goat Milking Parlor and Cheese Making Room Near Completion

Check out this story http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news05/goat-milking-parlor-and-cheese-making-room-nearing-completion-at-st-lawrence-countys-cooperative-extension-farm-20180608 from the Watertown Daily Times.

Happy Dairy Month From Dairy State Number 3!!

There we are folks, at number 3.

Happy Dairy Month.

To see where your state falls, check out the USDA statistics at http://bit.ly/2L6n6kj

NYS Budget Includes $54.4 M for Agriculture

From state Sen. Patty Ritchie:

For a fourth straight year, the New York state budget includes record funding for agriculture. 

Ritchie

Included in the spending plan is $54.4 million for New York’s leading industry, nearly $20 million of which is the addition of funding or the restoration of cuts made in the Executive Budget and Assembly proposals.

“New York’s hardworking farmers have very difficult, demanding jobs,” Ritchie said. “Through this critical funding, we are demonstrating that we support their efforts to grow and produce the fresh foods we depend on, and that we recognize how important they are to the success of New York’s leading industry."

"I am excited to see how the new state budget further strengthens New York agriculture today — and in the future,” she said.

The 2018-2019 budget includes funding for many innovative programs, including a second round of the “Seeds of Success” program, which helps schools create or expand an agricultural curriculum to encourage students to consider careers in agriculture. 

It also funds — for a fifth year — the “Beginning Farmers” grant program that assists new farms with grants of up to $50,000 to help with the purchase of land, buildings, tools and other farming necessities.

Other highlights of the 2017-2018 state budget include:

·       **  Increased funding to further boost New York State’s Craft

Brewing Industry, including Cornell University’s Hops and Barley, Born, Bred and Brewed Program, the New York Brewers, the New York State Distillers Guild, the New York State Hard Cider Association and Cornell University’s Hard Cider Research program;

    **  Funding for a new farm-to-school program, building on efforts to grow markets for local farmers by increasing the amount of locally produced foods in school lunches;

·        ** The restoration of funding for programs that are critical to helping dairy farms with education, research, marketing, profitability and sustainability, including FarmNet, which works with family farms on business analysis, farming with family, retirement planning and personal well-being. 

      In addition funding has been awarded to a number of Cornell University-based programs such as its Diagnostic Lab, its Quality Milk and Cattle Health Assurance programs, and new funding has been created for Cornell’s Salmonella Dublin program to help farmers diagnose and contain the deadly disease, which impacts dairy herds. 

      Funding has also been restored to programs such as Northern New York Ag Development, PRO-DAIRY and the Farm Viability Dairy Profit teams, which work with farms to develop profitability and sustainability strategies;

·       **  Increased funding for Cornell’s honeybee program;

·       ** Increased and/or restored funding for New York State producers including the Wine and Grape Foundation, the Apple Growers Association, Maple Producers, berry growers, Christmas tree growers and more;

· 

     **  The restoration of funding for vital programs designed to support agriculture education;

·        ** Restored funding for Tractor Rollover Protection Program, which helps equip tractors with an important piece of safety equipment that helps reduce the risk of injury in the event of a tractor overturn; and

·         ** The restoration of funding to continue fighting diseases such as EEE and rabies.

Since becoming chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee in 2011,  Ritchie has been successful in efforts to secure more than $79 million in restored budget cuts and new funding to help the more than 35,000 farms across New York state.

New York Farm Show on Now Through Saturday at State Fairgrounds

The New York Farm Show in Syracuse is open Feb. 22-24 at the state Fairgrounds.

Inside six huge heated buildings, attendees will more more than 400 commercial agriculture exhibitors, the latest technology in tractors, planters, sprayers and other precision-ag tools, dairy robotic milking systems, beef production information, handing equipment and market info, along with seed and crop protection products, farm supplies and services, woodlot and related industry supplies.

Show times are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and admission is $5 at the door. Those under age 18 are free.

New York Farm Show is co-sponsored by the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association and American Agriculturist magazine.

For more information on the show, go to https://www.newyorkfarmshow.com/en/home.html this link.

Hailey Pipher of Chemung County Named New York State Dairy Princess for 2018-19

From left, first alternate Alexis Payne of Lewis County, State Dairy Princess Hailey Pipher of Chemung County and second alternate Zoie Skinner of Onondaga County.

Hailey Pipher of Chemung County was chosen as the new New York State Dairy Princess after two days of competition at the Holiday Inn, Salina.

Chosen first alternate was Alexis Payne from Lewis County and second alternate is Zoie Skinner from Onondaga County.

As state princess, Pipher receives a $1,200 scholarship and will represent the American Dairy Association North East at county dairy princess pageants, farm meetings and a variety of special events, which includes training new county princesses at a summer seminar.

Payne and Skinner receive a $700 scholarship and $600 scholarship, respectively. Both will assist the State Dairy Princess with training, appearances and other duties.


The New York State Dairy Princess contest concluded Tuesday with the crowning after a two days of judging at the Holiday Inn in Salina, north of Syracuse. 

A total of 16 girls who had already won their county dairy princess contests participated in the state pageant. They had to take tests to judge their dairy knowledge and writing skills, go through intensive interviews with the three judges, give both impromptu and prepared speeches and also were judged on their informal interaction with others.

Judges evaluate contestants on communication skills, knowledge of the dairy industry, poise and personality. 

Pipher will serve as New York State Dairy Princess for one year and will promote dairy farmers and dairy products throughout the state in schools, industries, companies and at special events.

The big event for the dairy princess each year is the New York State Fair in Geddes, west of Syracuse. She and other county dairy princesses man the dairy princess booth inside the Dairy Products building and make special appearances throughout Dairy Day at the fair.

The new princess takes over for Sarah Rohe of Onondaga County, who was New York State Dairy Princess for 2017-18.

Pageant judges were: Judi Dixon, International Sales, Dot Foods; Davis Chlus, Morgan Stanley, Senior Vice President; and Holly Pullis, Hollywood Enterprises & Roedale Farm.
 
Other award winners were (in no particular order):

Written communications -- Connie Frasier, Herkimer County; Hailey Pipher, Chemung County; Natalie Vernon, Wayne County.

Speech winners -- Alexis Payne, Lewis County; Hailey Pipher, Chemung County; and Natalie Vernon, Wayne County.

Product knowledge winners -- Kathryn Bosley, Franklin County; Hailey Pipher, Chemung County; Zoie Skinner, Onondaga County.

Miss Congeniality -- Megan Wilmot, Otsego County

Finalists for state dairy princess -- Sonya Helms, Cortland County; Elizabeth Maslyn, Ontario County; Alexis Payne, Lewis County; Hailey Pipher, Chemung County; Zoie Skinner, Onondaga County; Natalie Vernon, Wayne County; and Abigail Wratten, Oneida County.

American Dairy Association North East is the local affiliate of the National Dairy Council® and the regional consolidation of three promotion organizations including the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc., Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program. 

Committed to nutrition education and research-based communications, the association provides science-based nutrition information to, and in collaboration with, a variety of stakeholders committed to fostering a healthier nation, including health professionals, educators, school nutrition directors, academia, industry, consumers and media. 

    

Ritchie Releases New York State Agriculture Report

From state Sen. Patricia Ritchie's office:

The 2017 Annual Report of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released by the committee’s chair state Senator Patty Ritchie, highlights record funding for agriculture, new programs to secure the future of family farming and new funding to promote New York’s booming, farm-based craft beverage industry.

“In every corner of New York state, agriculture is helping to boost local economies, create jobs and of course, feed hungry consumers,” Ritchie said. 

To ensure that agriculture remains as our state’s leading industry, we need to support the efforts of our hardworking farmers. In 2017, that’s just what the Senate Agriculture Committee did, and I’m pleased to share the results of our efforts through our Annual Report,” she said.

In 2017, the committee helped to secure — for the third year in a row — record budget funding for agriculture totaling $51 million, reversing $10 million in cuts that were proposed in the governor’s Executive Budget.

As chair of the ag committee, Ritchie in 2017 also continued her tradition of welcoming agriculture leaders to public committee meetings in an effort to highlight agricultural trends, challenges and opportunities confronting the industry, as well as to raise awareness of the importance of farming to New York’s future. 

Individuals and groups welcomed to the meetings included FFA members, Cornell University, the American Farmland Trust, NY FarmNet and others.

Other highlights of the report include the following:

**   A new law, backed by the committee, that created a “New York State Young Farmers Advisory Board” to identify challenges to meeting a goal of attracting 100,000 beginning farmers nationally — including tens of thousands in New York — over the next decade to secure the future of family farming;

**  Support for “F.A.R.M.” camp, a new, Cornell-sponsored, regional training program to provide assistance to new and existing farmers, with a special emphasis on veterans in the North Country;

**  Funding for a fourth round of “New Farmer Grant Fund” grants providing financial help to farmers who have been in business for less than 10 years and who are looking to purchase land, buildings or supplies;

**  New funding to help promote New York’s growing, farm-based craft beverage industry, including brewers, distillers and cideries;

** Funding for FFA programs that provide students with opportunities to learn about agriculture and develop leadership skills;

** New funding to establish a “Farm-to-Table Trail,” which will help consumers more easily locate local food and drink and help boost the bottom line of farmers;

**  Funding to prevent the spread of diseases such as wildlife rabies and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE); and

**  Renewed funding for student loan forgiveness for beginning farmers.

In addition, at the close of 2017, the Agriculture Committee hosted a public hearing at the capital to solicit ideas from farmers and industry representatives on additional ways to help New York agriculture succeed. 

More than 18 farmers and their representatives — covering a broad expanse of agriculture products, regions and interests — offered testimony on challenges and opportunities for the future of agriculture.  

Information from the hearing will be used to form future actions and potential legislation affecting New York’s agriculture community.

A copy of the full report can be viewed by visiting Ritchie’s website at https://www.ritchie.nysenate.gov this link. Those interested in having a copy mailed to them can call (315) 782-3418.

Dairy Cooperative Sends Out Letters With Suicide Lifeline Info

A Northeast dairy cooperative used by many New York farmers has sent out letters and contacts about suicide prevention.

See the story at http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/dairy-cooperative-sends-out-letter-with-suicide-lifeline-and-other-contacts-20180212 this link.

Happy National Milk Day!!

It's National Milk Day!!

According to the National Day Calendar, National Milk Day commemorates the day that many think the first milk deliveries in glass bottles began in the United States.  

Alexander Campbell of the New York Dairy Co. professed to the New York State Senate that his company was the first to make these deliveries in 1878. 

Here is some milk trivia that you can share with your family and friends:
** Milk is a good source of calcium and many vitamins

Thatcher

** The first milk bottle was developed by a pharmacist from Potsdam, NY, Hervey Thatcher.

** The dairy industry is the largest part of New York's agriculture industry.

** Milk can come from other animals too, such as goats, sheep, reindeer, yaks and buffalo

**  The International Association of Milk Inspectors submitted a request to Congress in October of 1915 for a resolution naming an observance of National Milk Day.

So celebrate National Milk Day by having a big glass of milk or some other dairy product!!

New York Farm Bureau Presents Awards at Annual Meeting

New York Farm Bureau presented a number of awards at its recent annual meeting in Albany.


New York Farm Bureau handed out the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award to two worthy individuals whose leadership has made a positive impact on New York Farm Bureau and agriculture in this state. 

Trezise

The awardees were Jim Trezise, retired president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation and member of Yates County Farm Bureau, and Joe Giroux of Plattsburgh, a dairy farmer, member of Clinton County Farm Bureau and former New York Farm Bureau State Director.

New York Farm Bureau announced that two members received the James Quinn Award that recognizes extraordinary efforts by individual Farm Bureau members during the course of a given year “to serve and strengthen agriculture.” 

The honorees are Jay Douglas from Franklin County Farm Bureau for his leadership and tireless work signing up 50 new members and Christina Hudson of Onondaga County Farm Bureau for her creative promotion and education efforts in her county.

The New York State Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets, Richard Ball, joined more than 300 members at the event. Senator Pamela Helming and Assembly Members Bill Magee and Carrie Woerner also attended along with Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Markets Pat Hooker.

In addition, delegates re-elected district representatives to the State Board of Directors. Those elected are Richard Kimball of Chautauqua County in District 1, John Sorbello of Wayne County in District 3, Paul Fouts of Cortland County in District 5, Tony LaPierre of Clinton County in District 7, Darin Hickling of Otsego County in District 9 and Robert Nolan of Long Island in District 11. 

Kristen Brown of Orange County was also re-elected as the Young Farmers and Ranchers Chair on the State Board and Phyllis Couture of Cattaraugus County was re-elected as the Promotion and Education Chairperson on the State Board.

The State Annual Meeting also serves as an important fundraising opportunity for the New York Farm Bureau Foundation for Agricultural Education. This year, through both a silent and a live auction, members raised nearly $10,000 to support the Foundation’s efforts to inform and educate all New Yorkers regarding agriculture and to increase understanding of agriculture between the farm and non-farm public.

This concluded the annual two-day long meeting where public policy resolutions were discussed and voted on to set NYFB’s 2018 public policy agenda.

Man Dies From Injuries Suffered in Accident at Marks Farm

Sad story out of Lowville and more proof that farming is dangerous.

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news04/marks-farms-worker-dies-from-injuries-suffered-in-farm-accident-20171120 to check it out.

Agriculture Secretary Visits New York State

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/ag-chief-hears-about-regional-farm-challenges-20171115 to check out the story.

Marketing Officials Scramble to Reassure Farmers in Wake of Termination Notices from DFA

An interesting story from the Watertown Daily Times.

Check it out at http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/marketing-officials-scramble-to-reassure-farmers-in-the-wake-of-termination-notices-20170928

Dairy Farmers Persevering During Adverse Industry Trends; Look for Silver Lining

From EMPIRE FARM & Dairy magazine

By MARCUS WOLF
MWOLF@WDT.NET
 
Dairy farmers like Amy Beyer want industry conditions to improve after years of working to produce more milk to keep up with bills — to compensate for earning less for each pound of milk her cows produce.
 
Beyer, who with her husband, Ernest, owns Glory Days Farm in Lowville, said despite working harder than ever, they have only earned enough to cover their costs and support their family. There is no revenue to put into upgrades, new equipment or other improvements to their operation.
 
“Your head is down and you just stay focused,” she said. “There’s not a lot of time to look up and say, ‘Boy, this is a wonderful life.’”
 
Trying to preserve their operations despite receiving a lower price for their milk and dealing with consistent, if not rising, costs, difficulties securing labor and losing crops during harsh weather conditions have drained many farmers of their energy and morale.
 
“Believe me, there’s days where you start to think if it’s all worth it,” said Ronald Robbins, who owns North Harbor Dairy in Hounsfield, Jefferson County.
 
More than two years of low earnings have pushed Robbins to farm while predominantly breaking even or losing money. Despite adverse conditions, he said dairy farming is in his DNA.
 
“It’s been good to (my) family,” he said.
 
Beyer said farming is still the best way to raise her five children because it teaches them the values of hard work that translate to the farm, school and sports.
 
At the same time, Beyer said, she and her husband have discouraged their oldest son, William, from taking over the family farm or starting his own because they want him to avoid the financial stress and earn enough money to raise a family and retire someday.
 
William Beyer, 18, will begin his first term at St. Lawrence University this fall. He has in the past expressed a desire to become a farmer.
 
“We don’t want to encourage that, and we are certainly not setting him up for it,” she said.
 
Some experts, however, predict slightly higher prices and improved market productions in 2017, providing a few farmers with optimistic outlooks.
 
“It’s got to get better at some point,” said Lyle Wood, who owns H Wood Farms in Cape Vincent with Scott Bourcy.
 
THE RISE AND FALL
 
Prices paid to farmers for their milk in the Northeast peaked in 2014, a peak that broke a record high throughout most of the region.
 
The average statistical uniform price, or blend price, paid to farmers who had their milk shipped to handlers in the Northeast Market Area, which covers most of the Northeast, reported at 3.5 percent butterfat content, was $24.28 per hundredweight, according to the Market Administrator’s Annual Statistical Bulletin for 2014.
 
That price was reportedly the highest average price for Northeast farmers since the order’s inception and was $4.03, or 20 percent, more than the 2013 average.
 
Bruce Krupke, executive vice president of the Northeast Dairy Association Inc., said producers and processors in 2011 and 2012 began to reach out to the world marketplace, creating a spike in exports to countries including China, Mexico and Canada.
 
U.S. dairy producers previously exported 1 to 3 percent of dairy products, but exports increased to about 16 percent.
 
“We were finding a new place to sell our products — a whole new consumer to sell to,” Krupke said. “It kind of created a new opportunity and industry for us.”
 
At the same time, demand for dairy products at home continued to increase, an increase Krupke, who also is chairman of the Empire State Council of Agricultural Organizations, said continues to this day. He also said an economy improving from the 2008 recession and a resurgence in processing plants also helped bring prices to record highs.
 
Robbins said he remembers state officials’ ambitions to boost yogurt production at the Yogurt and Dairy Summit in 2014, when New York state was the leading yogurt producer in the country.
 
“We were going to be the yogurt capital of the world,” Robbins said of the state’s goals at the time, but “the yogurt boom never materialized.”
 
The price paid to farmers in the Northeast for their milk dropped dramatically in late 2014 and early 2015 and continued, for the most part, to decline into 2017.
 
The average blend price at 3.5 percent butterfat in the Northeast Marketing Area dropped in 2015 by $7.14 per hundred-weight, from $24.28 in 2014, to $17.14. That price dropped again in 2016 by an additional $1.24, to $15.90.
 
The blend price was up in January this year, but decreased consecutively into April, according to the monthly reports for the marketing area.
 
Andrew Novakovic, a professor of agriculture economics at Cornell University, Ithaca, said the price dairy farmers receive for their milk almost routinely fluctuates in three-year cycles.
 
“We’ve now broken that cycle for the first time. We’re now in three years of really depressed prices,” Robbins said.
 
The decline in international demand when China dropped out of the market played a crucial role in the drop in milk prices, Novakovic said.
 
In addition to China reducing its demand, Robbins said, a few processing plant closures reduced the number of outlets for farmers or the cooperatives that represent them. Chobani opened a processing plant in Idaho and cut its production in New York, Robbins said. The Muller Quaker Dairy plant in Batavia closed in early 2016.
 
“You had a perfect storm of events,” Robbins said.
 
Farmers, however, continued producing enough milk for a demand that no longer existed at the time, pushing the price they received down and flooding the market.
 
The amount of milk handlers in the Northeast received from producers in 2016 reportedly exceeded 27 billion pounds for the first time, according to the Northeast 2016 bulletin. Milk pooled in the marketing area was slightly more than 26 billion pounds in 2015, about 25.8 billion in 2014 and 25.4 billion in 2013, according to each year’s respective report.
 
Robbins said many farmers purchased additional cows and expanded production around 2014 to take advantage of the increasing milk prices. Some, however, have continued buying more cows and increasing production just to keep up with the costs of their operations.
 
State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said state milk production is up 5 percent while exports have declined by 2 to 3 percent.
 
“There’s a whole lot of milk being made and not enough homes to go to for it to be processed,” said John D. Peck, a Jefferson County legislator who owns Peck Homestead Farm in Carthage.
 
Jon Greenwood, owner of a large Potsdam dairy farm, said dairy prices have always been determined by the relationship between supply and demand.
 
Until a few decades ago, milk prices fluctuated based solely on what was happening in a particular region of the country.
 
However, today, local farmers can be impacted by supply and demand changes around the world, according to Greenwood, who is president of the St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau.
 
“We never used to export, but we were up to exporting 18 percent,” he said.
 
Giving an example, he said a lessening demand for U.S. milk products from China and Southeast Asia contributed to the drop in milk prices that started about two years ago.
 
In particular, China was importing a lot of powdered milk used in baby formula.
 
”That market has gone down significantly,” Greenwood said.
 
While international demand dropped, Ronald Kuck, livestock educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, said demand for dairy products per capita has increased since 2015. The problem, Kuck said, still lies with overproduction.
 
“Supply and demand,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
 
Novakovic said cutting production could balance supply and demand, but few, if any, producers would cut down their own production.“No farmer would rationally cut back the number of cows they’re milking,” Peck said. “That’s the main thing we can control to be able to get back more.”
 
KEEPING UP
 
Farmers still need to keep up with their routine expenses despite earning less, and while some farmers’ costs have remained stable, others’ expenses have risen.
 
Robbins said he recently had an in-depth analysis conducted to review his expenses from 2012 to 2017.
 
He said costs including labor, insurance, workers compensation, health insurance, utilities and technical supplies all increased from the five-year-period. At the same time, his cost for feed remained stable and the cost of fuel decreased.
 
“What we found was those cost-of-production increases are centered around a lot of things we don’t have control over,” he said.
 
While Peck said feed and supply expenses have remained relatively stable, he has to pay more for his family’s health insurance.
 
Beyer said many of her costs, including veterinary bills, have climbed in recent years.
 
“We basically are just kind of surviving,” she said.
 
Kuck said farmers typically plan five years in advance, including what upgrades and practices to implement. 

Farms that evolve by investing in more efficient equipment, cow comfort and infrastructure will survive in the industry, Kuck said. The past few years, however, have pushed dairy farmers to adjust those plans, accommodate for decreased cash flow, and prioritize.
 
“They just can’t do as much as they would like to do,” he said.
 
Wood said he wanted to expand his feed storage and build a new garage, but lower revenue in recent years has halted those plans.
 
Earning less revenue also has prevented the Beyer family from upgrading or replacing equipment, Amy Beyer said. The family, instead, has to predominantly repair equipment by themselves and “pray everything holds out.”
 
“You want to be a progressive farmer, but you can’t,” she said. “Your hands are tied.”
 
Reduction in investments on the farm not only hinders dairy operations, but impacts several agribusiness sectors in the industry.
 
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher, who is also a family owner of Mapleview Dairy in Madrid, said farmers having to cut back their spending brings less revenue to agribusinesses such as machinery, milking equipment and feed suppliers.
 
“It affects the whole economy,” he said.
 
Labor expenses have also increased for several dairy farmers, particularly New York farmers who have to compete with other industries as the state minimum wage rises annually. The state minimum wage is set to increase 70 cents every year in areas outside of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties until it reaches $12.50 on Dec. 31, 2020.
 
“Who’s going to want to go milk a cow for eight hours a day when they can go flip a burger and make more?” Peck said.
 
At the same time, farmers nationwide are finding it more challenging to find prospective employees willing to work long hours milking cows and harvesting crops for feed.
 
Robbins argued that farming provides competitive pay rates when compared to other industries, but hours of hard work deter people from applying for farm jobs. A stigma also surrounds farm labor that leads many 
Americans to believe farm work is beneath them, Robbins said.
 
Novakovic also said farm labor allows little room for breaks and vacations.
 
“The work is demanding, and frankly, the work is very dirty,” Novakovic said. “It doesn’t matter how much you get paid.”
 
In response to a lack of interest from American laborers, several farmers hire and rely on migrant workers, a method made difficult under federal regulations.
 
Krupke said all agriculture in New York relies on a work force made up of legal migrant workers and the ability to hire those workers. Congress, he said, must enact new laws that will make it easier for people from other countries to work at U.S. farms.
 
Robbins said lawmakers need to create a workable guest program that meets the needs of the industry while maintaining the interests of national security.
 
“It’s just Washington’s lack of fortitude to make that happen,” Robbins said.
 
Weather in recent years, including drought conditions last year and excess rainfall in several parts of the country this year, have harmed crop quality and yield for many dairy farmers, which can have adverse effects on cows’ nutrition and reduce production.
 
Robbins said a cold summer and fall in 2015 lowered his crop quality, the 2016 drought reduced quality and volume and this year’s excess rainfall has drawn insects that have damaged his crops.
 
Wood said his farm experienced about average weather in 2014 and 2015, but excess heat in 2016 reduced his soybean and hay yield, and excess rainfall this year has inhibited his harvesting plans.
 
Hot and humid weather at Peck Homestead Farm make cows uncomfortable and heat stressed, Peck said, which reduces production. The 2016 drought dried up the grass in Mr. Peck’s pasture early on, but he said 2015 and this year haven’t inhibited his operations.
 
“Weather’s always a challenging thing,” he said. “You have no choice but to take what comes. There’s no point complaining about it.”
 
ADAPTING TO TOUGH TIMES 
Farmers are naturally resilient when facing adversity, Ball said, and they haven’t stood idle during recent challenging years. They have continued to adapt by exploring opportunities such as planting new crops and have advanced their education and marketing abilities.
 
“When adversity comes their way ... they keep going and figure out how to get it done,” he said.
 
In order to at least break even, Robbins said he pre-sells 50 to 60 percent of his milk, meaning he earns revenue at the current price before having it shipped months later. Milk prices fluctuate monthly, and Robbins said pre-selling his milk allows him to take advantage of months with slightly higher prices.
 
Farmers like Robbins are also reviewing their bills and deciding what, if any, expenses they can reduce.
 
When compiling information for the 2016 Northeast Dairy Farm Summary, Farm Credit East staff members found farmers on average earned $15 per cow last year, up from a loss of $30 per cow in 2015, by cutting costs. One example includes a more than $4 decrease in net cost of production from 2014 to $16.79 per hundredweight last year.
 
“We’re tightening our belts and trying to save money wherever we can,” Fisher said. “Try to get by with whatever you got and make do.”
 
Despite trying to reduce costs, Novakovic said farmers have to be careful not to let their attempts to cut costs reduce their herd health and, in turn, production. Farmers who stick with their plans typically avoid a loss of production, Novakovic said, which doesn’t provide them with many options for cost reduction.
 
“Farmers, especially the better ones, develop a plan and stick to it,” he said. “They will continue to do it no matter what happens with these prices … when it’s bad, you just lie down and take a beating and the trick is how resilient you are.”
 
Farmers must expand and diversify their operations during adverse market conditions, Peck said. Peck has implemented technology that allows him to harvest earlier and mix crop silage in ways that increase its nutritional benefits for his cows. He also said he is trying to sell farm-raised beef.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
 
Many farmers and experts believe milk prices will increase slightly this year from 2016, although they will not soon return to the record-breaking prices of three years ago.
 
Average dairy prices are expected to rise by $2 per hundredweight from last year, according to Farm Credit East, bringing more revenue for farmers. Average blend prices for farmers who have their milk shipped to Northeast handlers has increased from $16.39 per hundredweight in April to $17.53 in June. July prices are not yet available.
 
“It’s going to remain a sober year,” Mr. Ball said, “a gradual improvement.”
 
China has returned to the market with a demand for more dairy exports, Novakovic said, and other countries, including Vietnam, are providing additional markets for U.S. dairy products. Robbins also said the U.S. prices for products have become more competitive in the international marketplace.
 
“That’s sort of the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
 
Companies have also expressed plans to open new processing plants, Novakovic said. HP Hood recently purchased the Muller Quaker Dairy plant in Batavia. . Wood also said Dairy Farmers of America are investing in opening new plants.
 
The lack of milk processing plants in the Northeast has contributed to a surplus of milk that also drives down prices, Greenwood said.
 
“We have more milk than we have processors,” he said. “It’s critical that we get some plants built to take this milk supply.”
 
Krupke said dairy pricing should slightly increase so long as the economy, weather and overseas demand remain constant and manageable.
 
“I think they’re going to be constant,” he said. “I think we’re on this slow incline.”
 
Not all farmers, however, are as optimistic about the projected trends.
 
Peck said he believes the price will not increase, but will at least not decline any longer. Beyer said whatever increase in earnings she receives will go straight toward hauling fees.
 
“I almost feel like I’ve lost hope,” she said.
 
Officials at the state and federal levels have implemented programs and policies in an attempt to remediate adverse industry conditions, and their efforts are ongoing.
 
Ball said the state introduced the Climate Resilient Farming Grant program this year to help fund projects that help farmers deal with adverse weather like droughts. 

Ball and his office have also pitched state agriculture products, including dairy, to Canada and Mexico and worked with the state Department of Labor to create more skilled laborers for agriculture by doubling the number of agriculture teachers and increasing aid for agricultural education.
 
U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer, and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, both D-N.Y., are looking to improve conditions for dairy farmers through the 2018 Farm Bill.
 
Sen. Schumer said in a statement that Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmers and processors must work together to help farmers navigate volatile price fluctuations through a comprehensive policy for the upcoming Farm Bill.
 
“Simply put, the dairy price challenge is wreaking havoc across upstate farms, and I am devoting a lot of time and energy preparing for the 2018 Farm Bill, which must include flexible and sufficient support for the 21st century family dairy farmer,” Sen. Schumer said in a statement.
 
Sen. Gillibrand said in a statement that she wants to reform the Margin Protection Program for dairy producers, which was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to provide farmers with financial assistance when the difference between the price of milk and feed costs falls below a farmer’s selected coverage level.
 
She said the program hasn’t helped farmers when the price they are paid for their milk fell below the cost of production, and they should return to a system that uses a “reasonable base price” that adjusts to inflation.
 
“I plan to pressure (USDA) to use all of the tools at their disposal, like refunding premium payments, making useful decision tools, and joining me as I go out and talk to dairy farmers that struggle to make ends,” she said in a statement. “We owe our farmers more than a failed program and must do what we can to make things right.”
 
U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, has also joined others in Congress in a call for reforms to the Margin Protection Program, including premium rate reduction and ensuring farmers have a viable safety net, according to a news release.
 
Tom Flanagin, a spokesman for Stefanik, said in a statement that she also sponsored the Family Farm Relief Act, meant to expand the H-2A agricultural visa program to dairy farmers.
 
With 40 years of dairy farming experience under his belt, Greenwood is confident the milk price situation will eventually stabilize.
 
“Prices are going to go up, it’s just a matter of when and how much,” he said.

Calves Rescued From Flooding in Tioga County

By DEBRA J. GROOM
dgroom@wdt.net

From EMPIRE FARM & DAIRY magazine

The wet weather of this growing season hasn’t been tough only on those with crops in the ground and hay to bale.
 
Some of God’s living creatures also have been put through the wringer with all this rain.
 
At Engelbert Farms in Nichols, Tioga County, the rain from July 24 nearly drowned their 20 calves. The little ones were snug and warm and safe in their calf hutches when the Wappasening Creek began to overflow.
 
“We got a call at 2:15 a.m. that it looked like our calves were drowning,” Lisa Engelbert said via Facebook. “We called our sons, and headed down. When I got down there, my heart sank — I thought we had lost all of the calves in hutches. I shined my spotlight out and saw that they were alive, but some were struggling to keep their heads above water.”
 
Engelbert said while her farm received only about 2.5 inches of rain, upstream the Wappasening Creek watershed saw about 6 inches of rain in a very short period of time.
 
“My son, John arrived and he started unhooking calves and putting them into the back of his truck. I was in the truck trying to keep them towards the front of the truck bed,” Engelbert said. “Kevin hooked up the cattle trailer and we started putting calves in there. Several of the guys who work on the farm arrived soon after, but it took our son, Joe, about 45 minutes to get here because so many roads and bridges were washed out.”
 
“The calves were all rescued and taken to Rob Moore’s organic farm up on the hill. The guys loaded 15 organic piglets as a precaution and took them to Kittle’s organic farm on the hill,” she said. “We lost three calves to pneumonia due to getting water in their lungs, but the rest are doing well. The pigs and calves came back home the next day.”
 
The flash flooding was from the Wappasening Creek and was an isolated rain event, “so we didn’t have flooding issues from the Susquehanna River,” Engelbert said.
 
Farms like Engelbert Farms in this area of the Southern Tier have seen the mighty Susquehanna flood numerous times, wreaking havoc on the land. The most recent was Sept. 7, 2011, when Tropical Storm Lee dropped about 18 inches of rain near Nichols.
 
Meteorologists at that time said the river rose to 26.67 feet in the nearby town of Waverly.
 
“It came through like a Tsunami,” said Engelbert in a story in Lancaster Farming. During that flood, nearly 400 acres of land, a milkhouse, milking parlor, the house and crop fields were filled with water and mud from the Wappasening Creek and Susquehanna River.