Interesting.
Another company bashing an ag product.
Corn growers not thrilled with Budweiser.
Check this out http://fortune.com/2019/02/04/corn-farmers-bud-light-super-bowl/?fbclid=IwAR1lUfT_js3mxlIi1m8npIsSNVf9lYExlYv9zRD2IaMjtF9eORe7gIHUI8E
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Monday, February 4, 2019
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Number of NY Breweries Hit New High
From the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo
New York state is now home to 400 breweries -- surpassing the previous record of 393 set in 1876.
The number of breweries has skyrocketed in New York since Gov. Andrew Cuomo hosted the state's first Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit in 2012, with 242 new breweries obtaining licenses, and beer being brewed in 57 of the state's 62 counties.
Additionally, 202 new farm brewery licenses have been issued since the governor's farm brewery law went into effect Jan. 1, 2013. That law mirrored the highly successful 1976 Farm Winery Act that lead to the tremendous growth of wineries and grape production throughout New York.
The new farm brewery license allows craft breweries that use ingredients grown in New York to conduct onsite tastings, open restaurants, engage in self-distribution and open up to five no-fee off-site branch stores anywhere in the state.
In just five years, 202 licenses have been issued.
New York state is now home to 400 breweries -- surpassing the previous record of 393 set in 1876.
The number of breweries has skyrocketed in New York since Gov. Andrew Cuomo hosted the state's first Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit in 2012, with 242 new breweries obtaining licenses, and beer being brewed in 57 of the state's 62 counties.
Additionally, 202 new farm brewery licenses have been issued since the governor's farm brewery law went into effect Jan. 1, 2013. That law mirrored the highly successful 1976 Farm Winery Act that lead to the tremendous growth of wineries and grape production throughout New York.
The new farm brewery license allows craft breweries that use ingredients grown in New York to conduct onsite tastings, open restaurants, engage in self-distribution and open up to five no-fee off-site branch stores anywhere in the state.
In just five years, 202 licenses have been issued.
The farm brewery law has also led to a resurgence in New York's hop and barley production.
According
to Cornell University, in response to a rising demand for locally
sourced agriculture, the acreage of hops grown in New York nearly
doubled from 2014 to 2016, while the acreage of malting barley increased
by 374 percent over the same two-year period.
New York is also now home to 13 malt houses, all of which have
opened following the demand generated by the new farm brewery license. These have also generated employment and economic development for
supporting industries, including bottling, construction, freight,
printing and advertising, as well as growing agri-tourism in the state, augmenting New York's $100 billion tourism industry.
The first commercial brewery in Colonial America opened in Manhattan in 1632 after settlers quickly realized the state's climate was ideal for growing hops and barley.
New York's ag sector expanded throughout the 18th century and received a significant boost when the Erie Canal opened in 1825, helping promote the use of locally grown ingredients in beer production.
The
first commercial brewery in Colonial America opened in Manhattan in
1632, after settlers quickly realized the state's climate was ideal for
growing hops and barley.
New York's agriculture sector expanded
throughout the 18th century and received a significant boost when the
Erie Canal opened in 1825, helping promote the use of locally grown
ingredients in beer production - a strong suit of New York's craft
beverage industry today.
Later in the 19th century the state benefited
from an influx of English, German and Irish immigrants who brought with
them brewing skills that propelled New York into a thriving beverage
boom. Between 1840 and 1900, New York grew more hops and brewed more
beer than anywhere else in the country, with the number of breweries peaking in 1876 at 393.
By
the close of the 19th century, developments in pasteurization,
refrigeration, rail transport and bottling shifted the brewing industry
from small-scale production for local consumption to an industry
dominated by enormous breweries.
By 1910, the number of brewers in the
state fell to 194, while an epidemic of downy mildew devastated the
state's hop production, followed by the Prohibition in 1920, which
finally killed off the industry. When beer production was legalized
following the 21st Amendment in 1933, only a small handful of breweries
in the state reopened.
Today,
a new generation of entrepreneurs are reviving New York's position as a
leader in craft brewing.
For a list of New York's breweries, go to https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/400_NYS_Breweries.pdf
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
First-Ever TAste NY Craft Beverage Week Set for Nov. 5-11
The first-ever Taste NY Craft Beverage Week will be held Nov. 5-11 in New York City.
First announced in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2017 State of the State address, the annual
event will boost the exposure of the state's world-class wine, beer,
spirits, and ciders, helping to increase sales and drive economic
growth.
In anticipation of the inaugural event, a grand
tasting was held Sept. 12 at the iconic Pier A Harbor House to connect
producers from across the state to New York City restaurant, bar, and
retail owners and purchasing agents, encouraging them to participate.
Cuomo also launched a new webpage at https://taste.ny.gov/2017-taste-ny-craft-beverage-week#_blank this link where interested businesses can sign up to join Craft Beverage Week.
"The
craft beverage industry in New York has experienced unprecedented
growth in recent years and as a result, has become a critical driver
of regional economies in every corner of this state," Cuomo said.
"Craft Beverage Week gives local producers a chance to partner with
restaurants across New York to showcase their top-notch products, and I
encourage craft beverage enthusiasts from near and far to come out and
experience the very best our wineries, cideries,
breweries and distilleries have to offer," he said.
During
Craft Beverage Week, participating restaurants, bars, taverns and
retail stores are encouraged to offer special events and promotions
to highlight New York wine, beer, spirits and ciders and increase sales
of these top-notch products.
Events and promotions may include meet the
brewer dinners, sommelier-led tastings, dinner pairings, tap takeovers,
happy hour specials, New York craft cocktail
specials, and informational seminars.
The goal was to promote participation in Craft Beverage Week, and provide these businesses an opportunity to build relationships that will last beyond the week-long promotion.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Schumer Seeks New Insurance Option for Malt Barley Producers in NY
From U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer:
Craft breweries and distilleries are booming this summer, pouring local products onto shelves, increasing tourism and infusing new jobs across Upstate New York.
Because of this U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said last week that it’s imperative that the federal government provides even more support to Upstate New York’s craft beer industry to help new and existing establishments grow.
Specifically, Schumer is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin the process of giving New York the Malting Barley Endorsement (M.B.E.), a special federal insurance option, available to only a select group of states that grow malt barley.
Malt barley needs very specific conditions to grow and is susceptible to severe weather and disease, making the M.B.E. insurance option an essential ingredient to further nurturing the growth of this new industry.
Schumer said this will become more important over the next decade, when New York state will require farm craft brewers and distillers to source 90 percent of their ingredients from local farms and malt houses, and the supply of malt barley will need to increase to meet this demand.
Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., both fought earlier this year to get 44 New York state counties included in the malt barley crop insurance program.
Last year, Schumer successfully pushed the USDA to bring malt barley insurance to four New York counties but argued that with crop insurance now secured, it is time for the USDA to grant Malt Barley endorsement.
“With summer now in full swing, many in Upstate New York and beyond are reaching for ‘Made in New York Craft Beers.’ These beers and spirits represent a new and flourishing industry for New York state, and Upstate New York is increasingly becoming the Napa Valley of craft brewing,” Schumer said.
“Not only do distilleries and breweries throughout Upstate New York pour local products and jobs into our economy, they also open new tourism opportunities, which is why it is important we continue to support this industry and provide them with all of the available tools needed to succeed now and in the future. New York is on the cusp of a craft brewing renaissance which not only benefits our growers, but all those who call New York State home,” said Schumer.
“That’s why I am calling on the feds to endorse this enhanced insurance protection for malt barley. These breweries are a reflection of New York’s entrepreneurial spirit and must be properly supported by growers who can supply them with the locally sourced resources they need,” he said.
Alongside water, yeast and hops, barley is one of the major components of beer, and of many spirits produced by distilleries. Malt consists of barley that is germinated and then dried under highly controlled conditions. These conditions help to release the enzymes needed to convert the barley starches into sugars.
These sugars are then fed to yeast through the process of fermentation, which ultimately creates the final product -- alcohol. Schumer explained many New York farmers are beginning to grow this barley, which ends up being used to make beer and spirits.
Malt houses, like the 1886 Malt House at the ethanol plant in Volney, take the barley seed grains and put them through the process of malting; this is so the barley seeds can begin to germinate and thus convert the starches into sugars. This malt barley is then given to brewers and distillers, who have the yeast and fermentation conditions needed to make beer and spirits.
Schumer said malt barley carries greater risks for loss and lower yields than barley grown for livestock feed, because in order to be viable for malting, the grain must meet rigorous quality standards. Many growers, who are covered by malt barley crop insurance, may run into obstacles collecting payments in certain situations.
Especially, in New York state, which can endure both heavy rains and long dry spells, entire crops may be deemed unusable if malt barley becomes too moist and prematurely germinates in the field, or conversely dries out and is unable to germinate during the malting process. Due to the high risks for growers throughout
New York state, Schumer said it is critical to allow growers to have the choice of obtaining all available federal crop insurance options as soon as possible.
New York state has 213 craft breweries:
** In the Capital Region there are 29 craft breweries
** In Central New York there are 27 craft breweries
** In Rochester – Finger Lakes region there are 42 craft breweries
** In Western New York there are 24 craft breweries
** In the Southern Tier there are 32 craft breweries
** In the Hudson Valley region there are 36 craft breweries
** In the North Country there are 23 craft breweries
Previously, the lack of crop insurance hindered the rapid expansion of the craft brewing industry and therefore halted job creation in Upstate New York as well.
 |
| Schumer during a visit to the 1886 Malt House in Volney |
Because of this U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said last week that it’s imperative that the federal government provides even more support to Upstate New York’s craft beer industry to help new and existing establishments grow.
Specifically, Schumer is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin the process of giving New York the Malting Barley Endorsement (M.B.E.), a special federal insurance option, available to only a select group of states that grow malt barley.
Malt barley needs very specific conditions to grow and is susceptible to severe weather and disease, making the M.B.E. insurance option an essential ingredient to further nurturing the growth of this new industry.
Schumer said this will become more important over the next decade, when New York state will require farm craft brewers and distillers to source 90 percent of their ingredients from local farms and malt houses, and the supply of malt barley will need to increase to meet this demand.
Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., both fought earlier this year to get 44 New York state counties included in the malt barley crop insurance program.
Last year, Schumer successfully pushed the USDA to bring malt barley insurance to four New York counties but argued that with crop insurance now secured, it is time for the USDA to grant Malt Barley endorsement.
“With summer now in full swing, many in Upstate New York and beyond are reaching for ‘Made in New York Craft Beers.’ These beers and spirits represent a new and flourishing industry for New York state, and Upstate New York is increasingly becoming the Napa Valley of craft brewing,” Schumer said.
“Not only do distilleries and breweries throughout Upstate New York pour local products and jobs into our economy, they also open new tourism opportunities, which is why it is important we continue to support this industry and provide them with all of the available tools needed to succeed now and in the future. New York is on the cusp of a craft brewing renaissance which not only benefits our growers, but all those who call New York State home,” said Schumer.
“That’s why I am calling on the feds to endorse this enhanced insurance protection for malt barley. These breweries are a reflection of New York’s entrepreneurial spirit and must be properly supported by growers who can supply them with the locally sourced resources they need,” he said.
Alongside water, yeast and hops, barley is one of the major components of beer, and of many spirits produced by distilleries. Malt consists of barley that is germinated and then dried under highly controlled conditions. These conditions help to release the enzymes needed to convert the barley starches into sugars.
These sugars are then fed to yeast through the process of fermentation, which ultimately creates the final product -- alcohol. Schumer explained many New York farmers are beginning to grow this barley, which ends up being used to make beer and spirits.
Malt houses, like the 1886 Malt House at the ethanol plant in Volney, take the barley seed grains and put them through the process of malting; this is so the barley seeds can begin to germinate and thus convert the starches into sugars. This malt barley is then given to brewers and distillers, who have the yeast and fermentation conditions needed to make beer and spirits.
Schumer said malt barley carries greater risks for loss and lower yields than barley grown for livestock feed, because in order to be viable for malting, the grain must meet rigorous quality standards. Many growers, who are covered by malt barley crop insurance, may run into obstacles collecting payments in certain situations.
Especially, in New York state, which can endure both heavy rains and long dry spells, entire crops may be deemed unusable if malt barley becomes too moist and prematurely germinates in the field, or conversely dries out and is unable to germinate during the malting process. Due to the high risks for growers throughout
New York state, Schumer said it is critical to allow growers to have the choice of obtaining all available federal crop insurance options as soon as possible.
New York state has 213 craft breweries:
** In the Capital Region there are 29 craft breweries
** In Central New York there are 27 craft breweries
** In Rochester – Finger Lakes region there are 42 craft breweries
** In Western New York there are 24 craft breweries
** In the Southern Tier there are 32 craft breweries
** In the Hudson Valley region there are 36 craft breweries
** In the North Country there are 23 craft breweries
Previously, the lack of crop insurance hindered the rapid expansion of the craft brewing industry and therefore halted job creation in Upstate New York as well.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
State Fair to Host Craft Beer Competition
From Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office:
The Great New York State Fair will host a professionally judged craft beer competition to further promote New York's growing craft beverage industry.
The New York State Craft Beer Competition will award medals to the best beers in 20 categories, and the highest scoring beer in all categories will be awarded the Governor's Excelsior Cup.
Sponsored by the New York State Brewers Association, top professional and amateur judges from around the state will sample submitted beers in an official, private judging session on July 29, 2017.
"After cutting red tape and removing barriers to growth, New York's craft beverage industry is thriving in every corner of this state," Cuomo said. "Building on the success of the Taste NY Craft Beer Challenge, this competition taps professionally trained judges, opens the playing field to New York brewers, and will further promote the world class beverages made right here in the Empire State."
The New York State Craft Beer Competition is open to any craft brewer located in New York state. As many as three gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded in each of the 20 categories, which include major styles of beer, such as IPAs and Lagers, as well as niche or emerging styles, such as sour beers or fruit and spice beers.
Brewers may enter more than one variety of beer and each entry is $45. A complete list of rules, categories and entry instructions can be found at www.nyscraftbeer.com
The Great New York State Fair will host a professionally judged craft beer competition to further promote New York's growing craft beverage industry.
The New York State Craft Beer Competition will award medals to the best beers in 20 categories, and the highest scoring beer in all categories will be awarded the Governor's Excelsior Cup.
Sponsored by the New York State Brewers Association, top professional and amateur judges from around the state will sample submitted beers in an official, private judging session on July 29, 2017.
"After cutting red tape and removing barriers to growth, New York's craft beverage industry is thriving in every corner of this state," Cuomo said. "Building on the success of the Taste NY Craft Beer Challenge, this competition taps professionally trained judges, opens the playing field to New York brewers, and will further promote the world class beverages made right here in the Empire State."
The New York State Craft Beer Competition is open to any craft brewer located in New York state. As many as three gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded in each of the 20 categories, which include major styles of beer, such as IPAs and Lagers, as well as niche or emerging styles, such as sour beers or fruit and spice beers.
Brewers may enter more than one variety of beer and each entry is $45. A complete list of rules, categories and entry instructions can be found at www.nyscraftbeer.com
Friday, May 12, 2017
Craft Beer Trail Bill Passes State Senate
From State Sen. Patty Ritchie's office:
A bill that would help support
local businesses and farmers by creating a “craft beer trail” has passed the
New York state Senate.
 |
| New York state-grown hops |
Similar
to the way in which wine trails have been established throughout the state, the bill sponsored y Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, (S.1914) would create a unique tourist destination — known
as the “North Country Craft Beer Trail” — by linking craft breweries in Jefferson
and St. Lawrence counties.
“More
and more frequently, people are looking to eat—and drink—locally made
products,” said Ritchie, who serves as chair of the Senate Agriculture
Committee.
“By
creating the North Country Craft Beer Trail, and potentially establishing other
Craft Beer Trails throughout the state in the future, we can support local
businesses, create jobs and boost the bottom lines of our hardworking farmers.”
In
recent years, New York’s craft beer sector has grown dramatically, with the
number of breweries growing from 95 in 2012 to 320 in 2016. In addition, New York state is fourth
in the country when it comes to craft beer production and the industry has a
total economic impact of $4 billion.
This
legislation is the latest effort by Ritchie to highlight locally
produced goods. Last week, the Senate
passed two measures supported by Ritchie that will help expand markets
for New York’s hard working farmers, which will provide the opportunity to
easily enjoy fresh, locally grown products across the state.
The
measure was sent to the Assembly, where it is sponsored by Assembly Agriculture
Committee Chair Assemblyman Bill Magee.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Vote Now for Your Favorite Craft Brewery in New York
New York state has recently kicked off the Taste NY Inaugural Craft Beer
Challenge, in which New Yorkers are invited to vote for their favorite
New York craft brewery in celebration of the diversity,
range, and quality of New York’s craft beer industry.
Voting is now open at https://taste.ny.gov/craft-beer-challenge this link.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo will host a final tasting event for the five New York breweries with the most online votes on May 17 in New York City, coinciding with American Craft Beer Week, which runs from May 15-21 and celebrates craft beer across the country.
"By reducing regulation and removing unnecessary barriers to growth, New York’s craft beverage industry is thriving, driving tourism and creating jobs across the state," Cuomo said. "The inaugural Taste NY Craft Beer Challenge will celebrate the best of New York's craft beers and connect our world-class beverage producers to new consumers and markets. When New Yorkers buy New York products, everybody wins.”
New York is now home to 321 microbreweries, farm breweries and restaurant breweries, up from only 50 total breweries in 2011 and representing a 542 percent growth in the industry.
This growth was achieved through a series of legislation and economic incentives, including the creation of the Farm Brewery License in 2012, providing tax credits for brewers, modernizing the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and providing promotional funding. No state has done more to assist and promote craft manufacturing than New York.
Voting is now open at https://taste.ny.gov/craft-beer-challenge this link.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo will host a final tasting event for the five New York breweries with the most online votes on May 17 in New York City, coinciding with American Craft Beer Week, which runs from May 15-21 and celebrates craft beer across the country.
"By reducing regulation and removing unnecessary barriers to growth, New York’s craft beverage industry is thriving, driving tourism and creating jobs across the state," Cuomo said. "The inaugural Taste NY Craft Beer Challenge will celebrate the best of New York's craft beers and connect our world-class beverage producers to new consumers and markets. When New Yorkers buy New York products, everybody wins.”
New York is now home to 321 microbreweries, farm breweries and restaurant breweries, up from only 50 total breweries in 2011 and representing a 542 percent growth in the industry.
This growth was achieved through a series of legislation and economic incentives, including the creation of the Farm Brewery License in 2012, providing tax credits for brewers, modernizing the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and providing promotional funding. No state has done more to assist and promote craft manufacturing than New York.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Visit 7 Local Farms at First Ever OnFarmFest in Onondaga County
Here are farms participating in OnFarmFest:
Emmi & Sons, Inc.
1482 W. Genesee Road (Route 370)
Baldwinsville 13027
River Ridge Dairy
7197 River Road
Memphis 13112
Local 315 Brewing Co.
3160 Warners Road
Warners 13164
Silver Spring Farm
4349 Bussey Road
Syracuse 13215
Navarino Orchard
3655 Route 20
Syracuse 13215
Lucky 13 All Natural Red Angus Beef
790 Markham Hollow
Tully 13159
Bentwood Alpacas
5344 State Route 80
Tully 13159
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
2 Bills Signed to Help Craft Beverage, Wine Sales
From Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office:
Two measures to further modernize New York's archaic 80-year-old Alcoholic Beverage Control Law were signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo today.
These bills allow farm wineries, breweries and cideries to sell any New York-made farm alcoholic beverage by the glass at their production facility or off-site branch store. Under current law, farm manufacturers are limited to selling only products by the glass that they produce on their site.
These new laws will provide for increased sales of New York state homegrown manufactured products and further support New York’s thriving manufacturing business, providing more consumers the opportunity to sample the best New York has to offer.
By removing this archaic provision to the law, this legislation expands a major revenue source for both established manufacturers and new businesses entering the market.
New York state farm-based alcohol beverage manufacturers, who have more than doubled in number since 2011 and have seen a 13 percent increase in the last year alone, provide local communities where they operate with increased tax revenue, job opportunities, increased demand for farm products, and a bolstered tourism impact for the state.
Two measures to further modernize New York's archaic 80-year-old Alcoholic Beverage Control Law were signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo today.
These bills allow farm wineries, breweries and cideries to sell any New York-made farm alcoholic beverage by the glass at their production facility or off-site branch store. Under current law, farm manufacturers are limited to selling only products by the glass that they produce on their site.
These new laws will provide for increased sales of New York state homegrown manufactured products and further support New York’s thriving manufacturing business, providing more consumers the opportunity to sample the best New York has to offer.
By removing this archaic provision to the law, this legislation expands a major revenue source for both established manufacturers and new businesses entering the market.
New York state farm-based alcohol beverage manufacturers, who have more than doubled in number since 2011 and have seen a 13 percent increase in the last year alone, provide local communities where they operate with increased tax revenue, job opportunities, increased demand for farm products, and a bolstered tourism impact for the state.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
It's National Beer Day
Today is National Beer Day.
According to the National Calendar Day website:
"National Beer Day is celebrated annually April 7. Celebrate with a pint of pale ale, lager, stout, wheat beer or mild ale.![]()
One of the world’s oldest prepared beverages, beer possibly dates back to 9500 BC when cereal was first farmed. It is recorded in the written history of ancient Iraq and ancient Egypt.
Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. Following water and tea, it is the third most popular drink overall."
The production of craft beers and hard ciders is growing by leaps and bounds in New York state, leading to new businesses and new jobs. A lot of the hops grown for making these beers also are grown right here in New York state.
According to the National Calendar Day website:
 |
| Hops at Climbing Bines Hops Farm and Brewery, Penn Yan |
"National Beer Day is celebrated annually April 7. Celebrate with a pint of pale ale, lager, stout, wheat beer or mild ale.
One of the world’s oldest prepared beverages, beer possibly dates back to 9500 BC when cereal was first farmed. It is recorded in the written history of ancient Iraq and ancient Egypt.
Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. Following water and tea, it is the third most popular drink overall."
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Couple's Plan for Farm Brewery Works Out Bee-eautifully
By JERRY MOORE
Empire Farm & Dairy
Emily and Evan Watson embraced the farm brewery concept at just the right time.
They bought a 1-acre farm in Fishkill nearly three years ago with the idea of growing virtually everything they would need to create and market their own brands of beer. Last year, they moved to a 25-acre farm in Poughkeepsie to expand their growing business.
New York state has for several years offered farm brewery licenses. The program requires that a certain percentage of items used to create beer must come from farms in the state, an aspect that benefits the agricultural industry. And brewers take advantage of financial incentives, which boosts their business prospects.
The Watsons’ Plan A for making a living was based on Evan’s successful music career, which he launched from New York City. But the frequent traveling got in the way of other dreams they had, like starting a family.
So they adopted a Plan B, operating a farm brewery. And since they cultivate their yeast from their honeycomb, they’ve come to call their new lifestyle their Plan Bee.
As in Plan Bee Farm Brewery, They grow many of their own ingredients and import the rest from local farms. Several beer-related publications have written about their successful business.
During an interview with Empire Farm & Dairy, Emily Watson spoke about her farming background, how she and her husband found themselves in a growing niche industry and what they’re doing to move their enterprise forward. Some of her responses have been edited for brevity.
Q What is your background in farming?
A I’m originally from Ohio, and my father is a farmer. So I grew up in a farming community. Evan grew up in Indiana but not on a farm.
Q What is the history of your farm brewery?
A Plan Bee Farm Brewery started in Fishkill in 2013. We had a 1-acre farm there, and we had a one-barrel brew house system. In May 2015, we closed on a 25-acre farm in Poughkeepsie, and we moved into a 10-barrel brewhouse.
On our 25-acre farm, we have more than 100 wild apple trees, which we do harvest for making a cider/ale blend out of the fruits that we’ve gotten off of the farm. But our plan this spring is to plant hops, herbs and flowers, different additives that we put into the beer to increase the amount of types of fruit trees that we have. We also hope to start our own grain production here eventually.
Q How did you decide to become farm brewers?
A I was working for a nonprofit, Riverkeeper. I was going up and down the Hudson Valley, working closely with the community and talking about the environment. I really fell in love with the Hudson Valley and said I really want to stay here, and I wanted to do something closely tied to the environment.
I have a degree in geology, and I really enjoy working outdoors. My husband, working at (beer brewery) Captain Lawrence, said he really enjoys brewing beer. My husband and I were home brewers, and he said maybe we can marry these two ideas. And between my background and his background, we’d be able to come up with a decent plan on how to make that economically feasible.
Empire Farm & Dairy
Emily and Evan Watson embraced the farm brewery concept at just the right time.
They bought a 1-acre farm in Fishkill nearly three years ago with the idea of growing virtually everything they would need to create and market their own brands of beer. Last year, they moved to a 25-acre farm in Poughkeepsie to expand their growing business.
New York state has for several years offered farm brewery licenses. The program requires that a certain percentage of items used to create beer must come from farms in the state, an aspect that benefits the agricultural industry. And brewers take advantage of financial incentives, which boosts their business prospects.
The Watsons’ Plan A for making a living was based on Evan’s successful music career, which he launched from New York City. But the frequent traveling got in the way of other dreams they had, like starting a family.
So they adopted a Plan B, operating a farm brewery. And since they cultivate their yeast from their honeycomb, they’ve come to call their new lifestyle their Plan Bee.
As in Plan Bee Farm Brewery, They grow many of their own ingredients and import the rest from local farms. Several beer-related publications have written about their successful business.
During an interview with Empire Farm & Dairy, Emily Watson spoke about her farming background, how she and her husband found themselves in a growing niche industry and what they’re doing to move their enterprise forward. Some of her responses have been edited for brevity.
Q What is your background in farming?
A I’m originally from Ohio, and my father is a farmer. So I grew up in a farming community. Evan grew up in Indiana but not on a farm.
Q What is the history of your farm brewery?
A Plan Bee Farm Brewery started in Fishkill in 2013. We had a 1-acre farm there, and we had a one-barrel brew house system. In May 2015, we closed on a 25-acre farm in Poughkeepsie, and we moved into a 10-barrel brewhouse.
On our 25-acre farm, we have more than 100 wild apple trees, which we do harvest for making a cider/ale blend out of the fruits that we’ve gotten off of the farm. But our plan this spring is to plant hops, herbs and flowers, different additives that we put into the beer to increase the amount of types of fruit trees that we have. We also hope to start our own grain production here eventually.
Q How did you decide to become farm brewers?
A I was working for a nonprofit, Riverkeeper. I was going up and down the Hudson Valley, working closely with the community and talking about the environment. I really fell in love with the Hudson Valley and said I really want to stay here, and I wanted to do something closely tied to the environment.
I have a degree in geology, and I really enjoy working outdoors. My husband, working at (beer brewery) Captain Lawrence, said he really enjoys brewing beer. My husband and I were home brewers, and he said maybe we can marry these two ideas. And between my background and his background, we’d be able to come up with a decent plan on how to make that economically feasible.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
New York State Making a Comeback in Hops
From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:
By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy
New York state used to be the king of hops.
The small green plant that looks like a pine cone and gives beer its distinct flavor was the top crop in Central New York in the mid-1800s.
Madison County, just east of the Syracuse area, was the first site in the state where hops were grown, when “county resident James Coolidge introduced commercial hop growing to the state by bringing a rootstock from New England,” according to the Madison County Hops Fest website.
By 1828, hops production spread to 11 counties and the state was raising 80 percent of all the hops in the country. But then Prohibition, which began in 1919, and a fungus put an end to the state’s hops kingdom.
However today, thanks to the surge in craft breweries, home brewers and products like hard cider, the growing of hops has made a comeback in New York state.
Today, hops are grown in most counties in New York, said Steve Miller, the state’s hops specialist, who works out of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Madison County.
In fact, the number of acres of hops in the state has expanded considerably in just the last three years.
The 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, the most recent official statistics available, shows only 19 acres of New York land was in use for growing hops that year. Today, more than 300 acres of land statewide is growing hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year.
“We estimate there is a need for 400 to 500 acres of hops in New York to satisfy the domestic demand,” Miller wrote in his hops FAQs, an informational handout sheet he gives to farmers. It’s also available at wdt.me/Hops.
In addition, Miller said the New York Farm Brewery legislation, which went into effect in January 2013, created new opportunities for on-the-farm brewing and sales. He said he gets 10 to 15 calls a week from people who want to begin raising hops and the number of hops farmers with at least one acre has increased from about 3 in 2006 to about 75 in 2015.
“The farms are all over the state, except the Adirondacks and Catskills because of the cold, short season,” Miller said in an email.
Hops farmers in New York are a mixed bag — some grow hops to sell to brewers while some grow hops to make their own beer on the farm.
Chris Hansen, one of the three owners of Climbing Bines Hops Farm and Brewery near Penn Yan in Yates County, said he and friends Brian Karweck and Matt Klehamer started growing hops on the Finger Lakes farm six years ago and opened their own brewery 2½ years ago.
“That was the whole plan from the beginning,” Hansen said. “We knew that by growing our own hops, we could ensure the best ingredients and the quality of the beer.”
For the first couple of years, Climbing Bines did sell hops to others, Hansen said. But once the brewery was up and running, the seven varieties of hops grown on the farm’s 1.5 acres went into the more than 10 different types of beer brewed on site.
Today, Climbing Bines makes 500 to 600 barrels of beer a year — that works out to 15,500 gallons to 18,600 gallons of beer annually. And this year, the farm is expanding from its 1.5 acres of hops to about 3 acres.
The first craft brewery in Oneida County is Woodland Hops Farm and Fermentation in Marcy, just north of Utica. Co-owner A.J. Spado said the company, which just opened this year, is planting an acre of hops this spring and hopes to expand each year up to 6 to 10 acres.
They made and are selling beer this year, but used hops and malt grown by growers from New York and elsewhere.
Bluebell Hopyard in Farmington, Ontario County, grows 2 acres of five varieties of hops to sell to breweries and craft breweries throughout the state. Most of their customers are in the Rochester area, such as VB Brewery in Ontario County and Fairport Brew Co. in Monroe County, while some are in New York City and the Albany area.
They do not operate their own brewery and instead, sell all their hops to other companies.
Co-owner Kurt Charland said the company grows enough hops to “meet the demands of our current customers” and there are no plans for expansion right now. Both he and the other co-owner have full-time jobs (Charland is a civil engineer and his partner runs an animation studio) so the hop farm is a “full-time, part-time job,” Charland said.
Hops specialist Miller said any farmer thinking of putting in hops on his or her land should be sure to do some research first. He said it’s not as easy as just putting hops into the ground, harvesting and raking in the money.
Miller said farmers should study hops and find out if it really is a crop they want to invest in. Several seminars and conferences are held each year for people interested in the subject.
“This is not the same type of farming at all,” Miller said, comparing hops growing to other popular crops, such as sweet corn or vegetables. “We encourage people to get information first.”
Hops farmers are helped by programs held at various colleges, through the Northeast Hops Alliance and through Miller’s office.
At the recent Cornell Hops Conference and Northeast Hops Association annual meeting in December at Morrisville State College, attendees learned about pest control, genetic hop varieties and getting patents when developing a new hops variety.
Guest speaker Kevin Riel of Double ‘R’ Hop Ranches, Inc. in Washington state talked about how to produce hops, focusing on fertilizing, irrigating and training hops for yield and quality. Riel grows about 1,000 acres of hops.
Also, Ron Sirrine, a faculty member at Michigan State University, talked to attendees about what hops growers in Michigan are doing.
There was also a trade show with the conference so hops growers and those considering growing hops could talk to vendors about the equipment and supplies needed to grow hops (Miller said about 350 people attended the hops conference.
Anyone who missed the conference but wants to order DVDs of the speakers can contact Miller at (315) 684-3001, ext. 127 or email sgm6@cornell.edu
Here are some of the differences farmers will see when growing hops:
** Harvesting. The harvesting is completely different from other crops. Hops cannot be hand-harvested — it takes an hour to hand-harvest one plant — so machines must be purchased. The average machine can cost about $30,000.
** Equipment: Once hops are harvested, they must be dried, processed, baled and kept in a walk-in cooler. So to get started, a farmer will need a small tractor, trailer, weed sprayer, crop sprayer similar to what is used in a vineyard or orchard, and then a truck, drying equipment, possible pelleter, a cooler and a building for storage and drying. Some growers look at sharing equipment.
** Planting: The cost of plants and trellises for the plants to grow on can cost $15,000 an acre to start.
** Land: About 10 to 15 acres are needed to get a money-making hops operation off the ground. Some New York farmers have as little as a couple of acres. New York varies from the Pacific Northwest, where farmers grow from 500 acres to several thousand acres of hops.
** Miller said land preparation is important. Land where hops will be grown should be well drained, be flat or have a gentle slope, have access to water for irrigation, and have good air circulation and full sun.
** Cost: “Expenses are variable, but most growers believe they need to have gross sales of more than $6,000 to $8,000 an acre to break even because of initial investment, equipment, harvesting and processing costs. If the hops are poor and your yield is low, you are losing money. The first year you may have some hops, a partial crop the second, and a full crop the third.”
Source: All information and quotes from Steve Miller, New York state hops specialist
By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy
New York state used to be the king of hops.
The small green plant that looks like a pine cone and gives beer its distinct flavor was the top crop in Central New York in the mid-1800s.
Madison County, just east of the Syracuse area, was the first site in the state where hops were grown, when “county resident James Coolidge introduced commercial hop growing to the state by bringing a rootstock from New England,” according to the Madison County Hops Fest website.
By 1828, hops production spread to 11 counties and the state was raising 80 percent of all the hops in the country. But then Prohibition, which began in 1919, and a fungus put an end to the state’s hops kingdom.
However today, thanks to the surge in craft breweries, home brewers and products like hard cider, the growing of hops has made a comeback in New York state.
Today, hops are grown in most counties in New York, said Steve Miller, the state’s hops specialist, who works out of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Madison County.
In fact, the number of acres of hops in the state has expanded considerably in just the last three years.
The 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, the most recent official statistics available, shows only 19 acres of New York land was in use for growing hops that year. Today, more than 300 acres of land statewide is growing hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year.
“We estimate there is a need for 400 to 500 acres of hops in New York to satisfy the domestic demand,” Miller wrote in his hops FAQs, an informational handout sheet he gives to farmers. It’s also available at wdt.me/Hops.
In addition, Miller said the New York Farm Brewery legislation, which went into effect in January 2013, created new opportunities for on-the-farm brewing and sales. He said he gets 10 to 15 calls a week from people who want to begin raising hops and the number of hops farmers with at least one acre has increased from about 3 in 2006 to about 75 in 2015.
“The farms are all over the state, except the Adirondacks and Catskills because of the cold, short season,” Miller said in an email.
Hops farmers in New York are a mixed bag — some grow hops to sell to brewers while some grow hops to make their own beer on the farm.
Chris Hansen, one of the three owners of Climbing Bines Hops Farm and Brewery near Penn Yan in Yates County, said he and friends Brian Karweck and Matt Klehamer started growing hops on the Finger Lakes farm six years ago and opened their own brewery 2½ years ago.
“That was the whole plan from the beginning,” Hansen said. “We knew that by growing our own hops, we could ensure the best ingredients and the quality of the beer.”
For the first couple of years, Climbing Bines did sell hops to others, Hansen said. But once the brewery was up and running, the seven varieties of hops grown on the farm’s 1.5 acres went into the more than 10 different types of beer brewed on site.
Today, Climbing Bines makes 500 to 600 barrels of beer a year — that works out to 15,500 gallons to 18,600 gallons of beer annually. And this year, the farm is expanding from its 1.5 acres of hops to about 3 acres.
The first craft brewery in Oneida County is Woodland Hops Farm and Fermentation in Marcy, just north of Utica. Co-owner A.J. Spado said the company, which just opened this year, is planting an acre of hops this spring and hopes to expand each year up to 6 to 10 acres.
They made and are selling beer this year, but used hops and malt grown by growers from New York and elsewhere.
Bluebell Hopyard in Farmington, Ontario County, grows 2 acres of five varieties of hops to sell to breweries and craft breweries throughout the state. Most of their customers are in the Rochester area, such as VB Brewery in Ontario County and Fairport Brew Co. in Monroe County, while some are in New York City and the Albany area.
They do not operate their own brewery and instead, sell all their hops to other companies.
Co-owner Kurt Charland said the company grows enough hops to “meet the demands of our current customers” and there are no plans for expansion right now. Both he and the other co-owner have full-time jobs (Charland is a civil engineer and his partner runs an animation studio) so the hop farm is a “full-time, part-time job,” Charland said.
Hops specialist Miller said any farmer thinking of putting in hops on his or her land should be sure to do some research first. He said it’s not as easy as just putting hops into the ground, harvesting and raking in the money.
Miller said farmers should study hops and find out if it really is a crop they want to invest in. Several seminars and conferences are held each year for people interested in the subject.
“This is not the same type of farming at all,” Miller said, comparing hops growing to other popular crops, such as sweet corn or vegetables. “We encourage people to get information first.”
Hops farmers are helped by programs held at various colleges, through the Northeast Hops Alliance and through Miller’s office.
At the recent Cornell Hops Conference and Northeast Hops Association annual meeting in December at Morrisville State College, attendees learned about pest control, genetic hop varieties and getting patents when developing a new hops variety.
Guest speaker Kevin Riel of Double ‘R’ Hop Ranches, Inc. in Washington state talked about how to produce hops, focusing on fertilizing, irrigating and training hops for yield and quality. Riel grows about 1,000 acres of hops.
Also, Ron Sirrine, a faculty member at Michigan State University, talked to attendees about what hops growers in Michigan are doing.
There was also a trade show with the conference so hops growers and those considering growing hops could talk to vendors about the equipment and supplies needed to grow hops (Miller said about 350 people attended the hops conference.
Anyone who missed the conference but wants to order DVDs of the speakers can contact Miller at (315) 684-3001, ext. 127 or email sgm6@cornell.edu
Here are some of the differences farmers will see when growing hops:
** Harvesting. The harvesting is completely different from other crops. Hops cannot be hand-harvested — it takes an hour to hand-harvest one plant — so machines must be purchased. The average machine can cost about $30,000.
** Equipment: Once hops are harvested, they must be dried, processed, baled and kept in a walk-in cooler. So to get started, a farmer will need a small tractor, trailer, weed sprayer, crop sprayer similar to what is used in a vineyard or orchard, and then a truck, drying equipment, possible pelleter, a cooler and a building for storage and drying. Some growers look at sharing equipment.
** Planting: The cost of plants and trellises for the plants to grow on can cost $15,000 an acre to start.
** Land: About 10 to 15 acres are needed to get a money-making hops operation off the ground. Some New York farmers have as little as a couple of acres. New York varies from the Pacific Northwest, where farmers grow from 500 acres to several thousand acres of hops.
** Miller said land preparation is important. Land where hops will be grown should be well drained, be flat or have a gentle slope, have access to water for irrigation, and have good air circulation and full sun.
** Cost: “Expenses are variable, but most growers believe they need to have gross sales of more than $6,000 to $8,000 an acre to break even because of initial investment, equipment, harvesting and processing costs. If the hops are poor and your yield is low, you are losing money. The first year you may have some hops, a partial crop the second, and a full crop the third.”
Source: All information and quotes from Steve Miller, New York state hops specialist
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Clayton Neighbors Sue Over Zoning Change for Proposed Distillery
Some Clayton residents are fighting a zone change for a proposed distillery in town.
Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/clayton-neighbors-sue-over-zoning-change-for-proposed-distillery--20160102?utm_source=Ytzz8t&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=wdt.me&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com to see the story.
Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/clayton-neighbors-sue-over-zoning-change-for-proposed-distillery--20160102?utm_source=Ytzz8t&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=wdt.me&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com to see the story.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Beer Nutrition Guidelines Could Hurt Brewery Sales
The Food and Drug Administration has instituted guidelines for nutrition info that must be on beers served in taverns and restaurants.
This could end up being very costly for breweries.
Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/following-new-fda-beer-nutrition-guidelines-expensive-for-breweries-could-hurt-sales-20151202?utm_source=uLZAtA&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=wdt.me&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com to see the story.
This could end up being very costly for breweries.
Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/following-new-fda-beer-nutrition-guidelines-expensive-for-breweries-could-hurt-sales-20151202?utm_source=uLZAtA&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=wdt.me&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com to see the story.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
New Initiatives Come Out of Wine, Beer, Spirits and Cider Summit
This information about the Wine, Beer, Spirits and Cider Summit is from Jim Trezise of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced more than $16 million in new investments to grow New York's craft beverage industry.
Included is $5 million for promotion including direct spending ($2 million), tourism promotion ($1 million), and targeted advertising ($1 million)--plus a $3 million competitive matching grants program.
In addition, $400,000 is specifically dedicated to getting tourists from New York City to the eastern Long Island wine region.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced more than $16 million in new investments to grow New York's craft beverage industry.
Included is $5 million for promotion including direct spending ($2 million), tourism promotion ($1 million), and targeted advertising ($1 million)--plus a $3 million competitive matching grants program.
In addition, $400,000 is specifically dedicated to getting tourists from New York City to the eastern Long Island wine region.
On the research side, nearly $7 million was committed to the New York State Food Venture Center
at the Geneva Experiment Station, which will accelerate the growth of
the craft beverage sectors. This investment reflects the importance of Cornell University and Cooperative Extension in the industry's advancement, complemented by Finger Lakes Community College.
In addition, the incredibly valuable "One Stop Shop"
ombudsman service of state government, first created at the 2012 Summit
and staffed by Sam Filler and Molly Bauer, will be enhanced with a
subset within the State Liquor Authority, since about
90 percent of all industry inquiries involve the Alcohol Beverage Control law
or SLA rules, so direct calls make more sense.
There were also about a dozen new initiatives designed to cut bureaucracy
in various ways: allowing salespeople to work for multiple craft
beverage manufacturers; letting craft beverage manufacturers collaborate
in operating a "branch office" (satellite store); permitting the sales
of off-premise beer in growlers; letting wineries operate "home
winemaker centers" where hobbyists can use the facilities and
equipment to make their "homemade" wine; and simplifying the licensing
for bona fide wine educators.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Hops Becoming More and More Popular in New York State
From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:
By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy
More and more farmers in New York state are turning to a crop from days gone by to bring in additional cash.
Hops — that small green plant that looks like a pine cone and gives beer its distinct flavor — was the top crop in Central New York in the mid-1800s, but prohibition and a killer fungus ended all of that.
The surge of craft breweries and home brewers means more hops are needed today, so more farmers in New York are putting in the plant to grow and sell to breweries.
Steve Miller, the state’s hops specialist, who works out of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Madison County, said he receives 10 to 15 calls a week from people interested in raising hops as a cash crop.
He said hops growing in New York started small with a few farmers in the central portion of the state and the Finger Lakes region in the late 1990s.
Today, hops are grown in most counties in New York, Miller said. In fact, the number of acres of hops in the state has increased a lot in just the last three years. The 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, the most recent official statistics available, shows only 19 acres of New York land was in use for growing hops that year. Today, more than 300 acres of land statewide is growing hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year.
Gone are the days when people drank beer made only by large companies such as Coors, Anheuser-Busch or Labatt.
“We estimate there is a need for 400 to 500 acres of hops in New York to satisfy the domestic demand,” Miller wrote in his hops FAQs, an informational handout sheet he gives to farmers. It’s also available at http://wdt.me/Hops.
In addition, he said the New York Farm Brewery legislation, which went into effect in January 2013, created new opportunities for on-the-farm brewing and sales.
Kate and Larry Fisher, who run Foothills Hops in the town of Stockbridge, Madison County, were among the first people to get into the resurrected hops industry.
“We were interested in local history and read a book ... about the early trains that were moving hops and hops workers. Then we went to the Madison County Hops Fest in 1999. From there, we put in one plant, then we were up to 100 plants, which then turned into an industry.”
The Fishers now have six acres of hops that they sell to small farm brewers — Critz Farms in Cazenovia for its hard cider, and Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, Empire Brewing Co. in Syracuse, and Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton, Madison County.
But it’s not as easy as just putting hops into the ground, harvesting and raking in the money, Miller said.
He said farmers should study hops and find out if it really is a crop they want to invest in. Several seminars and conferences are held each year for people interested in the subject.
“This is not the same type of farming at all,” Miller said, comparing hops growing to other popular crops, such as sweet corn or vegetables. “We encourage people to get information first.”
Here are some of the differences farmers will see with hops, according to Miller:
n Harvesting. The harvesting is completely different from other crops. Hops cannot be hand-harvested — it takes an hour to hand-harvest one plant — so machines must be purchased. The average machine can cost about $30,000.
n Equipment: Once hops are harvested, they must be dried, processed, baled and kept in a walk-in cooler. So to get started, a farmer will need a small tractor, trailer, weed sprayer, crop sprayer similar to what is used in a vineyard or orchard, and then a truck, drying equipment, possible pelleter, a cooler and a building for storage and drying. Some growers look at sharing equipment.
n Planting: The cost of plants and trellises for the plants to grow on can cost $15,000 an acre to start.
n Land: About 10 to 15 acres are needed to get a money-making hops operation off the ground. Some New York farmers have as little as a couple of acres. New York varies from the Pacific Northwest, where farmers grow from 500 acres to several thousand acres of hops.
Miller said land preparation is important, and all land where hops will be grown should be well drained, be flat or have a gentle slope, have access to water for irrigation, and have good air circulation and full sun.
“The biggest holdup people have in growing hops is knowledge and equipment,” Miller said.
Fisher said she and her husband advise anyone considering growing hops to spend a year before planting to ready the soil for the plants and be sure to have all the infrastructure — including lines and trellises — ready in advance.
“We didn’t do that (ready the soil), and we’ve been battling weeds ever since,” Fisher said.
In the FAQs sheet Miller provides to hops hopefuls, he said “expenses are variable, but most growers believe they need to have gross sales of more than $6,000 to $8,000 an acre to break even because of initial investment, equipment, harvesting and processing costs.”
Miller also said “if the hops are poor and your yield is low, you are losing money. The first year you may have some hops, a partial crop the second, and a full crop the third.”
If you like this story and want to read more great news about agriculture, subscribe to Empire Farm & Dairy magazine. A one-year subscription is $50 and a two-year subscription is $75. Send your information and payment to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy
More and more farmers in New York state are turning to a crop from days gone by to bring in additional cash.
Hops — that small green plant that looks like a pine cone and gives beer its distinct flavor — was the top crop in Central New York in the mid-1800s, but prohibition and a killer fungus ended all of that.
The surge of craft breweries and home brewers means more hops are needed today, so more farmers in New York are putting in the plant to grow and sell to breweries.
Steve Miller, the state’s hops specialist, who works out of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Madison County, said he receives 10 to 15 calls a week from people interested in raising hops as a cash crop.
He said hops growing in New York started small with a few farmers in the central portion of the state and the Finger Lakes region in the late 1990s.
Today, hops are grown in most counties in New York, Miller said. In fact, the number of acres of hops in the state has increased a lot in just the last three years. The 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, the most recent official statistics available, shows only 19 acres of New York land was in use for growing hops that year. Today, more than 300 acres of land statewide is growing hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year.
Gone are the days when people drank beer made only by large companies such as Coors, Anheuser-Busch or Labatt.
“We estimate there is a need for 400 to 500 acres of hops in New York to satisfy the domestic demand,” Miller wrote in his hops FAQs, an informational handout sheet he gives to farmers. It’s also available at http://wdt.me/Hops.
In addition, he said the New York Farm Brewery legislation, which went into effect in January 2013, created new opportunities for on-the-farm brewing and sales.
Kate and Larry Fisher, who run Foothills Hops in the town of Stockbridge, Madison County, were among the first people to get into the resurrected hops industry.
“We were interested in local history and read a book ... about the early trains that were moving hops and hops workers. Then we went to the Madison County Hops Fest in 1999. From there, we put in one plant, then we were up to 100 plants, which then turned into an industry.”
The Fishers now have six acres of hops that they sell to small farm brewers — Critz Farms in Cazenovia for its hard cider, and Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, Empire Brewing Co. in Syracuse, and Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton, Madison County.
But it’s not as easy as just putting hops into the ground, harvesting and raking in the money, Miller said.
He said farmers should study hops and find out if it really is a crop they want to invest in. Several seminars and conferences are held each year for people interested in the subject.
“This is not the same type of farming at all,” Miller said, comparing hops growing to other popular crops, such as sweet corn or vegetables. “We encourage people to get information first.”
Here are some of the differences farmers will see with hops, according to Miller:
n Harvesting. The harvesting is completely different from other crops. Hops cannot be hand-harvested — it takes an hour to hand-harvest one plant — so machines must be purchased. The average machine can cost about $30,000.
n Equipment: Once hops are harvested, they must be dried, processed, baled and kept in a walk-in cooler. So to get started, a farmer will need a small tractor, trailer, weed sprayer, crop sprayer similar to what is used in a vineyard or orchard, and then a truck, drying equipment, possible pelleter, a cooler and a building for storage and drying. Some growers look at sharing equipment.
n Planting: The cost of plants and trellises for the plants to grow on can cost $15,000 an acre to start.
n Land: About 10 to 15 acres are needed to get a money-making hops operation off the ground. Some New York farmers have as little as a couple of acres. New York varies from the Pacific Northwest, where farmers grow from 500 acres to several thousand acres of hops.
Miller said land preparation is important, and all land where hops will be grown should be well drained, be flat or have a gentle slope, have access to water for irrigation, and have good air circulation and full sun.
“The biggest holdup people have in growing hops is knowledge and equipment,” Miller said.
Fisher said she and her husband advise anyone considering growing hops to spend a year before planting to ready the soil for the plants and be sure to have all the infrastructure — including lines and trellises — ready in advance.
“We didn’t do that (ready the soil), and we’ve been battling weeds ever since,” Fisher said.
In the FAQs sheet Miller provides to hops hopefuls, he said “expenses are variable, but most growers believe they need to have gross sales of more than $6,000 to $8,000 an acre to break even because of initial investment, equipment, harvesting and processing costs.”
Miller also said “if the hops are poor and your yield is low, you are losing money. The first year you may have some hops, a partial crop the second, and a full crop the third.”
If you like this story and want to read more great news about agriculture, subscribe to Empire Farm & Dairy magazine. A one-year subscription is $50 and a two-year subscription is $75. Send your information and payment to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Partnerships Will Boost NY Beverage Industry
Two new partnerships to further support and grow the beverage industry in the Finger Lakes region have been announced.
A new partnership between Taste NY and the New York Wine & Culinary Center was unveiled following a successful listening session with beverage industry stakeholders during Gov. Cuomo’s Capital for a Day in Rochester.
In addition, $200,000 will be provided to Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and its New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva for research on hops and malting barley, the two major ingredients in the production of beer.
Capital for a Day was created by Cuomo to bring state government directly to the people it serves. The day-long event partnered state officials with residents, local leaders and stakeholders to examine first-hand the needs of a community and how New York state government can build upon its strengths and make a positive impact on its residents.
As part of the partnership, the New York Wine & Culinary Center will incorporate the Taste NY experience into its culinary and beverage educational classes.Recipes used in classes will include New York state products and will list the local farmers and suppliers of ingredients to familiarize students with the wide variety of New York agricultural products.
The New York Wine & Culinary Center also will modify the majority of its promotional material with the addition of the Taste NY logo, such as its newly launched wine and culinary center farm-to-table food truck which features the branding.
The food truck offers a menu that represents an extension of the cuisine of the Upstairs Bistro, the culinary center's popular restaurant, and uses nearly 100 percent New York state products on the road.
The food truck will be on the move this summer at various events, wineries, breweries and more.
Taste NY branding will also be added to the menu at Upstairs Bistro to reflect its dedication to local sourcing. It continues to offer a 100 percent New York wine and beer list, as well as a large number of spirit and cider products from the state.
The state will provide $200,000 to Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station for research into hops and malting barley, the two primary ingredients in beer.
The money, included in the 2015-16 state budget, builds on $133,242 previously provided by the Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority.
The experiment station is in the second year of a multi-year research plan aimed at testing the growing stock for malting barley, evaluating disease resistance of various varieties and evaluating which varieties are best suited to New York's climate.
The research being conducted by Cornell University will help meet the growing demand of hops and barley for use in farm-based breweries. Cuomo’s Farm Brewery Legislation, which has spurred the rapid growth of craft brewing in New York state, requires farm brewers to increase the percentage of New York-grown hops and all other ingredients in farm-brewed beer from 20 percent today to 90 percent by 2024.
The
2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, the most recent official statistics
available, shows that 7,679 acres of land in New York was used to
produce barley, while 19 acres of land was
in use for growing hops.
A Cornell Cooperative Extension hops expert estimates that more than 300 acres of land is in use statewide now to grow hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year and with larger farming organizations considering large-scale hops growing operations.
A Cornell Cooperative Extension hops expert estimates that more than 300 acres of land is in use statewide now to grow hops, with the number growing by 75 to 100 acres a year and with larger farming organizations considering large-scale hops growing operations.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Morrisville State College Continues to Grow its Ag Offerings
 |
| Kara Budinock, of Wolcott, Wayne County, a recent graduate of Morrisville State College’s horticulture floral design program, prepares poinsettias for a sale at the college. Horticulture students grow the colorful flowers to sell for the holidays. |
More than 100 years later, its focus hasn’t changed.
Today, though, there are many more subject areas Morrisville students can delve into and several more degree options than in the early 1900s. In fact, in the past 20 years, the college that started by offering only two-year associate degrees has expanded to include four-year courses of study and bachelor’s degrees.
“We began by offering ag degrees for men and home economics for women,” said Christopher Nyberg, dean of the School of Agriculture, Sustainability, Business and Entrepreneurship at
Morrisville State. He said these days, men and women enroll in ag programs, from ag mechanics and engineering to equine science, aquaculture and renewable energy.
 |
| Morrisville State students receive direction from their professor during a solar panel installation in the community in the agriculture department’s renewable energy program. |
Morrisville prides itself on preparing students for the real world. Many degree programs allow students to graduate and then immediately start their own business or fit nicely into another business.
For example, men and women in the dairy science program not only learn how to care, milk and feed cows, they are taught how to run a dairy business. Nyberg said if they see milk production is down in the herd, they check all the statistics of what and how much the cows are eating and drinking and try to devise solutions to increase milk production.
“It’s a good ag-based school with a close-knit group of people,” said Kara Budinock, 20, of Wolcott, Wayne County, who received her associate degree in greenhouse production in May and will return to school in the fall to work on her bachelor’s in horticulture business.
 |
| Joelle Detrick, who graduated from Morrisville in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business development, gives a bath to one of the college’s Holsteins. |
“I loved the hands-on work,” she said.
One of the newest programs at Morrisville expands on the college’s ag programs to take in the local hops industry and craft brewing of beers.
Nyberg said a state grant and collaboration with Steve Miller, Cornell’s hops specialist for the state, resulted in:
** Morrisville housing a hops picker on campus (in a permanent enclosure designed and built by Morrisville students).
** The school’s ag students helping to rebuild the picker.
** Morrisville ag students designing and building their own hops picker, which will be used at the Geneva Experiment Station for its hops harvest this year.
** An agreement to build a brewery — in addition to the college’s restaurant, the Copper Turret — on campus so that local hops and barley can be used to create craft beers.
“Craft brewing and the craft beverage industry are growing,” Nyberg said. “There is an increasing demand for ag products for these, such as all the local barley and malt and hops.”
With this expansion, Morrisville students in the new Brewing Studies Program will be at the forefront of learning about brewing beer, growing hops and barley, and working in the brewing industry.
Bids for the brewing equipment and the design of the Copper Turret expansion are being sought.
Nyberg said the Brewing Studies Program should be running for the 2016-17 academic year and will offer a certificate program with options in associate and bachelor’s degree programs.
Morrisville State also has been expanding its renewable energy curriculum, Nyberg said. Students are able to learn about solar, wind, hydroelectric, bioenergy and geothermal energy from installation of these systems to their design, operation and maintenance.
He said the college — which has had a methane digester for about 10 years to extract gas from cow manure to make electricity for the campus — will be getting a new digester that will use not only animal waste, but food waste also.
“We will take food waste from neighboring campuses (including Colgate University, Hamilton College and Cazenovia College) and other small agriculture industries and add it to our waste,” Nyberg said. “We can use that to generate heat and power for our campus, and it helps by keeping this waste out of the landfills.”
The agricultural degrees offered in Morrisville State College’s School of Agriculture, Sustainability, Business and Entrepreneurship:
ASSOCIATE DEGREES
Agriculture business
Agriculture engineering
Agriculture mechanics
Agriculture science
Animal science
Aquaculture and aquatic science
Equine racing management
Equine science and management
Horticulture
BACHELOR DEGREES
Agriculture business development
Dairy management
Equine science
Horticulture business management
Friday, April 3, 2015
New York Post Slams Money for Agriculture in State Budget
http://nypost.com/2015/04/03/new-ny-budget-allocates-cash-for-beer-onions-and-pit-bulls/
This story just shows the disconnect between Downstate (or more appropriately, New York City) and Upstate.
Where do the knuckleheads at the NY Post think onions, wine, beer, Christmas trees and honey come from? Are they like the little boys who were fighting in the cafeteria in their elementary school where my mom worked years ago -- one yelling at the other because Boy #1 said milk came from cows? Boy #2 said that can't be because his mom buys it at the store.
Perhaps we should propose that everyone in New York City go without onions, beer, wine, maple syrup, honey, etc. for an entire week. What would life be like?
Sure, you might be able to get these items elsewhere, but do you really want old onions or vegetables or Christmas trees grown in another state, harvested God knows when and then shipped here???
That's what is great about New York -- we can get onions, beer, wine, honey, maple syrup, vegetables, Christmas trees, etc. grown and produced right here. In good ol' New York soil. Right down the road. By your neighbor, perhaps.
They are fresh. They were harvested a couple of hours ago.
The money you spend on them stays here in New York -- most often it stays right here in your hometown. Some counties depend on the production of various crops as a major part of their economies, such as apples in Wayne County, onions in Oswego County or milk in Wyoming County.
And it's proper for a little money here and there from New York taxpayers to help producers make better syrup, or bigger more tasty onions, or pest-free vegetables, or perfectly shaped Christmas trees.
C'mon New York Post. Think a little. And remember -- no onions on your burgers for a week
This story just shows the disconnect between Downstate (or more appropriately, New York City) and Upstate.
Where do the knuckleheads at the NY Post think onions, wine, beer, Christmas trees and honey come from? Are they like the little boys who were fighting in the cafeteria in their elementary school where my mom worked years ago -- one yelling at the other because Boy #1 said milk came from cows? Boy #2 said that can't be because his mom buys it at the store.
Perhaps we should propose that everyone in New York City go without onions, beer, wine, maple syrup, honey, etc. for an entire week. What would life be like?
Sure, you might be able to get these items elsewhere, but do you really want old onions or vegetables or Christmas trees grown in another state, harvested God knows when and then shipped here???
That's what is great about New York -- we can get onions, beer, wine, honey, maple syrup, vegetables, Christmas trees, etc. grown and produced right here. In good ol' New York soil. Right down the road. By your neighbor, perhaps.
They are fresh. They were harvested a couple of hours ago.
The money you spend on them stays here in New York -- most often it stays right here in your hometown. Some counties depend on the production of various crops as a major part of their economies, such as apples in Wayne County, onions in Oswego County or milk in Wyoming County.
And it's proper for a little money here and there from New York taxpayers to help producers make better syrup, or bigger more tasty onions, or pest-free vegetables, or perfectly shaped Christmas trees.
C'mon New York Post. Think a little. And remember -- no onions on your burgers for a week
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)