Bill Helps Craft Beverage Industry

A bill has been passed that will continue New York state's support of the growing craft beverage industry by cutting burdensome requirements placed on producers and rolling back restrictions regarding the marketing of craft products.

This bill would provide New York manufacturers with greater opportunities to market their products, including allowing producers to serve “by the bottle” and “by the glass” as well as permitting farm distilleries to increase the retail outlets where they can sell and offer samples of their products. In addition, this bill would reduce costs for small manufacturers by permitting them to produce more of their product at lower fees.

The legislation is a result of the state’s second Wine, Beer, Spirits, and Cider Summit, held this past April. The Summit brought the farm-based beverage sector together with agricultural producers and government officials in an effort to find ways to support the rapid growth of New York’s beverage industry.

Pollinator Health Task Force Praised

News from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand:

U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) praised the Obama Administration for creating a Pollinator Health Task Force to develop a federal strategy to promote the health of honeybees and other pollinators. 

The new interagency task force will help address troubling pollinator declines in California, New York and elsewhere by improving federal coordination to protect the long-term viability of native and managed pollinators.

“New York’s agricultural industry is a key part of America’s economy and pollinators play such an important role in that success,” said Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “With the alarming drop in pollinators, farmers across America have been suffering from a decrease in agricultural productivity. This new federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators is a step in the right direction. It will allow research to be advanced to better understand and rectify this drastic loss that is impacting America’s agricultural system.”

During negotiations for the 2014 Farm Bill, Boxer and Senator Gillibrand introduced a honeybee and pollinator amendment that among other provisions would have created an interagency task force dedicated to developing a federal strategy to address pollinator declines and sustain a healthy pollinator population. The amendment was included in the Farm Bill passed in the House, but was not included in the final bill.

Since 2006, winter hive losses for managed honeybee hives have averaged nearly 30 percent, compared to historical losses of 10 to 15 percent. The losses in part have been attributed to a phenomenon commonly referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder, which results in sudden and catastrophic hive depopulation. 

Honeybees and other pollinators are under threat by a multitude of stressors including habitat loss, disease, exposure to certain pesticides and management practices. The new task force has been directed with creating an action plan to focus federal efforts on understanding, preventing and recovering pollinator populations.

USDA Announces Money for Honeybee Populations

From the USDA:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday June 20 announced $8 million in Conservation Reserve Program incentives for Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin farmers and ranchers who establish new habitats for declining honeybee populations. 

More than half of the commercially managed honey bees are in these five states during the summer. This announcement comes in addition to $3 million USDA designated to the Midwest states to support bee populations earlier this year through the Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

"American agricultural production relies on having a healthy honeybee population," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "In recent years, factors such as diseases, parasites, pesticides or habitat loss have contributed to a significant decline in the honey bee population. This $8 million is part of the Administration's ongoing strategy to reverse these trends and establish more plant habitat on Conservation Reserve Program lands to restore the bee population."

The new Conservation Reserve Program pollinator initiative is designed to further enhance current Conservation Reserve Program land, allowing it to provide better access to nutritious pollinator forage. The program allows for managing or replacing existing vegetation, known as 'covers', with lower cost, high nutrition seed mixes that can support distinct blooming cycles of plants that benefit pollinators. 

Honeybees, the pollinator workhorse of U.S. fruit and vegetable agriculture, will have more blooms from which to collect nectar and pollen to sustain and promote colony growth and honey production throughout the growing season. 

By assisting honeybees, the pollinator initiative helps USDA continue to secure the food supply. More than $15 billion worth of agricultural production, including over 130 fruits and vegetables, depend on the health and well-being of honeybees.

Now is a critical time for efforts to support honeybee populations. The honey bee population in the United States has been declining for decades. The number of managed U.S. honeybee colonies dropped from 6 million in 1947, to just 2.5 million today.

Vaccine for Pig, Hog Virus OKed for Use in NY

News from the state veterinarian Dr. David Smith:

A vaccine has been approved for use in New York state that will help protect swine against the PED (Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea) virus.

This will not change the decision to eliminate sow and piglet exhibits at the 2014 State Fair. But it will help swine farmers.

Here is Smith's statement:

“Last month, in an effort to protect the health and safety of animals in our care, we announced The Great New York State Fair would suspend its piglets and sows exhibit for 2014 due to Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus, which has taken a heavy toll on the nation’s hog farmers. 

When sows and litters become infected, PED kills nearly 100 percent of piglets less than 10 days old.  At that time, we stated that a vaccine that effectively induces protective immunity against PED would be a powerful tool in helping swine across New York State overcome this disease.  

Yesterday, the State Department of Agriculture and Markets reached out to Harrisvaccines in order to expedite the approval to use their PED vaccine, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) Vaccine, RNA, in New York State.  This vaccine is now approved for use in New York under a conditional license from USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics, which assures us of the product’s safety and purity.  

USDA’s conditional license also indicates that there is reasonable expectation that the vaccine does provide some degree of protection against PED. Conditional licensure is reserved for situations in which an animal health emergency exists and serves to shorten the time to get new vaccines to market.  We expect the vaccine to come to market in New York State around mid-July.  

As is the case with any veterinary vaccine or drug, the Department strongly recommends that swine owners consult with their veterinarian to decide whether or not this product is appropriate for their herd and their production practices.

While this vaccine will not change our decision with respect to the piglets and sows exhibit at this year’s State Fair, the state wants swine producers in New York to have every available tool to combat PED. And while it is too early to speculate on how much impact this particular vaccine will have, it does indeed look promising.”

Another Reason to Love Jerseys

I've always loved Jerseys and now here's another reason why everyone should love them.

Go to http://www.hoards.com/blog_brown-is-color-of-money this story from Hoard's Dairyman to see what I mean.

Dairy Month Celebration Monday at Hood Plant in Oneida

The new commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets is coming to Madison County Monday in celebration of Dairy Month.

Richard Ball will tour the HP Hood plant on Genesee Street in Oneida at about 9:30 a.m. He will be accompanied by state Sen. David Valesky, of Oneida, Assemblyman William Magee, chair of the Assembly agriculture committee from nearby nelson, Madison County, and Hood officials Steve Pelkey and Rick Kovarik.

Plant officials will show Ball the entire milk manufacturing process, from the milk truck to the grocery store.  

New York is the third largest milk-producing state in the nation and accounts for 6.7 percent of national production. In 2013, there were over 5,000 dairy farms in New York and 610,000 dairy cows across the state, with the average dairy farm had 121 cows producing 2.67 million pounds of milk per year. From 2010 to 2013, New York saw a 6.1 percent increase of pounds of milk per cow, compared to a 3.2 percent increase at the national level.

Running of the Goats

OK, is this the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Enjoy!!