Longtime art director at Hoard's Dairyman passes away.
Go to http://www.hoards.com/blog_Jim-Baird for the story.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Saturday, January 30, 2016
It's National Seed Swap Day
This has always been an important day for gardeners, who are always looking for new seeds to plant.
The website nationaldaycalendar.com states the seed swap is a fundamental part of human history. Seeds were one of the first commodities valued and traded. Today, modern gardeners collect and exchange seeds for many reasons ranging from cultivating rare, heirloom varieties to basic thrift.
The exchange of seeds perpetuates biodiversity. It is an act of giving and the ultimate form of recycling.
Go to http://seedswapday.blogspot.com/2014/01/what-is-national-seed-swap-day.html for more information.
CELEBRATE
Exchange seeds with friends and use #NationalSeedSwapDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
The first annual Washington Gardener Magazine Seed Exchange was held in Washington, DC, on Jan. 26, 2006. Kathy Jentz, the editor/publisher of the magazine had the last Saturday of January named an official holiday and National Seed Swap Day was born.
After that event’s success, seed swaps in other cities across the nation have joined in celebrating National Seed Swap Day each year on (or around*) the last Saturday in January.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
New York Farm Bureau Lists Priorities for 2016; Stopping Minimum Wage Hike is Number 1
New York Farm Bureau released its 2016 state priorities Jan. 27 that focus on improving conditions in New York state to allow for agricultural growth.
New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton laid out the legislative agenda during a press conference call with the media that included NYFB’s Public Policy Director Jeff Williams.
The number one issue for New York Farm Bureau this year is to strongly oppose the $15 minimum wage. The plan would dramatically impact farms competitiveness and cost farmers an estimated $500 million in additional annual labor costs alone. That would be crushing in a year like this one, when milk and commodity prices are significantly lower.
 |
| New York Farm Bureau members let Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the rest of the state Legislature know they are against the $15 an hour minimum wages. Back row left to right are Chris Kelder, Darin Hickling, Dean Casey, Patrick McCormick, Jake Schieferstine, Richard Kimball and Robert Nolan. In front, left to right, holding Assembly banner is David Fisher, John Sorbello and Phyllis Couture, holding governor banner is New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton and Vice President Eric Ooms, and holding the Senate banner are Paul Fouts, Alex Wright and Ashur Terwilliger. |
Other expenses will come from increased costs for goods and services that farms must purchase.
“The governor’s minimum wage proposal makes New York completely uncompetitive with the other agricultural states,” Norton said. “When Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 and New York’s is $15, how can our farms and other businesses compete? The answer, unfortunately, is to reduce labor costs or shut down.”
Norton added New York Farm Bureau will hold lawmakers accountable on this issue, and remind its members of how their representatives voted. The minimum wage proposal is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget plan.
State funding for critical farm programs is also a top priority for New York Farm Bureau. The governor included a number of items in his budget plan to help the farm industry, including money for the Environmental Protection Fund, which will assist farms with water quality, conservation and farmland protection programs.
New York Farm Bureau also remains committed to securing money to assist schools in starting up new FFA programs as well as for agricultural education programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there will be 60,000 new jobs a year in the farming and food industries, and the state will need to have a workforce ready to meet those demands to help grow the industries right here at home.
“We have an abundance of school districts looking to add chapters and this funding would help get those chapters off the ground and started,” said Norton.
A third priority related to the budget is the investment in roads and bridge for upstate New York. The governor is committing $20 billion to match infrastructure efforts happening in and around New York City. The parity in upstate-downstate funding remains a priority because our farms need access to good roads and safe bridges in order to transport their goods to market.
“Many of the bridges that cross the Erie Canal are no longer accessible to agricultural equipment and vehicles because of the weight limit and restrictions,” said Norton. “This increases time and costs for farmers who may have to travel miles out of their way to get to a farm field or deliver milk.”
Another new priority for our members this year is support for transferring farm assessment functions from the Department of Taxation and Finance to the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
Agricultural land assessments are determined by Agriculture and Markets under Agricultural District Law. However, when it comes to administering the assessments, it falls to Tax and Finance, which can create some confusion for assessors not well versed in Agriculture District Law.
Moving the process to be entirely housed within the Department of Agriculture and Markets will not only streamline the process, but it would be a common sense move to improve a valuable program for our farms.
“There is a real sensitivity and understanding of our industry in the Department of Agriculture and Markets and we feel that assessment program and functions would be much better served in that department rather than Taxation and Finance,” said Williams, NYFB’s public policy director.
Finally, energy is another major priority for New York Farm Bureau. Reducing costs and increasing efficiencies for farms, while also helping farms transition to renewable energy sources, provide many benefits for agriculture.
The governor’s initiative, known as Reforming the Energy Vision or REV, is looking to be a more market-based plan than current energy policy incentives. In the past, the New York State Energy Research Development Authority has worked with farms to open up opportunities for solar, wind energy and biomass as well as increasing the use of anaerobic digesters on dairy farms. The digesters convert animal nutrients into electricity that is returned to the grid.
New York Farm Bureau will work this year to ensure REV is implemented in a fair and effective way so that rural New York is able to take advantage of the programs available, and farms can contribute to a more resilient grid and power their neighborhoods.
“We are watching this process very closely, because at the end of the day, we want to make sure that farms who want to employ more renewable energy technologies are making out equally in rate pricing and that their efforts are economically viable,” said Williams. “At this time, we don’t know how this will impact farms or rate payers.”
New York Farm Bureau establishes its priorities every year beginning at the grassroots level. Members of 52 county Farm Bureaus voice their opinions and vote on public policy resolutions at the county level. Those make their way to State Annual Meeting in December where delegates cast their votes that determine the organization’s positions on legislative issues. The State Board of Directors then established the priorities.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Jefferson County Seeks Teens for Healthy Teen Ambassadors Program
Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of
Jefferson County’s 4-H Youth Development Program is recruiting 4-H Healthy Teen
Ambassadors.
This is open to
all youth ages 14-17 in Jefferson County. There are no costs to participate, but space is limited. The deadline to register is Feb. 29.
The 4-H
Healthy Teen Ambassadors will attend a training March 18 to 20 at the
Amboy Center in Oswego County as part of a regional training with teens from
across the state.
Teens will be trained
in the 4-H Choose Health: Food, Fun and
Fitness curriculum developed by Cornell University, Kids in the Kitchen
curriculum developed by University of Missouri and the Up for the Challenge
curriculum developed by the Department of Defense.
Each curriculum is different, but they all
offer research-based education on the benefits of nutrition and physical
activity. Teens will be trained to
deliver the healthy living curricula to youth in elementary after school
programs, day camps, county fairs and other events.
For
additional information, on 4-H or the 4-H Healthy Living Teen Ambassador
opportunity contact Cathy Chrisman at 788-8450 or go to www.ccejefferson.org
Winter Farmers' Markets Open for Business
Even though there is snow on the ground and it's cold doesn't mean farmers' markets are closed.
A number of sites across the state are open during the winter.
For example: The Chaumont Volunteer Fire Department is conducting an eight-week winter farmers market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays from Jan. 31 through March 20.
The department, at 11385 Route 12E, will hold the indoor market for the third straight year. Among other things, the market will feature fresh produce, baked goods and wines from area wineries. The department also will offer lunch specials.
For more information or to sign up as a vendor, contact Heather Jackson at 777-5442 or Holly Rubacha at 783-2838.
for more information on winter farmers' markets, go to http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/winter-markets/ and search by county.
A number of sites across the state are open during the winter.
For example: The Chaumont Volunteer Fire Department is conducting an eight-week winter farmers market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays from Jan. 31 through March 20.
The department, at 11385 Route 12E, will hold the indoor market for the third straight year. Among other things, the market will feature fresh produce, baked goods and wines from area wineries. The department also will offer lunch specials.
For more information or to sign up as a vendor, contact Heather Jackson at 777-5442 or Holly Rubacha at 783-2838.
for more information on winter farmers' markets, go to http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/winter-markets/ and search by county.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Will the Upstate Revitalization Initiative Really Help Agricultural Growth?
From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine
By DEBRA J. GROOM
Late last year, the state announced three regions of the state would receive $500 million each during the next five years to help jumpstart their economies and create jobs.
Each of these regions — Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier — as well as those regions that did not win the competition (North Country, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Mid-Hudson) included agricultural components in their proposals.
So just what do the three winning regions want to do with their money in the field of agriculture? And which of these ideas does an agricultural economics professor at Cornell University think will provide the biggest bang for the buck?
Associate Professor Todd Schmit said he couldn’t talk about specifics in the plans, but looked at them overall and had some observations.
Schmit said what jumped out at him first was the regions’ proposals for food processing and beverages, areas that are adding jobs in New York state. He also liked proposals for “food hubs” and different ways to transport fresh products to other areas.
“What I took away from it is the key areas I see that will be fitting with the economic impacts in these regions and statewide economies,” Schmit said.
Schmit, who received his doctorate in 2003 at Cornell and teaches in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, focuses his research and teaching on agribusiness development, agribusiness management, agricultural marketing and cooperatives.
He said his research has shown that at the state level, the strongest growth is in food manufacturing. In that area, there has been a 53-percent increase in output sales and a 16- percent increase in employment.
An example in the dairy industry is the explosion of yogurt manufacturing in the state. Although there is a “question on supply issues” in yogurt right now (an oversupply of yogurt) along with depressed milk prices, this still should be an area of growth.
(One yogurt plant, run by Muller in Batavia, recently closed due to poor production expectations). New York has been the top U.S. yogurt producer for several years because of the booming Greek yogurt sector. Other plants in the state are run by Chobani, Fage and Byrne.
Schmit also said the specialty beverage industry is booming.
“A good chunk of that is in the wineries and the growth in hard cider and craft brewers,” he said.
In 2008, there were about 240 wineries in New York state. Today, there are more than 400.
Fruit growers are not just selling fruit today. Many have expanded into fruit spirits (alcoholic beverages), such as Beak & Skiff’s 1911 distillery in LaFayette in Onondaga County, which uses apples to make gin, vodka and a number of hard-cider products.
Apple Country Spirits in Williamson, Wayne County, also uses its apples and other fruits to make spirits and hard cider.
“All the investments in manufacturing will provide opportunities,” Schmit said. “There are strong multiplier effects with this manufacturing. I see that as encouraging.”
Schmit also was excited about infrastructure improvements, mostly to improve ways to transport New York grown and manufactured foods to areas that need it.
“We have to get foods to urban areas,” he said. “These types of investments are worthwhile.”
For example, one proposals in the Southern Tier plan lists the desire to develop and use new technology to transition the Southern Tier from a highly seasonal, occasional provider of food products to a reliable source of supply for the East Coast.
The Central New York plan includes indoor agriculture, so vegetables and fruits can be provided to customers year-round instead of just in the summer and fall.
Lastly, Schmit said he likes the proposed investment for workforce development. He said workers should be trained for these food manufacturing and beverage jobs so when companies hire them, they stay and become invested in their workplace and what it is making.
“Right now, there isn’t a commitment or work ethic,” Schmit said. “With the right incentives, (which he said is more than just wages) people will have a commitment for what they do and are engaged with the organization.”
Here are the winning regions and what agricultural proposals are in their plans. Most of the wording is taken right from the plans:
SOUTHERN TIER
Transform the Food and Agriculture Industry
The Southern Tier will be a world-recognized leader in agriculture technology and serve as a key food supplier for the East Coast of the United States.
Leveraging the global reach and strengths of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, together with the region’s natural assets and strong private sector investment, a strategic mix of projects will transform and grow agriculture and food production, processing and distribution across the region, while also strengthening links to growing tourism and manufacturing industries.
** Develop and deploy new technology to transition the Southern Tier from a highly seasonal, occasional provider of food products to a reliable source of supply for the East Coast.
** Promote and leverage existing and new support structures for growers and producers in the region to help expand farms and increase their profitability.
** Increase the diversity of and access to food processing facilities around the region, including slaughterhouses, meat packing and poultry processing facilities, dairy processing facilities and aseptic packaging facilities for vegetables.
**Leverage our location at the crossroads of Upstate New York via the creation of a “food hub” network that facilitates market connections and distribution of food products for production centers in regions across the state.
** Pioneer workforce development programs designed to bolster food and agriculture industries.
The plan also states job creation for agriculture would be about 2,800, the average annual food and agriculture wage would go from $50,491 to $55,541 by the year 2020, the regional output of crops would increase 15 percent and the output in animal products would increase 5 percent.
Game-changing investments
** Plant Science Innovation and Business Development Center at Cornell University
** Southern Tier Agriculture and Food Development Cooperative
** Southern Tier Agriculture Development Fund, which will provide support to pioneering workforce development programs, with a focus on regional residents, hard-to-place workers and veterans
** Southern Tier Agriculture Education Fund
** Beef and Cattle Research Program
** Groundswell Farmer Incubator Capacity Improvement and Regional Expansion
** Basic infrastructure projects necessary to support expansion of food processing facilities such as the Waverly WWTF update to support the expansion of Leprino Cheese and the Village of Walton Biogas Project to support Kraft Food
** New construction or expansion of processing facilities for dairy, value-added foods, slaughter and meat packing, aseptic packaging and ultra-premium wine and beverages
** Investments in crop production such as the Vineyard Reclamation and Replacement Program
n Network of distribution hubs
FINGER LAKES
Further investment in the Finger Lakes region’s food ecosystem will help spur growth and create jobs. Examples of potential upcoming projects include:
AquaTerRen, a controlled environment agriculture start-up, is planning to build a hydroponic/recirculating aquaculture facility at Eastman Business Park in Rochester. The facility will produce fish, organic vegetables and organic fertilizer using renewable energy from anaerobic biodigestion.
This sustainable system would use shared utilities at the park and leverage state funding with a $250 million private investment, creating 400 jobs.
The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva in Ontario County plans to add a high-pressure processing (HPP) safety testing machine at its facility. HPP is a rapidly expanding technology and the equipment would be the only Hiperbaric testing machine in the U.S.
This collaboration between New York state, Cornell University, LiDestri Foods, Wegmans Food Markets and others will enhance the ability of the ag experiment station to serve as a hub for product safety testing in the U.S., and will attract food start-ups and entrepreneurs.
The Organic Grain Farming Conversion Initiative will help farmers convert to growing organic grain and position the Finger Lakes region as the organic food capital of the eastern U.S. and spur further investments by food manufacturers. Organic breads from heritage grains and organic meat using organic grain for feed will be produced from the grain grown in the Finger Lakes region.
A cross-region wine marketing strategy and campaign, expanding and coalescing existing efforts into a unified plan, will substantially increase tourism to the region.
North American Breweries has proposed an Eco-Brewery District that would create a destination for marketing and enhance the quality and perception of New York state beer. The project will expand the Genesee Brew House concept and create a brewery incubator, beer education center and a museum.
Working in collaboration with Monroe Community College, the district would also support workforce development for the beer industry. In addition, the district would be marketed as a tourist attraction that aligns with Greentopia’s EcoDistrict plans for the High Falls district. The project is situated in the low-income El Camino neighborhood and would contribute to its revitalization.
A Sustainable Food Production Initiative will strengthen and expand the food production industry through applied research around the development of new technology, tools, skill sets, innovations and information necessary to address the most critical industry-wide challenges, including energy, water usage, waste and overall resilience.
A focused effort on sustainable food production will require collaboration between food production companies, research institutions including the ag experiment station and the Technology Farm, community colleges and economic development organizations.
The initiative will be led by Rochester Institute of Technology’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability and builds upon the existing Finger Lakes Food Production Cluster Initiative to further increase job and revenue growth in regional food cluster companies.
Investments would focus on high-promise, applied research and development opportunities with the potential to drive innovation across large numbers of existing food production firms in the region.
CENTRAL NEW YORK
The ag initiatives in Central New York’s plan are titled New York-Grown, New York-Certified — Safe and Market-Ready. Region officials want to establish a strong consumer preference for Central New York agricultural products grown locally and certified as safe and nutritious to respond to growing domestic and international demands for nutrition and food safety.
They also want to build a powerful brand identity — within the region to around the globe — utilizing the region’s natural resources and innovative technology to strengthen the state’s dairy, fruit and vegetable industries and enhance the region’s overall rural economy. These efforts will result in increased food production and processing, rapid sales growth and job creation.
Central New York’s OpportunityAgriculture has been a cornerstone of the Central New York and Upstate economy for more than 200 years. It has maintained the vitality of the region’s rural communities, provided food for urban and metropolitan areas and offered tourism opportunities for visitors.
Within Central New York are more than 3,500 farms and over than 200 food processing companies employing nearly 4,000 people.
On a global scale, the food and beverage industry has witnessed significant growth over the past five years. This trend is expected to continue, reaching about $5.8 trillion in 2017 with a compounded annual growth rate of 5 percent in the next five years.
Many experts consider the challenge of feeding the world’s population as one of the most critical in the 21st century and estimate humans will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than has been produced in the previous 10,000 years put together.
With its natural resources, proximity to the world’s largest consumer markets, new investments in logistics and transportation assets, education and research base and supportive technology and industry sectors, agribusiness within Central New York is positioned to build off its historic strengths by investing in major agricultural growth opportunities through Controlled Environment Agriculture (indoor) and aseptic/extended shelf life products.
These opportunities are driven by compelling factors such as:
** The rise of the global middle class and increasing demand for protein-rich, nutritious and safe U.S.-produced food. The lack of widespread refrigeration in emerging markets means that most of these food products have to be processed, packaged and delivered in a way that keeps them fresh and safe. This can be accomplished through aseptic packaging processes;
** New York state’s position as a national dairy center and a leading producer of fluid milk in the United States. Dairy is the largest category (54 percent) for aseptic beverages and is expected to increase by 7 to 9 percent compounded annual growth rate from 2010 to 2020;
** The persistent and ongoing drought in California is severely limiting outdoor production of leafy greens and creating new markets for indoor production in closer proximity to northeast U.S. CEA consumer markets; and
** The average greenhouse operation in New York has 26,000 square feet in a controlled environment, compared to the U.S. average of 48,000 square feet.
** The nexus between regional technology and industry strengths such as sensors, data analytics, unmanned systems and agriculture.
If you like what you read from the magazine, you can subscribe to it by sending $50 for one year or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
By DEBRA J. GROOM
Late last year, the state announced three regions of the state would receive $500 million each during the next five years to help jumpstart their economies and create jobs.
Each of these regions — Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier — as well as those regions that did not win the competition (North Country, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Mid-Hudson) included agricultural components in their proposals.
So just what do the three winning regions want to do with their money in the field of agriculture? And which of these ideas does an agricultural economics professor at Cornell University think will provide the biggest bang for the buck?
Associate Professor Todd Schmit said he couldn’t talk about specifics in the plans, but looked at them overall and had some observations.
Schmit said what jumped out at him first was the regions’ proposals for food processing and beverages, areas that are adding jobs in New York state. He also liked proposals for “food hubs” and different ways to transport fresh products to other areas.
“What I took away from it is the key areas I see that will be fitting with the economic impacts in these regions and statewide economies,” Schmit said.
Schmit, who received his doctorate in 2003 at Cornell and teaches in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, focuses his research and teaching on agribusiness development, agribusiness management, agricultural marketing and cooperatives.
He said his research has shown that at the state level, the strongest growth is in food manufacturing. In that area, there has been a 53-percent increase in output sales and a 16- percent increase in employment.
An example in the dairy industry is the explosion of yogurt manufacturing in the state. Although there is a “question on supply issues” in yogurt right now (an oversupply of yogurt) along with depressed milk prices, this still should be an area of growth.
(One yogurt plant, run by Muller in Batavia, recently closed due to poor production expectations). New York has been the top U.S. yogurt producer for several years because of the booming Greek yogurt sector. Other plants in the state are run by Chobani, Fage and Byrne.
Schmit also said the specialty beverage industry is booming.
“A good chunk of that is in the wineries and the growth in hard cider and craft brewers,” he said.
In 2008, there were about 240 wineries in New York state. Today, there are more than 400.
Fruit growers are not just selling fruit today. Many have expanded into fruit spirits (alcoholic beverages), such as Beak & Skiff’s 1911 distillery in LaFayette in Onondaga County, which uses apples to make gin, vodka and a number of hard-cider products.
Apple Country Spirits in Williamson, Wayne County, also uses its apples and other fruits to make spirits and hard cider.
“All the investments in manufacturing will provide opportunities,” Schmit said. “There are strong multiplier effects with this manufacturing. I see that as encouraging.”
Schmit also was excited about infrastructure improvements, mostly to improve ways to transport New York grown and manufactured foods to areas that need it.
“We have to get foods to urban areas,” he said. “These types of investments are worthwhile.”
For example, one proposals in the Southern Tier plan lists the desire to develop and use new technology to transition the Southern Tier from a highly seasonal, occasional provider of food products to a reliable source of supply for the East Coast.
The Central New York plan includes indoor agriculture, so vegetables and fruits can be provided to customers year-round instead of just in the summer and fall.
Lastly, Schmit said he likes the proposed investment for workforce development. He said workers should be trained for these food manufacturing and beverage jobs so when companies hire them, they stay and become invested in their workplace and what it is making.
“Right now, there isn’t a commitment or work ethic,” Schmit said. “With the right incentives, (which he said is more than just wages) people will have a commitment for what they do and are engaged with the organization.”
Here are the winning regions and what agricultural proposals are in their plans. Most of the wording is taken right from the plans:
SOUTHERN TIER
Transform the Food and Agriculture Industry
The Southern Tier will be a world-recognized leader in agriculture technology and serve as a key food supplier for the East Coast of the United States.
Leveraging the global reach and strengths of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, together with the region’s natural assets and strong private sector investment, a strategic mix of projects will transform and grow agriculture and food production, processing and distribution across the region, while also strengthening links to growing tourism and manufacturing industries.
** Develop and deploy new technology to transition the Southern Tier from a highly seasonal, occasional provider of food products to a reliable source of supply for the East Coast.
** Promote and leverage existing and new support structures for growers and producers in the region to help expand farms and increase their profitability.
** Increase the diversity of and access to food processing facilities around the region, including slaughterhouses, meat packing and poultry processing facilities, dairy processing facilities and aseptic packaging facilities for vegetables.
**Leverage our location at the crossroads of Upstate New York via the creation of a “food hub” network that facilitates market connections and distribution of food products for production centers in regions across the state.
** Pioneer workforce development programs designed to bolster food and agriculture industries.
The plan also states job creation for agriculture would be about 2,800, the average annual food and agriculture wage would go from $50,491 to $55,541 by the year 2020, the regional output of crops would increase 15 percent and the output in animal products would increase 5 percent.
Game-changing investments
** Plant Science Innovation and Business Development Center at Cornell University
** Southern Tier Agriculture and Food Development Cooperative
** Southern Tier Agriculture Development Fund, which will provide support to pioneering workforce development programs, with a focus on regional residents, hard-to-place workers and veterans
** Southern Tier Agriculture Education Fund
** Beef and Cattle Research Program
** Groundswell Farmer Incubator Capacity Improvement and Regional Expansion
** Basic infrastructure projects necessary to support expansion of food processing facilities such as the Waverly WWTF update to support the expansion of Leprino Cheese and the Village of Walton Biogas Project to support Kraft Food
** New construction or expansion of processing facilities for dairy, value-added foods, slaughter and meat packing, aseptic packaging and ultra-premium wine and beverages
** Investments in crop production such as the Vineyard Reclamation and Replacement Program
n Network of distribution hubs
FINGER LAKES
Further investment in the Finger Lakes region’s food ecosystem will help spur growth and create jobs. Examples of potential upcoming projects include:
AquaTerRen, a controlled environment agriculture start-up, is planning to build a hydroponic/recirculating aquaculture facility at Eastman Business Park in Rochester. The facility will produce fish, organic vegetables and organic fertilizer using renewable energy from anaerobic biodigestion.
This sustainable system would use shared utilities at the park and leverage state funding with a $250 million private investment, creating 400 jobs.
The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva in Ontario County plans to add a high-pressure processing (HPP) safety testing machine at its facility. HPP is a rapidly expanding technology and the equipment would be the only Hiperbaric testing machine in the U.S.
This collaboration between New York state, Cornell University, LiDestri Foods, Wegmans Food Markets and others will enhance the ability of the ag experiment station to serve as a hub for product safety testing in the U.S., and will attract food start-ups and entrepreneurs.
The Organic Grain Farming Conversion Initiative will help farmers convert to growing organic grain and position the Finger Lakes region as the organic food capital of the eastern U.S. and spur further investments by food manufacturers. Organic breads from heritage grains and organic meat using organic grain for feed will be produced from the grain grown in the Finger Lakes region.
A cross-region wine marketing strategy and campaign, expanding and coalescing existing efforts into a unified plan, will substantially increase tourism to the region.
North American Breweries has proposed an Eco-Brewery District that would create a destination for marketing and enhance the quality and perception of New York state beer. The project will expand the Genesee Brew House concept and create a brewery incubator, beer education center and a museum.
Working in collaboration with Monroe Community College, the district would also support workforce development for the beer industry. In addition, the district would be marketed as a tourist attraction that aligns with Greentopia’s EcoDistrict plans for the High Falls district. The project is situated in the low-income El Camino neighborhood and would contribute to its revitalization.
A Sustainable Food Production Initiative will strengthen and expand the food production industry through applied research around the development of new technology, tools, skill sets, innovations and information necessary to address the most critical industry-wide challenges, including energy, water usage, waste and overall resilience.
A focused effort on sustainable food production will require collaboration between food production companies, research institutions including the ag experiment station and the Technology Farm, community colleges and economic development organizations.
The initiative will be led by Rochester Institute of Technology’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability and builds upon the existing Finger Lakes Food Production Cluster Initiative to further increase job and revenue growth in regional food cluster companies.
Investments would focus on high-promise, applied research and development opportunities with the potential to drive innovation across large numbers of existing food production firms in the region.
CENTRAL NEW YORK
The ag initiatives in Central New York’s plan are titled New York-Grown, New York-Certified — Safe and Market-Ready. Region officials want to establish a strong consumer preference for Central New York agricultural products grown locally and certified as safe and nutritious to respond to growing domestic and international demands for nutrition and food safety.
They also want to build a powerful brand identity — within the region to around the globe — utilizing the region’s natural resources and innovative technology to strengthen the state’s dairy, fruit and vegetable industries and enhance the region’s overall rural economy. These efforts will result in increased food production and processing, rapid sales growth and job creation.
Central New York’s OpportunityAgriculture has been a cornerstone of the Central New York and Upstate economy for more than 200 years. It has maintained the vitality of the region’s rural communities, provided food for urban and metropolitan areas and offered tourism opportunities for visitors.
Within Central New York are more than 3,500 farms and over than 200 food processing companies employing nearly 4,000 people.
On a global scale, the food and beverage industry has witnessed significant growth over the past five years. This trend is expected to continue, reaching about $5.8 trillion in 2017 with a compounded annual growth rate of 5 percent in the next five years.
Many experts consider the challenge of feeding the world’s population as one of the most critical in the 21st century and estimate humans will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than has been produced in the previous 10,000 years put together.
With its natural resources, proximity to the world’s largest consumer markets, new investments in logistics and transportation assets, education and research base and supportive technology and industry sectors, agribusiness within Central New York is positioned to build off its historic strengths by investing in major agricultural growth opportunities through Controlled Environment Agriculture (indoor) and aseptic/extended shelf life products.
These opportunities are driven by compelling factors such as:
** The rise of the global middle class and increasing demand for protein-rich, nutritious and safe U.S.-produced food. The lack of widespread refrigeration in emerging markets means that most of these food products have to be processed, packaged and delivered in a way that keeps them fresh and safe. This can be accomplished through aseptic packaging processes;
** New York state’s position as a national dairy center and a leading producer of fluid milk in the United States. Dairy is the largest category (54 percent) for aseptic beverages and is expected to increase by 7 to 9 percent compounded annual growth rate from 2010 to 2020;
** The persistent and ongoing drought in California is severely limiting outdoor production of leafy greens and creating new markets for indoor production in closer proximity to northeast U.S. CEA consumer markets; and
** The average greenhouse operation in New York has 26,000 square feet in a controlled environment, compared to the U.S. average of 48,000 square feet.
** The nexus between regional technology and industry strengths such as sensors, data analytics, unmanned systems and agriculture.
If you like what you read from the magazine, you can subscribe to it by sending $50 for one year or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
Ag Society Forum: Farmers Must Learn to Deal With Changing Climate
From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:
By DEBRA J. GROOM
SALINA — Oh, the weather it is a changin.’
And oh, how the farmers have to change their operations to deal with it.
Climate change and how it affects agriculture in New York state was the focus of the 184th forum of the New York State Agricultural Society held Jan. 7 at the Holiday Inn in suburban Syracuse.
The day-long forum included talks by a meteorologist and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, a panel discussion by New York farmers on how they deal with changes in the weather and a talk by the administrator of the federal Farm Service Agency.
All agreed weather patterns in New York have changed.
Art DeGaetano, a meteorologist, a professor in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, said data shows “through time, something has changed.”
From about 1980 through today, temperatures on average have been much warmer than normal in the winter.
He said data shows there have been fewer times when the temperatures dropped below zero, summer temperatures are warmer than normal, there are more frost-free seasons and, while annual average amounts of precipitation have stayed about the same (41 inches), there have been more extremes of when areas see two inches or more of rain in a day.
“We’re still seeing 41 inches of rain, but it’s coming in 10 days instead of in a longer period of time.
It’s clearly a different impact,” DeGaetano said.
So what can farmers do to deal with changes in the weather?
Peter Martens, a grain and crop farmer in Dresden, Yates County, and Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel, an organic vegetable farmer in Madison in Madison County, both do much more irrigation and drainage work on their farms than in the past. Irrigation deals with times when there isn’t enough rain, and drainage helps the farms get rid of water from those extreme deluges.
Martens also increased his strip cropping from zero in 2000 to 70 percent of his crops now being grown this way. This helps alleviate the erosion of soil by creating natural dams for water when it rains.
Martens also has had to rethink the type of crops he is growing now that the weather is different. Instead of planting windbreaks that simply act as windbreaks, he is considering planting fruit or nut trees that can act as windbreaks and can be sold “to turn a profit.”
He also is working with nearby dairy farmers by taking some of the crops he grew as weather buffers (straw and beans) and sells them to the dairies for feed.
“When the weather takes away an opportunity, reach out to a neighbor for another opportunity,” he said.
Burkhart-Spiegel said the very first year she and her husband operated Common Thread Community Farm and CSA in 2013, it rained so much in June they thought they’d never get their crops in.
“Six weeks of rain when we’re trying to get our crops in and cultivated,” she said.
So they also put in drainage. Irrigation is used when the rain gods take a vacation.
They use raised beds for some of the vegetables and put in hoop houses and temporary caterpillar houses for raising items like tomatoes.
“I remember when we could plant all our tomatoes outside and get all the tomatoes we needed,” she said. “Now we don’t plant any tomatoes outside.”
The weather changes also have led to more pests, so Burkhart-Spiegel has turned to organic pesticides, uses row covers and even black plastic and landscape fabric when growing some vegetables.
Val Dolcini, the Farm Service Agency administrator, manages offices in “every rural county in the United States in serving America’s farmers and ranchers, providing them with credit, farm and conservation programs and disaster assistance.”
He admits the ever-changing climate makes his job challenging, as more and more farmers and ranchers throughout the United States need federal assistance when weather disasters hit.
“Whether it’s a goliath blizzard like what hit recently in New Mexico, to El Nino to wildfires, we will respond,” he said of FSA.
He said sometimes that means going back to Congress for more money if there have been so many disasters that the agency’s disaster money is depleted.
“In our industry, opportunity is often created out of efforts to overcome new challenges and farmers and ranchers have a proven track record of harnessing ingenuity, know-how and determination to not just survive, but thrive in an ever-changing environment,” Dolcini told the more than 500 people attending the forum.
“That’s why today’s focus on Climate Smart Farming is so timely. As you know, there are many things we can control in life, but there are at least two things that are unpredictable: the markets and the weather. Sudden changes in either can have a major impact on our food supply,” he said.
“And while these forces may be at least somewhat out of our control, it’s how we adapt to them that will determine our success, Dolcini said.
“It goes without saying that the threat of climate change is far too important of an issue to be swept up in the partisan political climate that exists in Washington, DC,” he said.
Dolcini said people in agriculture not only have to figure out ways to avoid climate disasters in the future, but also how to learn from what is happening today to help change farm and ranch operations to increase profitability.
If you like what you read from the magazine, you can subscribe to it by sending $50 for one year or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
By DEBRA J. GROOM
SALINA — Oh, the weather it is a changin.’
And oh, how the farmers have to change their operations to deal with it.
Climate change and how it affects agriculture in New York state was the focus of the 184th forum of the New York State Agricultural Society held Jan. 7 at the Holiday Inn in suburban Syracuse.
The day-long forum included talks by a meteorologist and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, a panel discussion by New York farmers on how they deal with changes in the weather and a talk by the administrator of the federal Farm Service Agency.
All agreed weather patterns in New York have changed.
Art DeGaetano, a meteorologist, a professor in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, said data shows “through time, something has changed.”
From about 1980 through today, temperatures on average have been much warmer than normal in the winter.
He said data shows there have been fewer times when the temperatures dropped below zero, summer temperatures are warmer than normal, there are more frost-free seasons and, while annual average amounts of precipitation have stayed about the same (41 inches), there have been more extremes of when areas see two inches or more of rain in a day.
“We’re still seeing 41 inches of rain, but it’s coming in 10 days instead of in a longer period of time.
It’s clearly a different impact,” DeGaetano said.
So what can farmers do to deal with changes in the weather?
Peter Martens, a grain and crop farmer in Dresden, Yates County, and Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel, an organic vegetable farmer in Madison in Madison County, both do much more irrigation and drainage work on their farms than in the past. Irrigation deals with times when there isn’t enough rain, and drainage helps the farms get rid of water from those extreme deluges.
Martens also increased his strip cropping from zero in 2000 to 70 percent of his crops now being grown this way. This helps alleviate the erosion of soil by creating natural dams for water when it rains.
Martens also has had to rethink the type of crops he is growing now that the weather is different. Instead of planting windbreaks that simply act as windbreaks, he is considering planting fruit or nut trees that can act as windbreaks and can be sold “to turn a profit.”
He also is working with nearby dairy farmers by taking some of the crops he grew as weather buffers (straw and beans) and sells them to the dairies for feed.
“When the weather takes away an opportunity, reach out to a neighbor for another opportunity,” he said.
Burkhart-Spiegel said the very first year she and her husband operated Common Thread Community Farm and CSA in 2013, it rained so much in June they thought they’d never get their crops in.
“Six weeks of rain when we’re trying to get our crops in and cultivated,” she said.
So they also put in drainage. Irrigation is used when the rain gods take a vacation.
They use raised beds for some of the vegetables and put in hoop houses and temporary caterpillar houses for raising items like tomatoes.
“I remember when we could plant all our tomatoes outside and get all the tomatoes we needed,” she said. “Now we don’t plant any tomatoes outside.”
The weather changes also have led to more pests, so Burkhart-Spiegel has turned to organic pesticides, uses row covers and even black plastic and landscape fabric when growing some vegetables.
Val Dolcini, the Farm Service Agency administrator, manages offices in “every rural county in the United States in serving America’s farmers and ranchers, providing them with credit, farm and conservation programs and disaster assistance.”
He admits the ever-changing climate makes his job challenging, as more and more farmers and ranchers throughout the United States need federal assistance when weather disasters hit.
“Whether it’s a goliath blizzard like what hit recently in New Mexico, to El Nino to wildfires, we will respond,” he said of FSA.
He said sometimes that means going back to Congress for more money if there have been so many disasters that the agency’s disaster money is depleted.
“In our industry, opportunity is often created out of efforts to overcome new challenges and farmers and ranchers have a proven track record of harnessing ingenuity, know-how and determination to not just survive, but thrive in an ever-changing environment,” Dolcini told the more than 500 people attending the forum.
“That’s why today’s focus on Climate Smart Farming is so timely. As you know, there are many things we can control in life, but there are at least two things that are unpredictable: the markets and the weather. Sudden changes in either can have a major impact on our food supply,” he said.
“And while these forces may be at least somewhat out of our control, it’s how we adapt to them that will determine our success, Dolcini said.
“It goes without saying that the threat of climate change is far too important of an issue to be swept up in the partisan political climate that exists in Washington, DC,” he said.
Dolcini said people in agriculture not only have to figure out ways to avoid climate disasters in the future, but also how to learn from what is happening today to help change farm and ranch operations to increase profitability.
If you like what you read from the magazine, you can subscribe to it by sending $50 for one year or $75 for two years to Empire Farm & Dairy, 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601
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