$4 State Fair Admission Tickets on Sale Thursday

New York State Fair admission tickets for $4 will be on sale beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 25. 
 
The tickets, to celebrate the midway point to opening day of the 2016 fair, are available online at http://event.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSale.do?performance_id=4218907&method=restoreToken

This “Halfway to the Great New York State Fair” makes 10,000 tickets available for purchase at 33 percent off the advance sale price and 60 percent off the $10 price at the gate.
 
They are good for admission any day of the 2016 fair.

Army Horses Looking for New Homes

Need a horse?

How about one that's been in the Army.

Check out the story http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article61705172.html at this link.

John Walrath, long-time farmer and Holstein association member, dies

John Walrath

Long-time farmer and Holstein association member dies in East Springfield, NY, Otsego County.

Go to http://www.ottmanfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1751130 this link to see John Walrath's obituary.

It's National FFA Week

Feb. 20 through 27 is National FFA Week.

State Sen. Patty Ritchie meets with FFA members during a Senate Ag Committee meeting

Please join me in thanking all those FFA students who learn so much about agriculture and the environment and then turn around and share their expertise with all of us. 

And thanks to all the FFA advisers who also share their wisdom, knowledge and time to help these FFA students learn and prosper.

To learn more about FFA and National FFA Week, go to https://www.ffa.org/ffaweek

Bringing the Farm to School in Waterville

Check out this Farm-to-School story:

Go to https://www.morningagclips.com/bringing-the-farm-to-school-in-waterville/

Ritchie Meets With Agriculture Advisory Council

Top row, from left to right:  Allen Kelly, Jay Matteson, Dave Fisher, Eric Behling, Dr. Jack Zeh, Senator Ritchie, Kevin Acres and Ron Robbins

Bottom row, from left to right: Jon Greenwood, Mary Kelly, Keith Pierce and Phil Randazzo

State Sen. Patty Ritchie met recently in St. Lawrence County with members of her Agriculture Advisory Council, which is comprised of farmers and agriculture professionals from throughout Central and Northern New York.

She heard their concerns and listened to their suggestions for what can be done to improve the state’s leading industry.

“Making real progress when it comes to strengthening our agriculture industry and boosting the bottom lines of farmers across the state depends heavily on the feedback we’re able to gather from the farmers and agribusiness owners on the ground level,” said Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee. 

During the meeting, Ritchie shared the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Annual Report, which highlights work done by the committee in 2015, including securing record budget funding for agriculture, efforts to make locally-grown foods more readily available for consumers and an expansion of initiatives that encourage young people to pursue careers in farming.

In addition, attendees also discussed priorities for the 2016 Legislative Session, including advocating for additional funding for key agriculture programs, as well as continuing to cut red tape for farmers. 

Just last week, Ritchie unveiled “Planting Seeds,” an initiative to support the agriculture industry in a number of ways, including restoring budget cuts and increasing funding for key agriculture programs, providing new tax and regulatory relief for farmers, supporting initiatives that promote food safety and creating new opportunities for young people, as well as veterans, who are interested in pursuing careers in farming.

Apples Are the Focus of Ag Literacy Week

From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:

Beautiful New York Empire apples

By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy
 
Apples are going to be the focus for this year’s Ag Literacy Week.
 
Volunteers across New York state will go into elementary schools March 14 through 18 to read the book “The Apple Orchard Riddle” to second-graders as part of Ag Literacy Week.
 

This event is held each year around the time of National Agriculture Day (March 15) to help bring agriculture into the classroom. A book about a different farm product or aspect of farming is chosen each year to be read in second-grade classrooms throughout the state. The elementary schools are given copies of the book and teachers and the readers discuss the book with the students.
 
There are also related activities that tie in to make this experience fun and engaging.
 
“The Apple Orchard Riddle,” written by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by G. Brian Karas, takes children on the journey of Mr. Tiffin’s class taking a field trip to the apple orchard were they will learn every aspect of the farm, including how apples are harvested, the process of making cider and the many different varieties of apples.
 
While the class picks their apples and checks out the farm, Mr. Tiffin gives them all a riddle to ponder.
 
The book was chosen because of the importance of apples in New York’s economy. New York ranks second in the United States in apple production and the state has more apple varieties than any other state. 

The apple industry also provides more than 17,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state and there are more than 680 producers growing apples on more than 55,000 acres. New York apples go not only for fresh eating and cider, but also for sauce, apple pie filling and even for alcoholic spirits and hard cider.
 
Anyone interested in reading in a classroom for Ag Literacy Week should go to http://www.agclassroom.org/ny/programs/pdf/login/coordinator_list.pdf  to see the Ag Literacy Day contact for their particular county.  

Volunteers who go into the classrooms to read the book usually are somehow connected with agriculture — such as dairy princesses, master gardeners, farmers, Cooperative Extension agents, etc. But anyone can volunteer to read.
 
Now in its 11th year, Ag Literacy Week is sponsored by the New York Ag in the Classroom program. Some of the other topics children learned about in previous years were beekeeping, poultry, maple, weaving fibers, cheese, tree farming, seeds and gardening.
 
For more information, go to www.agclassroom.org/ny/programs/literacy.htm.