Lowville Cheese Cow Keeping Safe from Coronavirus

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

Maple Weekends Canceled in New York State

Maple Weekend events in New York state have been canceled due to concerns with the coronavirus.

Here is the announcement form the New York State Maple Producers:

"Out of an abundance of caution, the New York State Maple Producers Association has decided to cancel the 2020 NYS Maple Weekend. This 25th anniversary festival was scheduled for March 21-22 and March 28-29 at 187 different locations across New York state. 

"Individual sugarhouses will continue to produce, stock and market their excellent crop of Maple Products. Please contact them directly to order your favorite maple products.  

"NYS Maple Producers Association is already preparing for an alternative series of open houses later in the year to showcase both producer and product. Consult MapleWeekend.com for future events.   

"If you have questions, contact us at mapleweekend@nysmaple.com"

Maple Weekend is an annual event in March in which maple producers throughout the state open their sugarhouses to show the public how they make maple syrup and other maple products. For many, it is their biggest source of revenue for the year.

Remember, as the statement says, the producers still are making syrup and New York residents still can buy all the maple products they need.

Statement From Farmers Market Federation on Coronavirus

The Farmers Market Federation of New York posted the following update on how coronavirus or Covid-19 could affect farmers markets in the state.

Go to https://mailchi.mp/acc3c7be6238/market-matters-march-2020?fbclid=IwAR1USSP8XUeg9D91_N5tlCQqBu953-2Lg1aeFNbvoUSScTklxysfsC-dkoo to read the information.

Other coronavirus info:

The New York State Fair also has canceled all events at the fairgrounds in Geddes through the end of the month.

Here is the fair's statement:

"Today, Gov. Cuomo announced that all events in New York state of more than 500 people will be canceled as part of the effort to suppress the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, we are canceling all public events on the New York State Fairgrounds through the end of March. 

"We are working with event promoters to secure alternate dates for their events when possible and are providing full refunds of deposits. Our first and most important priority is to safeguard the health of everyone who visits the Fairgrounds and we will continue to take all necessary actions in order to achieve that goal."

Also, the WNY EquiFest, a large equine event that attracts more than 6,000 people to the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg, NY, also has been canceled. Here is the statement from the event's Facebook page:

"In an effort to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a ban today on all public gatherings of more than 500 people. As a result of the governor’s declaration, WNY EquiFest has been canceled for 2020.

The health and safety of our employees, exhibitors, patrons and volunteers is our utmost priority and we truly apologize to all impacted by this announcement."

The event was set for March 21-22.

Maple Weekends Still On in Most of NYS

New York state maple producers are not letting the presence of the coronavirus in New York state stomp on their biggest event of the year.

As of the afternoon of Thursday, March 12, Maple Weekend events scheduled for March 21-22 and March 28-29 still are set to go. Helen Thomas, executive director of the New York State Maple Producers Association, said she is conferring with her board of directors and changing news could change this decision.

Right now (March 12), "we are not canceling Maple Weekend and are leaving it up to producers" to decide what is right for them, Thomas said. 

She said a few producers in the Hudson Valley -- the epicenter of coronavirus in the state -- have canceled their events. She said some in Westchester County looked at the list of attendees from past years and saw many people from New York City visit Maple Weekends and decided it would be best to keep everyone safe by not holding the event.

New York City also has been an area hard hit by the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19.

Pancakes being cooked at a Maple Weekend pancake breakfast

"We have to be responsible about the producers, considering this (Maple Weekend) is one of the big revenue times of the year," Thomas said.

Thomas said the maple association is following a directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Thursday which requires events with more than 500 people be canceled and any event that is held be restricted to 500 or fewer attendees.

She said Maple Weekend events in New York state rarely have more than 500 people at one time -- a producer might have that many visitors, but it would be spread out over a full day or weekend.

"All of this is changing hourly," Thomas said. "We have to watch it daily."  

The Mint Milk is Coming

A lot of people wait for the Shamrock Shakes at McDonald's to know St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner.

But in New York, there's something else that says that special holiday is coming up.

Coming soon to a Byrne Dairy and Deli near you -- MINT MILK!!! Mint Milk is expected to be in stores this week

To find a local Byrne Dairy and Deli, go to https://byrnedairystores.com/locations

Wayne County Dairy Princess Wins State Pageant

From the American Dairy Association North East

Left to right: 2nd Alternate Erin Armitage, State Dairy Princess Natalie Vernon and 1st Alternate Rachel Rouland.

Natalie Vernon of Wayne County was named the 2020-2021 New York State Dairy Princess Tuesday night at the Holiday Inn in Salina, outside Syracuse.

She has served as the Wayne County Dairy Princess since spring of 2019. She will now spend the next year advocating for the dairy industry throughout New York state.

As state princess, she receives a $1,200 scholarship and will serve as a dairy industry ambassador and spokesperson, working with the American Dairy Association North East to represent dairy farmers at a variety of special events, including the New York State Fair, county dairy princess pageants, farmer meetings, fairs and school visits.

She will also play an integral role in the training and mentoring of new county dairy princesses.

Named first alternate state princess was Rachel Rouland of Monroe County. Erin Armitage of Washington County was named second alternate state princess. They receive a $700 scholarship and $600 scholarship, respectively. Both will assist the New York State Dairy Princess with training, appearances and other duties.

Twenty-two county dairy princesses competed in the state pageant, which included a personal interview, impromptu questions, a prepared adult speech, a product knowledge exam, writing skills test, and informal interaction with others.

Judges evaluated the contestants on their communication skills, knowledge of the dairy industry, poise and personality. Judges were: Tracy Smith, Warren County, N.J., Dairy Princess Coordinator & So-N-So Acres Farm; Mike Weimer, Classifier, Holstein Association USA; and Holly Pullis, Hollywood Enterprises & Roedale Farm.

Heidi Kovalewski, Onondaga County Dairy Promotions chairperson, was presented with the Golden Cow award, given annually to recognize outstanding service and dedication to local dairy promotion in New York state.

The American Dairy Association North East sponsors the dairy princess competition each year. This was the 57^th annual pageant.

The outgoing state dairy princess was Reegan Domagala of Lewis County.  

Dean Foods Files for Bankrupty Protection

Check out this story from ABC News.

Go to https://abcnews.go.com/Business/americas-largest-milk-producer-dean-foods-files-bankruptcy/story?id=66947892&cid=social_fb_abcn&fbclid=IwAR0_A9xqHGYRNZwbe-rWH7gEmQ2huxFXJNdlHUklJREzEmmLWZkNA6KYT7A