Small Farms Update is intended as a resource for farmers and agricultural service providers in New York, and is provided to you by Cornell’s Small Farms Program. Our mission is to foster the sustainability of diverse, thriving small farms that contribute to food security, healthy rural communities, and the environment. Our work is made possible by a network of close partnerships among Cornell faculty and staff, Cornell Cooperative Extension educators and staff, NYS agriculture support agencies, non profit agriculture organizations and farmers.
Prefer to print out the update for easier reading? Download this month's Small Farms Update as an RTF document.
Spring Small Farm Quarterly coming April 7
Order Your Bulk Copies by March 7
Attention farm-stand operators, farmers' market managers and vendors, feed and supply stores, equipment dealers, Extension and USDA offices, and anyone else interested in sharing good information about farming!
Did you know that you can order bulk copies of Small Farm Quarterly to give away to your customers or to hand out at events? It's a great way to provide a valuable benefit, and it's only 10 cents per copy!!!
SFQ is our award-winning magazine, packed full of interesting articles, photos and resource tips. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out online at www.smallfarms.cornell.edu.
To get your copies of the Summer issue just call Tracy Crouse at Lee Publications, 888-596-5329, or send an email to subscriptions@leepub.com. Bulk order deadline for Spring issue is March 7.
NY Organic Dairy Initiative Offers Support for Farmers Interested in Organic Grain ProductionThis winter the NY Organic Dairy Initiative is sponsoring a number of meetings around the state to help both existing organic farms and those thinking of transitioning to organic production. Organic grain production is the most common topic because there is significant opportunity to be a part of this new market. Last year, while the number of organic dairy farms that entered the market increased by 60% the number of organic crop acres increased by only 8%. Prices that organic dairy farms are paying now are in the range of $450-$500/ ton of corn and $750-$800/ton of soybean meal. At these prices, farmers who are interested in transitioning to organic crop production can find a ready market.
If you are looking for guidance on whether growing field crops organically is right for your farm, contact Fay Benson at (607) 753-5213 or afb3@cornell.edu. Fay can help arrange a meeting with a farm business specialist who will work with you to enter your farm data into a spreadsheet developed by the NY Organic Dairy Initiative. This spread sheet will estimate the impact of the transition years and the profit potential once the farm receives certification. To learn more about the Organic Dairy Field Crop meetings, visit: www.organic.cornell.edu/organicdairy/News.html
NY Organic Dairy Market Appears to be Growing Again
Until recently, most opinions were that the organic milk market would not accept new dairies until the fall of 2008. However as early as last summer, processors did begin adding some new dairies to fill out existing organic routes. The pattern continued this winter, when three processors took action to start looking for new organic dairies wherever they could locate them. It would seem that the organic market has swallowed up the increase in production and is growing again. A field person for one of the organic processors reported that his company was trucking fluid milk in form western states again to satisfy the market here in the east.
There are two other reasons for the lack of milk here in the east. First, organic milk production follows seasonal patterns and is usually higher in the spring due to lush pastures. Second, the high price and reduced availability of organic grain is making it less accessible to organic dairies. Whatever the reasons, it is evident that the organic milk market, which the USDA has measured to be increasing by 20% per year, is continuing to grow and need new farms. I recommend any farm considering the transition first address two questions: When can you get on the nearest organic truck route? Where will you purchase the grain you will need?
For more information on Organic Dairy and Field Crops, visit: www.organic.cornell.edu/OrganicDairy/News.html.
Source: Fay Benson, NY Organic Dairy Initiative
NYS Food Policy Council Report
The First report of the NYS Food Policy Council, published December 1, 2007, is now available. Download the full report at http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/CFP/CFP_DecemberReport_2007.pdf
Governor Spitzer Announces $35 Million to Protect 13,299 Acres of Farmland Across New York:
http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/1220072.html
Study Shows Local Food Growing in New York
In northern New York, more food is going directly from farm to consumer, cutting out the middleman and saving thousands of miles in food shipments.
But, "there is tremendous room to grow the local share of the total food bill for New York's North Country region," says Duncan Hilchey of Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI).
Hilchey, a senior extension associate, studies agriculture and food system indicators to set a comparative baseline for the North Country Regional Foods Initiative to use to evaluate anticipated growth of the local foods sector in northern New York.
"In 2002, the direct-to-consumer share of the total regional food expenditure of $936 million was almost $3.4 million -- that is only one-third of 1 percent of the total," Hilchey says.
To read Hilchey’s full analysis of the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture Census, visit: www.newyorkagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=48&yr=2008
We are highlighting these events because of the importance of grazing to our dairy and livestock audience. Please see the Graze NY! Website for a complete listing of pasture walks and grazing workshops.
www.nyfarms.info/calendar.html
A sampling of regional/statewide events that may be of interest to small farmers. Details on the following events and many more can be found in the NY Farms! Calendar of Agricultural Events.
- Winter Weekends Permaculture Design Course. Alternate weekends. January 18 - May 11. Entire Course: $900 (Couples rate: $1600 for two) or single Class: $50. Special package (any 4 classes): $150. For a list of topics, please list www.fingerlakespermaculture.org.
- NYS Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference. February 7-8, 2008. Holiday Inn, Waterloo, NY. For more information please contact: Jeanette Marvin at (315) 986-9320 or jmarvin@rochester.rr.com.
- PASA’s 17th Annual Farming for the Future Conference. February 7-9, 2008. Penn Stater Conference Center, State College, PA. For more information contact Michele Gauger at 814-349-9856 or michele@pasafarming.org
- Empire Fruit & Vegetable Expo. February 12-14, 2008. Holiday Inn in Liverpool and the On Center, Syracuse, NY. For more information, call or contact Jeff and Lindy Kubecka at 315-687-5734 or email nysvga@twcny.rr.com
- Enhancing Biodiversity on Family Forest Lands: Internet Seminar: February 20. This topic is part of an ongoing seminar series occurring on the third Wednesday of each month. Each webcast is provided live, twice. The initial broadcast each month is from noon to 1:00pm with a repeat live broadcast the same day from 7:00 to 8:00pm, ET. Participation is as easy as a high-speed internet connection via a web browser. Participants must pre-register once, without charge, at www.forestconnect.info/
- NY Small Scale Food Processors Conference. March 1st. 8:30 - 4:30PM. Hudson Valley Food Works, Poughkeepsie, NY. Visit: www.nyssfpa.com/html/news-events/index.html for more information.
- Grass-Finished Meats Seminar. March 8. 9:00am – 4:15pm. Bloomsburg Fire Hall. Bloomsburg, PA. Seminar is $35 per person and includes breaks, lunch and handouts. Registration is due by Friday, February 29, 2008. For more information, call either David Hartman at 570-784-6660 ext. 12, dwh2@psu.edu, or Kris Ribble at 570-784-4401 ext. 111, kris.ribble@pa.usda.gov.
- Carcass evaluation workshops: “Hoof to Rail”, March 8. 10am-12 noon. Cornell Beef Teaching and Research Center, Harford, NY. Follow-up workshop on March 15,10am-2pm. Cornell University Campus. Fee: If registered by February 29, $35 ($15 2nd person from same farm/family) covers both workshops, and includes instruction, handouts, coffee, donuts and lunch on 3/15. Children under 12 years, $5. Fee, after February 20, $45. Contact Vicki Badalamenti at vb65@cornell.edu or 607-255-7712.
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Small Farms Program Offers Sponsorship Funding
Through support from the Northeast SARE Professional Development Program, the Cornell Small Farms Program is offering a limited number of sponsorship awards to its partner organizations and agencies to support workshops, conferences, field days, or other educational programs addressing small farms and/or sustainable agriculture issues. If your organization is interested in applying for sponsorship funding, please download an application form at: www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/projects/working/index.cfm or contact Violet Stone at vws7@cornell.edu or 607-255-9227.
Gold Medal Awards Will Recognize Top Artisanal Food Producers
The Gallo Family Vineyards Gold Medal Awards recognizes and promotes artisanal food producers who have been in business at least one year and demonstrate excellence in preserving and supporting traditional ways of growing and producing food products.
Winners of the Third Annual Gallo Family Vineyards Gold Medal Awards program will each receive a $5,000 business development grant, an annual membership to the Chefs Collaborative (a non-profit organization fostering sustainable agriculture), a trip to New York City to attend the Gold Medal Awards celebration luncheon and the Gallo Family Vineyards Gold Medal Awards Seal of Excellence to display on their winning products as a symbol of high quality.
Entries will be accepted through February 28, 2008 and will be evaluated at a blind tasting conducted by a distinguished panel of industry judges representing various disciplines within the culinary world.
Applications and additional information, including last year’s winners can be found on the Gallo Family Vineyard’s website at www.gallofamily.com.
Urban Farm Assistants, Red Hook Community Farm, Brooklyn, NY
Added Value is seeking two Urban Farm Assistants who will be responsible for the general operation of the Red Hook Community Farm, Brooklyn, NY and for overseeing the integration of regional agriculture into neighborhood businesses and community-based organizations. We are seeking motivated, responsible individuals with a keen interest in farming. Strong applicants will be curious, have a commitment to youth empowerment and social justice, and have the ability to work long hours in all weather at physical jobs. Prior experience with youth work and community engagement are a plus. Other important traits include strong communication skills and a positive attitude. This is full time-seasonal position, from March through December. Compensation will be 26,000 and will include health care. The Farm assistants will report to the Executive Director. Applications due Sunday February 10th at 5pm. Please send resume and cover letter to employment@added-value.org
Program Assistant, Compos Mentis, Inc, Ithaca, NY
Compos Mentis: Working Toward Wellness, Inc. is a day program for people 18+ who need help learning to live with a mental illness. Compos Mentis (Latin for ‘in control of your mind’) is an adjunct to currently available mental health care, not a treatment facility. We operate on a 22-acre farm adjacent to Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, NY.
We seek to create a healing environment for participants (whom we call apprentices) and help them ease their transition back to school, work, or other personal goals. We do this with outdoor activities, especially organic farming and gardening, conversation, and other soothing activities. Compos Mentis gives apprentices the time they need to adjust to a diagnosis of mental illness and the skills to prevent future mental health crises and hospitalizations. For more information, Visit the website at www.composmentisithaca.org
PASA Educational Outreach Associate
Work with the Director of Educational Outreach to plan, promote, execute and evaluate farm-based educational programming according to the work plan of in-house grants, collaborative grants, and the needs of the PASA membership. All staff members are expected to contribute as needed to ensure PASA best represents and responds to the needs of our members while striving to live up to our mission of promoting profitable farms that produce healthy food for all people while respecting the natural environment.
Please send cover letters and resumes by Friday, February 29th to JobSearch@pasafarming.org or by surface mail to PASA, Attn: Allison Shauger, PO Box 419, Millheim, PA 16854.
Rebate Program Equips Tractors with Rollover Protection
The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) is partnering with Farm Family Insurance, the New York Farm Bureau and the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association to launch year two of the New York ROPS Rebate Program. During its first year, the program assisted in retrofitting over 350 tractors with rollover protection, which includes a rollbar and seatbelt. Farmers who have taken advantage of the program say its value is tremendous. In fact, the program may already have saved one area farmer from injury or even death.
The ROPS program is specifically designed to reduce both the cost and the hassle of retrofitting a farm tractor with an approved rollbar and seatbelt. The ROPS rebate amounts to 70 percent of the cost (up to $600) of purchasing and installing a Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) on a tractor. Farmers calling the toll free hotline (1-877-ROPS-R4U) to sign up are entered on a “first come – first served” basis. In addition to the rebate, they will receive assistance in locating the most appropriate and most affordable rollbar model for their tractor.
The ROPS program is presented to New York farmers through the help of State Senators James L. Seward and Catharine M. Young, both members of the New York State Senate Agriculture Committee.
Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: New CD Series Uses Animal Voices to Educate Children on Farm Safety
Farm animals have starring roles in a new CD series created to educate children about the dangers found on the farm. “Farm safety is of high concern for workers and especially for parents of farm children,” says Vickie Harbert of Farm Safety USA, producer of the four-CD series.
Using voices of farm animals, the “Fun Farm” story set targets children and teens. “Learning safety and health doesn’t have to be boring. These 25 fun farm safety adventures use clever stories, animal voices and plenty of farm safety advice, tips and techniques to engage kids in an amusing fashion”, says Harbert.
Harbert believes the CD series will not only benefit families, but the insurance industry covering farmers, farm machine manufacturers and suppliers as well as Future Farmers of America, 4-H Clubs and educational institutions teaching agriculture.
Nationwide, more than 300 children die on farms every year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It’s usually children between the ages of 9 and 15 who are most at risk. The bulk of those injuries, experts say, are preventable.
To listen to a sample of the “Fun Farm” audio series or to purchase a set, please visit www.farmsafetyusa.com.
2008 Pest Management Guidelines for Berry Crops
Every effort has been made to provide correct, complete, and up-to-date pest management information for New York State at the time this publication was released for printing (November, 2007). Changes in pesticide registrations, regulations, and guidelines occurring after publication are available in county Cornell Cooperative Extension offices or from the Pesticide Management Education Program web site (http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/).
To download the Berry Crops Guide, visit: http://ipmguidelines.org/BerryCrops/. To order a copy, please contact the Pesticide Management Education Program Educational Resources Distribution Center: Phone: (607) 255-7282. Email: patorder@cornell.edu. Cost is $25.00 which includes shipping.
In this section we highlight the Small Farms Program's activities, including projects we coordinate and those we have funded through Innovative Small Farm Education grants to Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) educators.
Farming the Internet: New Farmers Reap Rewards from an Online Course
(Note: a longer version of this article will appear in the Spring Small Farm Quarterly)
Aspiring and new farmers now have the opportunity to receive farm start-up training online. The NY Beginning Farmer Project, a collaborative effort of the Cornell Small Farms Program and Cooperative Extension educators, has developed a 9-week online course. The pilot offering of the course, called “Beginning Farming 101”, was taught by two experienced Cornell Cooperative Extension educators, Rebecca Hargrave from Chenango County and Steve Hadcock from Columbia County. The course ran for 9 weeks last Fall and included 22 participants from 17 NY counties. These participants represented a broad diversity of backgrounds and fell all along the spectrum of new farmers, from those just exploring the idea to those seeking to diversify or expand existing farm operations.
Cornell Cooperative Extension offices have long offered high-quality courses for beginning farmers, designed to help participants build a foundation for their business plan. But many aspiring farmers live in urban areas or counties where demand isn’t high enough for such courses to be offered. Educators have observed that new farmers tend to be relatively internet-savvy, yet while they can easily google their way to mountains of farming information, few online sources exist to guide decision-making and new farm planning. The NY Beginning Farmer Project seized this opening to create a new learning opportunity for aspiring, new and diversifying farmers.
Course content is drawn from a stand-alone, publicly accessible website at http://beginningfarmers.cce.cornell.edu, while the course (and all its activities, forums, and homework assignments) is housed in a virtual “classroom” that can only be entered by registered participants. The lesson plan is similar to other new farmer trainings and curricula, starting with an assessment of goals and resources, moving through marketing, enterprise selection, and environmental stewardship practices, and ending with taking a hard look at profit potential and business planning. Along the way, participants interact with each other through discussion forums, post questions for the instructors, collect resources relevant to each lesson, and complete activities like helping a fictional new farmer make decisions about his business.
Course participant Amy Sommers is starting a fruit and vegetable operation in Madison County. She doesn’t yet own land and may get started on rented land. She reported, “The best thing was that [the course] got me going through the process of creating a business plan and thinking about things intensively. Otherwise I might have spent the winter skimming through seed catalogs and fantasizing about what I want to grow rather than actually planning.” Amy used her course blog to document the extensive research she did throughout the 9-week training. At the end, she had most of the necessary elements of a business plan in place, which will help her move forward with her operation more confidently.
Jefferson County CCE Educator Molly Ames will be teaching the next run of the online course, starting at the end of March 2008. Watch the Small Farms Event Calendar for details and registration information.
The beauty of online courses is that you can do them from the comfort of your own home, at whatever time of day suits your schedule. So sit down at the computer, grab a cup of coffee, and get ready to start making your farm dreams a reality.
Erica Frenay is the Project Manager and chief cat-herder for the NY Beginning Farmer Project. The project was funded by the NY Farm Viability Institute and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
For additional ag-related news and events by email:
Agricultural community and economic development news and events: Community Food
and Agriculture Program, hmm1@cornell.edu
Consumer and public education news and events: NY Farms! News To Share, nyfarms@nyfarms.info
Eastern NY, MA and VT news and events: Regional Farm and Food Project, billie@farmandfood.org
Policy-related news and alerts: National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture,
campaign@sustainableagriculture.net
