News for the ‘Local Food’ Category
ANCA examines Greek yogurt and its role in strengthening the dairy industry
This is an exciting time for dairy-based food production in New York State and for New York’s dairy farms, as the State has emerged as the national center for the production and distribution of Greek style yogurt, which requires significantly more fluid milk than standard yogurts.
Following an ANCA Board meeting on March 30 in Johnstown, ANCA directors and key staff were briefed by Michael Reese, President of the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation, and from the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets: Deputy Commissioner Matt Morgan; Casey McCue, Manager, Milk Control; and Charles Huff, Manager, Dairy Services. Patrick Hooker, Empire State Development’s Director of Agri-Business Development (and former Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Markets) also joined the discussion of dairy-based food production in and around our region.
Fage USA Dairy Industry Inc., a subsidiary of Fage Dairy Industry S.A. of Athens, Greece, is headquartered in Johnstown, Fulton County, within the ANCA region. Founded in 2000 to manufacture and distribute Greek style yogurt throughout the United States, Fage is undergoing a major expansion to double its production capacity.
Another major Greek yogurt producer, Agro Farma, Inc., produces its Chobani brand product for national distribution in Chenango Country, just beyond the ANCA region. Agro Farma is the parent company to Euphrates, Inc., a major producer of feta cheese which is also based in Johnstown. Both Fage and Agro Farma purchase a significant amount of their fluid milk from Adirondack North Country dairy farms. The two firms have a combined workforce of nearly 900 people.
The full economic impact of dairy production Statewide in 2010 was estimated at $8.5 billion based on New York’s production of over 12 billion pounds of milk.
In 2010, New York was fourth in the nation in milk production, behind California, Wisconsin and Idaho. Due to steadily growing food processing capacity in New York, expanded milk production is now able to be processed to a greater extent by New York companies rather than being shipped out-of-State. Over the five year period between 2006 and 2011, there was an over 13 percent decline in the amount of fluid milk shipped out-of-State for processing.
It is great news that New York is gaining employment and other economic benefits from better integration between its farm production and in-State, value-added food processing.
A growing manufacturing consumer of fluid milk in New York is its yogurt industry which nearly doubled its production between 2009 and 2011 to approximately 520 million pounds.
Of the State’s 10 largest dairy producing counties, four are located in the ANCA region (St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, and Oneida).
Grazing plans help livestock farmers make best use of their land
Denis LaFleur’s pasture in Fort Covington. Photo courtesy of Franklin County Soil and Water
Northern New York has some of the best pasture in the State, and ANCA wants to help livestock farmers get the most from their lands.
ANCA’s involvement with cattle farmers dates back to the 1980s, born out of the desire to promote best practices for effective grazing land management, said ANCA Director John Kiechle, a key resource on the ANCA board on agricultural issues and a lifelong dairy farmer.
From those early days, the passion to help farmers increase their capacity evolved into a partnership with the USDA-funded Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). Through GLCI, ANCA works in 10 Northern New York counties with a network of contracted grazing land specialists who design a customized management plan for each participating farm.
Denis LaFleur, who owns a 70-acre farm in Fort Covington, northern Franklin County, went through the program in 2010 looking for ways to better manage his 16 red and black Angus cows. Two years later, LaFleur speaks highly of his experience and enthusiastically about the transformation he’s seen on his farm.
“It’s a great program, and it was easy to understand. For people doing grazing for beef, sometimes there’s not a lot of money being made, so it’s great to find help for us small producers,” he said.
Some of the benefits LaFleur noted:
He no longer buys grain, a savings of at least $80/month.
With rotational grazing, his cows are always eating the sweetest grass and rotating them between eight paddocks gives the other areas a chance to recover.
The cattle are growing 25 percent faster, resulting in more money at butchering time.
Access to funding: Having a grazing plan in place allowed him to access $20,000 in grant funding that was used for additional fencing, water lines and watering facilities for the livestock when they are rotated farther from natural water sources.
Grazing Lands Program at a Glance
Through a partnership with USDA Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (www.glci.org), ANCA has been writing prescribed rotational grazing plans with farmers in 10 northern New York counties since 1999. Here’s an overview of the process:
A plan begins with a current assessment of the pasture in use as well as future plans. An analysis of the number and type of grazing animals and the number of acres available for pasture is calculated.
Suggestions are made according to the current species of grass growing on the site.
Fencing and water systems are reviewed as well as laneways and other drainage issues.
Prescribed rotational grazing is discussed vs continuous grazing. In general, when pasture is limited, rotational grazing is highly recommended. This idea of rotational grazing is to move the animals to a different section of pasture every 1–7 days.
After the plan is completed, the farmer can apply for financial assistance for improvements to farm property as outlined in the plan.
Name: Christian A. Talgo
Age:
33
Residence:
Trenton, NY
Hometown:
Steuben, NY
Occupation: Owner of Nail Creek Pub & Brewery and The Tailor and the Cook restaurant. Both are located in Utica.
Find out more at: http://thetailorandthecook.com and http://nailcreekpub.com/
What is the biggest attraction to living and working in the greater Adirondack region?
I have the best family and friends a guy could ask for.
We have excellent and plentiful water… The geography here is incredible.
If you could change anything about living here, what would it be? I would like to see people be more locally minded with their purchases.
A Truly Local Restaurant: Friends since childhood, owners Chris Talgo and Tim Hardiman forged a business partnership based on their common passions for great local food and drink, sustainable business, and improving the community.
Starting with fresh ingredients sourced from area farms, the restaurateurs’ passion doesn’t stop there.
Rather than construct a new building to perfectly suit their operation, entrepreneurs Talgo and Hardiman made the more sustainable choice to renovate and retrofit an existing structure in historic Bagg’s Square, using as many recycled, refurbished, and reclaimed materials as possible.
Three years earlier, Chris opened up Nail Creek Pub & Brewery after spending 3 years rehabilitating a building that was scheduled for demolition. The pub now offers a diverse beer selection, as well as handcrafted beers.
As this newsletter is being published, the Senate Agriculture Committee has “reported out” its 2012 Farm Bill. The House Agriculture Committee has concluded field hearings and is drafting a bill. Once the House bill is passed in committee, there will be a “reconciliation” bill with the Senate.
With farming such an important part of our local economy, ANCA is working with State and local groups including NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Adirondack Harvest, the Adirondack Council, Open Space Institute, and others to determine what provisions will best serve the interests of our region. The federal farm bill, which is reauthorized every five years, focuses on such issues as building agricultural production and the viability of farms, nutrition and food safety, rural development, energy and open space/farm land conservation.
Several hundred interested citizens, along with members of community organizations, including ANCA staff and board members, attended a Farm Bill field hearing on Friday March 9 at North Country Community College. Hosted by the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, the public hearing was one of four held around the country.
The Committee heard witness testimony from eight speakers representing NY dairy, beef and specialty crop farmers, including ANCA Director Michele Ledoux. The top issues discussed were milk prices, crop insurance, labor, marketing and such programs as EQUIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program). Other topics touched on were local food, CSA’s, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and others.
Clarkson University Professor Susan Powers gives a tour of a project Clarkson students have been working on that involves growing food in a greenhouse powered in part by a biodigester
Over the past three years, students designed, built and are now operating a cold climate greenhouse. The system is housed in a passive solar building and employs an aeroponic growing system, LED lights and extensive sensors and controls for energy efficiency.
The greenhouse is part of an integrated process that also includes an anaerobic digester to convert campus food waste into heat and electricity. Effluent from the digester will be used as fertilizer for the greenhouse and as a soil amendment for Clarkson’s grounds, thus reducing the need of commercial fertilizer.
A high-efficiency solar thermal and a wood-pellet heating system provide additional thermal energy to the greenhouse and the digester as needed during the winter.
Information courtesy of Clarkson University:http://www.clarkson.edu/news/2012/news-release_2012-02-27-1.html
A Central New York business is leading the way on the future of food production. The BBC World News program Horizons took an in-depth look at several innovators in urban agriculture, making a stop at Central New York’s Aqua Vita Farms to look at the techniques they are using and perfecting in a former factory in Sherrill, Oneida County.
Aqua Vita uses a combination of hydroponics (soil less agriculture) and aquaculture (fish farming) called aquaponics to grow high-quality lettuce and sweet basil for local restaurants. Though their focus is on greens for now, their aquaponics system can be used to grow almost anything, resulting in fresh, healthy, local produce and seafood year-round. See the feature here: http://www.horizonsbusiness.com/episode/urban-farming/
In order to expand the market for local food, there needs to be a support system in place to help launch new small-scale food manufacturers and processors. The Battenkill Kitchen, Inc. is one such organization. The not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization located in Washington County has a mission that includes educating and assisting entrepreneurial farmers and food producers, and providing a kitchen for community and educational events.
Two separate food workshops coming up May 18-19 are geared toward starting a food business and processing pickled foods. The workshops are presented by the NYS Food Venture Center, Department of Food Science & Technology at Cornell University. Registration for each class is $50 and includes materials and light refreshments. Participants should bring their own lunch. Register by May 11.
For more information about the workshops and the Battenkill Kitchen, Inc. visit www.battenkillkitchen.org or call Trish Kozal at 518-854-3032 or Steve Hadcock, Cornell University Cooperative Extension at 518-380-1497.