The Ledger

The Adirondack North Country Association Newsletter
Fall 2005/Winter 2006 Volume 12, Issue 2, Page 5

Farmers Get a New Perspective

Martha Pickard, Grazing Program Coordinator

The Adirondack North Country Association has announced the receipt of $94,250 in funding from Heifer International. After a year-long group-building process, the Northern New York Farmers Partnership (NNYFP) was accepted as a Project Partner by Heifer International. The group's mission is to promote three major objectives: farmer-to-farmer networking, farmer-to-community education and improved farming resources and practices.

ANCA administers the project through a contractual agreement with Heifer International. ANCA's Grazing Program Coordinator, Martha Pickard, provides staff support to the NNYFP partnership. The Heifer funding enables ANCA to send farm members to conferences and assists them with livestock purchases.

So far, six NNYFP members were able to attend conferences as a result of Heifer International funding. Anne Bennett and Rachel Roberts attended the WAGN Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference held in Burlington, Vermont, where they experienced networking, sharing and learning. The purpose of the two-day conference was to bring together farmers, ranchers, educators, agricultural service providers and activists to share educational and organizational strategies, build technical production and business skills, and address policy issues all aimed at expanding the success of women in sustainable agriculture. Workshops Anne attended included Farming, Family and Community: Juggling Lessons from the Field and Cultivating Direct Markets: Joys, Challenges and Rewards, Reaching Out: Networking With Women Farmers, Medicinal Herbal Primer: Production & Marketing and Community on the Farm.

Nancy Lynch attended the No Risk Ranching School held in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she heard Missouri grazier Greg Judy speak about how he went from the brink of bankruptcy to easily paying off his home and farm's mortgages in just two years with custom grazing. He lectured on how a farmer can take brushed-over cropped-out properties and turn them into beautiful, clover-rich grazing land while getting paid to do it.

ANCA Project Partner with Heifer International

Cover of Heifer International Brochure

Pete Blaso and Ken and Katrina Hebb attended the Heifer Project Overlook Farm Training weekend in Rutland, Massachusetts. This session was relevant to all farmers and provided training on financial goals for farm and family, and strategies to reach a "holistic goal." This intensive one-day course taught the background and philosophy of Holistic Management and created a decision-making structure and plan, specific to each farm situation, to apply to real-life situations. After a tour of Overlook Farm and the Global Village, evening programs ended the day.

NNYFP members received FAMACHA training the next day. FAMACHA is a technique to allow livestock producers to determine the level of clinical infection of an internal parasite, the barber pole worm, the number one health problem for grazing sheep in the US and the world. Producers learned how to identify animals most prone or resistant to infection by inspecting the color or the animal's lower eyelid. Scientist and professor Tom Settlemire taught this important workshop. NNYFP members who received the training will be hosting a workshop this spring.

Another allocation of the funding is for improved genetics in the livestock. NNYFP members are purchasing animals that are bred to perform well on grass. Anne and Brian Bennett received three Tamworth hogs, a heritage breed, and Frank Hess received two Tamworth Hogs. Nancy Lynch and Ben Schrader received a registered Devon bull. In addition to the animals, farmers that receive original placements receive funding for fencing or watering systems.

ANCA is pleased to be working in partnership with Heifer International and local farmers to provide assistance and unique learning opportunities. The program funding will be operative over a three-year period and offers a unique public/private partnership that benefits our regional producers.