Farm News • Equipment for Sale • Auctions • Classifieds

3 OCTOBER 2011Section

One of TwoVolume 29

Number 28

Featured Columnist:Lee Mielke

Mielke Market Weekly 21Crop Comments 6Focus on Ag 15

Alternative Fuels 8Auctions 24CCA 10Classifieds 35Farmer to Farmer 14Manure 18Trucks 12

AG EDUCATIONSUPPLEMENT

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Your Weekly Connection to Agriculture

'Adventurous' OhioJersey cow named

All-AmericanSupreme Champion

Page A5

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all thesethings will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Rutland 4-H’ers recognizedat state fair ~ Page 2

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A 12-year-old Horsepower 4-H Clubmember, David Gringeri, of West Haven,VT, was awarded the McKirryher FamilyWatch Award at the Vermont State Fair.

The McKirryher family presents awatch to the Rutland County boy or girlwho earns the most points on his or herexhibits in the 4-H Department at thefair. Points are awarded on exhibits,demonstrations, showmanship andleadership. All competitors consideredwere at least 12 years of age by Jan. 1 ofthis year. Competitors for the awardmust participate in at least four depart-ments and deliver a demonstration orillustrated talk.

Gringeri qualified to exhibit hisQuarter Horse mare, Tardy Sailor, at theVermont State Fair and Horse Show andparticipated in other Horse Departmentactivities with equine 4-H members. Theawards he received at the 4-H AwardsProgram on Sept. 11, were the EquineAward (Horsepower), Ruth KirchnerMemorial Award (junior), WilliamsFarmstead Award, P.J. BusheyLandscape Award, Heleba Award,Organic Baking Award (Over the HillFarm), Desert Pizza (first place), FunFoods (first place), Collete FamilyAward, Rutland County MapleProducers Award, Anna Fenton MapleAward, Special Homemaking Award, theCharles and Evelyn Monroe PublicSpeaking Trophy (junior), and theConservation, Nature and CreativeCrafts Exhibitor Award.

Gringeri is a seventh grader at FairHaven Grade School in Fair Haven, VT.David takes western pleasure and rein-ing lessons from his instructor of sixyears, Deborah Danforth, at HorseAmour Stables in Castelton, VT. Davidhas his sights set on competing at theEastern States Exposition with otherdelegates from the Vermont 4-H pro-gram once he turns 14 and competingin reining at AQHYA. His other interestsare computer technology, public speak-ing, roping, riflery and hunting, andworking and managing the family hayfarm with his father, Frank Gringeri.

Benson Busy Buddies Club memberRaven Collete, 12, was awarded theRutland County Agricultural SocietyInc. Officers and Trustees Award. Thisaward alternates each year between aboy and girl exhibitor who has not pre-viously won the McKirryher FamilyWatch Award. All competitors consid-ered must participate in at least fourdepartments and deliver a demonstra-tion or illustrated talk. Raven was alsoawarded the Photography Boyce FamilyAward, took third in cake decorating,third in Decorated Cookies, third in FunFoods, won the Bald Peak 4-HHomemaker Award, Knitting andCrocheting Award, and was second inthe Ann Story Chapter of the Daughtersof the American Revolution MostPatriotic Award.

Other members recognized at the 4-HAward Program were:

Club Educational Exhibit (4-H isgoing Greener) — First Horsepower,Second Benson Busy Buddies, ThirdRupert Mettawee Valley; The Rev. OlafJohnson Memorial Award, StephanieWissel; Ruth Kirchner Memorial Award,Rachael Ray.

HorticultureVegetables: Otter Valley Supply and

Garden Award, Britany Chapin;Heaviest Pumpkin/Squash Cross,Amber Forest Sumner. Flowers: RutlandGarden Club awards, Wind, Fire, Earthand Water, Alex Ready; Best in Show,Alex Ready; Hawley’s Florist GladiolusAward, Alex Ready.

DairyWill L. Davis, William Chmielewski,

Pauline Bovey: First, Chelsea Young;Reserve, Sarah Flanders.

Herdsman Awards: Elliott DouglasAward (Novice): Molly Turco, H.F. Allen(Jr.): Seth Browe,

Gil Giddings(Sr.): Amanda Eugair, RobHathaway Memorial Award: Seth Browe

Dan Hornbeck Memorial Award:Knowledge (Novice): Shane Baker,(Junior): Peter Carrara, (Senior):Amanda Eugair, Breed Awards:Holstein: Savanah Lewis, Shorthorn:

William Chmielewski, Ayshire-PeterCarrara, Guernsey: Jack Thrasher,Jersey: Molly Turco, Brown Swiss:Chelsea Young, Rita Tracey MemorialAward: Katie Tracey, Elm-Vu Farm (jun-ior) : Chelsea Young, (Senior): AmandEugair, Poster Contest First: “Recycle onthe Farm”(Chad Young, Zack Ames &Olivia Jones) Second-“Cow Power” (PeterCarrara, Sarah Flanders, Molly Turco &Chad Young), Premier Owned: ChelseaYoung, Premier Leased: Peter Carrara,Club Herdsman: Nature's Way

HorseMost Improved Beginner, First

Session: Emily Hathaway, SecondSession: Kate McGranahan; MostImproved Overall, First session: Chaylen

Lemieux, Second Session: Olivia Starer,Sportsmanship Award: First session:Caitlin Hughs, Second Session:Stephanie Wissel.

RabbitBest in Show: Damian Peer; Best

Opposite: Evelyn Bushey; Best Fur:Hunter Greene; Best Doe and Litter:Josie Royce; Beginner Showmanship:Evelyn Bushey.

SheepJennifer Corey Memorial Award:

(Junior) Avery Willis, (Senior) JennyDavenport; Pen Display: First, JennyDavenport, Second Avery Willis.Rutland Area Lamb and WoolProducers: First, Avery Willis; Second,Jenny Davenport.

Rutland 4-H’ers recognized for accomplishments at state fair

David Gringeri won the McKirryher Family Watch Award, a Vermont State Fair 4-H

tradition since 1933. He is shown here with his Quarter Horse mare, Tardy Sailor,which he exhibited at the Vermont State Fair and Horse Show.

Riders participate in the Open Horse show at the Vermont State Fair.

Photos courtesy of Horsepower 4-H Club

Betsy Coburn and David Gringeri gave a demonstration entitled “Sugardine:

Thrush’s Worst Enemy and Your Horse’s Best Friend.”

The 4-H awards were presented at the Sugar House Stage Area.

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by Chad ArmsThe rainy weather held off until the early afternoon

of the last day for activities at 2011 Maine Farm Daysheld at Misty Meadows Farm in Clinton Aug. 24-25.The two day exhibition on a former Maine Dairy Farmof the Year was hosted for the third time by John andBelinda Stoughton, showcasing the latest in technol-ogy and conservation practices on a modern 550 cowfarm. The exhibition featured farm tours, agribusi-ness exhibits, a Children's Learning Center, andmuch more.

One could visit the many educational and agribusi-ness exhibitors offering timely tips on their equipment,products, production practices, or available expertise.Children could pet animals and be entertained at theChildren's Learning Center including getting prizes forthe milking contest at noon time. The popularConservation Wagon Tour gave a relaxing time to wit-ness the double 12 herringbone milking parlor andbarn facilities as well as the conservation ditches andcrops. One could also pick up pesticide recertificationcredits by attending the many choices for one hourpresentations. Then there were food concessions and ahost of other activities taking place. Farm Days is agreat place for picking up new ideas and practices,visit friends and neighbors, and show off agriculture tothe public.

Results of the winners of the Forage Contest for hayand silage samples were announced. There were 116total entrants with cash prizes from Alltech SilageInoculant for first and second prize winners as follows:Chopped Haylage — first, Aghaloma Dairy and secondJeff Stevens; Corn Silage — first Hilton Farm and 2ndAghaloma Dairy; Baleage — first Carole Robins andsecond Conant Acres; and Dry Hay — first Jim Davisand second Waterman Farm. The revolving overallGrand Champion Trophy went to Aghaloma Farm.Third place winners received ribbons.

This was the 42nd year for Maine Farm Days. Thechief sponsor is Farm Days Inc. John Stoughton,Clinton, is president and his wife Belinda serves astreasurer. Spencer Greatorex, Winslow, is vice presi-dent and Ben Blackwell, Madison, is secretary.Publicity was primarily handled through Dale Finsethof the Kennebec County Soil and Water ConservationDistrict. Were it not for the many volunteers, host fam-ily, and cooperating dealers and agencies, this leadingexhibition on a working dairy farm would not be pos-sible. Next year's event will likely be hosted again atMisty Meadows Farm.

Maine Farm Days hosted again by Misty Meadows Farm

Lines of farm equipment support the exhibit area at Maine Farm Days.

NRCS staff members Amanda Burton and Ken Blazej stand with Oakhurst Dairy’s “Oakie.”

As New Hampshire 4-H youthget ready to celebrate National4-H Week Oct. 2-8, volunteersare being sought to help guideand mentor New Hampshire’sfuture citizens and leaders.

People volunteer with 4-H formany reasons. One benefit is tohelp make a difference in thelives of New Hampshire’s youth.Volunteers personally developnew leadership skills, meet newfriends, and have great adven-tures.

As one volunteer stated “Ialways learn more about a topicas I am preparing to teach it tothe kids. 4-H gives me thechance to share some of mypassions with children. I enjoythe connection with theUniversity of New Hampshireand the up-to-date informationthey provide.”

Working with UNHCooperative Extension 4-HYouth Development Educatorsin every county, adult volun-teers receive training in issuesfacing youth, how to teach, howto organize a group or event and

a variety of life skill and subjectmatter topics. In some casesthey can receive professionaldevelopment credits for their 4-H training experience.

4-H volunteers often providethe local connection betweenthe county and state 4-H pro-gram, while being that caringadult in a child’s life, outsidethe family structure. They coor-dinate local community clubs,after school programs and shortspecial interest groups, as wellas help plan and conduct local,regional, state and national 4-Hevents.

In partnership with volun-teers, youth develop their ownleadership skills as demon-strated through working or vol-unteering in their community toaddress a community need.

New Hampshire 4-H needsmany volunteers willing toshare creative ideas, time, tal-ent and subject matter skills tosupport youth at the communi-ty, county and state level. If youdon’t have time to be an ongo-ing volunteer, think about

opening your business for agroup tour, helping to interviewyouth for special events, orbeing a volunteer judge forevents and fairs.

4-H is the nation’s largestyouth organization with morethe 6 million members nation-ally. In New Hampshire, the 4-H Youth Development programof UNH Cooperative Extensionhas more than 20,000 youthinvolved in the various aspectsof 4-H and 2,200 adult volun-teers.

For more information aboutbecoming a 4-H volunteer inNew Hampshire, contact yourlocal 4-H Youth Developmenteducator: Belknap County,603-527-5475; HillsboroughCounty, 603-641-6060; CarrollCounty, 603-447-3834;Merrimack County, 603-796-2151; Cheshire County, 603-352-4550; RockinghamCounty, 603-679-5616; CoösCounty, 603-788-4961;Sullivan County, 603-863-9200; Grafton County, 603-787-6944.

CONCORD, NH — The NewHampshire Farm & RuralEducation Foundation(NHF&REF) has awarded a$2,500 grant to the GraniteState FFA (formerly known asFuture Farmers of America).The funds will be used tobridge an unexpected gap inthe Granite State FFA’sannual budget.

There are 16 high schoolsin New Hampshire that havea dedicated agricultural sci-ence curriculum. Most ofthese schools have FFAChapters closely associatedwith their educational pro-grams, since FFA offershands-on, extracurricularscience learning opportuni-ties as well as civic and lead-ership education.

Nationwide, FFA member-ship is at an all-time high of540,379 members, withchapters in 18 of the 20largest cities in the U.S. FFAmembership in both urbanand rural areas reflectsincreasing interest in life sci-

ences and biotechnologyeducation offered throughFFA. The Granite State FFAmission is to promote a posi-tive difference in the lives ofstudents by developing theirpotential for premier leader-ship, personal growth andcareer success through agri-cultural science education.

Reduction in the long-established support of FFAeducational programs inlocal and state budgets hasnecessitated alternativefunding. NHF&REF PresidentWayne Mann says, “Helpingthe Granite State FFA is anexcellent example of what theFarm & Rural EducationFoundation is meant to do —invest in the future of NewHampshire’s agriculture andrural youth and communi-ties.”

Tax deductible donationsto support the mission ofNHF&REF can be sent to NHFarm & Rural EducationFoundation, 295 Sheep DavisRoad, Concord, NH 03301.

Volunteers are needed to help New Hampshire’s 4-H program grow

Granite State FFAreceives grant

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsackhas announced that USDA will makepayments to more than 160 energyproducers in 41 states to support andensure the production and expansionof advanced biofuels.

“Renewable energy production willcreate tens of thousands of direct,American jobs; thousands more indi-rect jobs, and clean electricity topower millions of homes. The pay-ments I am announcing today repre-sent the continuing commitment ofthe Obama administration to workwith producers to provide the biofuelnecessary to reduce our nation’sdependence on foreign energysources,” Vilsack said. “The paymentssupport America’s growing advancedbiofuel industry.”

The payments are authorized underthe Bioenergy Program for AdvancedBiofuels (Section 9005 of the 2008Farm Bill) and are made to eligibleproducers to support and ensure anexpanding production of advancedbiofuels. Payments are based on theamount of biofuels a recipient pro-duces from renewable biomass, otherthan corn kernel starch. Eligibleexamples include biofuels derivedfrom cellulose, crop residue, animal,food and yard waste material, biogas(landfill and sewage waste treatmentgas), vegetable oil and animal fat.

To see a list of the recipientsannounced today click here.

For example, Ever Cat Fuels hasbeen selected to receive a $98,507

contract payment to help offset thecosts of producing almost 881,000gallons of biodiesel at its plant inIsanti, MN. Ever Cat uses the Mcgyanprocess to produce biodiesel, whichefficiently and economically convertsfeedstock plant oils and animal fats tobiodiesel. Ever Cat produces threemillion gallons of biodiesel annuallyand is the first commercial plantdesigned to use the Mcgyan technolo-gy. The plant began operations twoyears ago, creating 20 full-time jobs.

In Corinth, ME, Corinth WoodPellets was selected to receive a$31,406 contract payment continueto produce and sell premium-gradewood pellets for the residential,industrial and commercial markets.The wood pellets are produced fromsawdust and woodchip feedstock. A

total of 18,224 metric tons of woodpellets were produced to generate298,873,600,000 BTUs. This energygeneration supports the Obamaadministration’s ongoing efforts toreduce our reliance on fossil fuels byturning solid feedstock into alterna-tive fuel that is used to heat residen-tial, industrial and commercial build-ings. USDA funding for this enter-prise is expected to support 11 indus-try jobs.

On Sept. 8, President Obama pre-sented the American Jobs Act in anaddress to Congress. The purpose ofthe American Jobs Act is simple: putmore people back to work and putmore money in the pockets of workingAmericans. The American Jobs Act isspecific. It will put people back towork right now, and it will not add to

the deficit. Through a combination ofdirect spending, such as infrastruc-ture investments, and tax relief, suchas an extension of the payroll tax cuts,it will lead to new American jobs.Since taking office, President Obama’sAdministration has taken significantsteps to improve the lives of ruralAmericans and has provided broadsupport for rural communities. TheObama Administration has set goalsof modernizing infrastructure by pro-viding broadband access to 10 millionAmericans, expanding educationalopportunities for students in ruralareas, and providing affordable healthcare. In the long term, these unparal-leled rural investments will helpensure that America’s rural communi-ties are repopulating, self-sustainingand thriving economically.

Country FolksNew England Farm Weekly

U.S.P.S. 708-470Country Folks New England Farm Weekly (ISSN 1536-0784) is published every week on Monday

by Lee Publications, PO Box 121, 6113 St. Hwy. 5, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Periodical postage paid at Palatine Bridge Post Office, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 and at an addi-tional mailing office. Subscription Price: $45 per year, $75 for 2 years.POSTMASTER: Send address change to Country Folks New England Farm Weekly, P.O. Box 121,6113 St. Hwy. 5, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428. 518-673-2448.Country Folks is the official publication of the Northeast DHIA.Publisher, President .....................Frederick W. Lee, 518-673-0134V.P., General Manager.....................Bruce Button, 518-673-0104...................... bbutton@leepub.comV.P., Production................................Mark W. Lee, 518-673-0132........................... mlee@leepub.comManaging Editor...........................Joan Kark-Wren, 518-673-0141................. jkarkwren@leepub.comAssistant Editor.............................Richard Petrillo, 518-673-0145...................... rpetrillo@leepub.comPage Composition..........................Alison Swartz, 518-673-0139...................... aswartz@leepub.comComptroller.....................................Robert Moyer, 518-673-0148....................... bmoyer@leepub.comProduction Coordinator................Jessica Mackay, 518-673-0137.................... jmackay@leepub.comClassified Ad Manager....................Peggy Patrei, 518-673-0111..................... classified@leepub.comShop Foreman ...................................................... ..........................................................Harry DelongPalatine Bridge, Front desk ....................518-673-0160...................... Web site: www.leepub.comAccounting/Billing Office ........................518-673-0149 ............................... amoyer@leepub.comSubscriptions ..........................................888-596-5329 .................... subscriptions@leepub.com

Send all correspondence to:PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 • Fax (518) 673-2699

Editorial email: jkarkwren@leepub.comAdvertising email: jmackay@leepub.com

AD SALES REPRESENTATIVESBruce Button, Corporate Sales Mgr .......Palatine Bridge, NY .........................................518-673-0104Scott Duffy ..................................................Reading, VT ...............................................802-484-7240Sue Thomas ................................................Albany, NY ................................................518-456-0603Ian Hitchener ..............................................Bradford, VT ...............................................802-222-5726Jan Andrews..........................................Palatine Bridge, NY..........................................518-673-0110Laura Clary............................................Palatine Bridge, NY..........................................518-673-0118Dave Dornburgh ....................................Palatine Bridge, NY..........................................518-673-0109Steve Heiser ..........................................Palatine Bridge, NY..........................................518-673-0107Tina Krieger ..........................................Palatine Bridge, NY..........................................518-673-0108

We cannot GUARANTEE the return of photographs. Publisher not responsible for typographicalerrors. Size, style of type and locations of advertisements are left to the discretion of the publisher.The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. We will notknowingly accept or publish advertising which is fraudulent or misleading in nature. The publisherreserves the sole right to edit, revise or reject any and all advertising with or without cause beingassigned which in his judgement is unwholesome or contrary to the interest of this publication. Weassume no financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisement, but if at fault, will reprintthat portion of the ad in which the error appears.

Horsepower 4-H Club in the stable area at the Vermont State Fair withthe Club Booth Exhibit Award.

Cover photo Courtesy of Horsepower 4-H Club

Ag secretary announces payments to expand production of biofuels

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

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by Stephen Wagner

Skies were gray as they had been forthe past two weeks but the threat offlood waters inundating the largearena at the Pennsylvania Farm ShowComplex had mercifully subsided.Waters were ebbing in the nearbySusquehanna River, the source of theoverflow, and the 2011 All AmericanDairy Show was wrapping up anothersuccessful year, packing up and goinghome. All that was left to do was thejudging of the Supreme Champion.

“It is the end of the show,” said RitaKennedy, AADS President. “We're herenow to pick the best cow of the bestbreeds. To be selected as SupremeChampion helps the breeder sellembryos and advertise their cattle forsale.”

Always present at this event is asense of showmanship. The largearena, which boasts the best andbrightest lights in the Complex, isdarkened as the nominees for the titleare paraded through one at a timeunder a spotlight. The voice of veteranpublic address announcer JeanKummer echoes throughout thearena's nooks and crannies describingthe nominee, how much milk they giveand other pertinent information forjudges to consider. When the judgeshave made their decisions, thosepapers are passed to those who tallythe results. The process is incrediblysimple and fast. No trumpets sound.

No fanfare of any sort, actually. Thelights have been back on for the judg-ing, and when the winner isannounced, photographers, reporters,other breeders and officials clusteraround the winner for mass congratu-lations.

Frederick 2783 Adventure, a six-year-old Jersey owned by CraigWalton, Emily Thornburg, Gene Iager,Shelby and Harold Rader, Jr., and

Amy, Scott, Skip and Steve Lackey ofPleasant Plain, Ohio, was namedSupreme Champion. Cargill AnimalFeed and Nutrition, Inc. sponsoredthe $3,000 cash award garnered bythe winner. Adventure was chosenfrom among the top seven breedchampions by the judges who placed1,183 head of cattle in the openshows.

The judges were Eric Topp, Botkins,

Ohio; Lee Barber, DeWitt, Iowa; DanielSivesind, Waukon, Iowa; RonaldHeffner, Middletown, MD; LarrySchirm, Laurelville, Ohio, who judged'Adventure' in the Open show; TedDeMent, Kenney, IL; and MatthewLawrence, Mercer, PA.

The six other All-American GrandChampions were:

Ayrshire: Sunny Acres Harmon'sKennedy, Doug Evans and Family,Georgetown, NY.

Brown Swiss: Dublin Hill Treats,Ken Main and Peter Vail, Copake, NY.

Guernsey: Millborne Tiller Blair-ET,P. Morey Miller, Granby, Conn.

Holstein: Windy-Knoll-View Pledge-ET, James and Nina Burdette,Mercersburg, PA, Franklin Co.

Milking Shorthorn:Tex-Star OthelloPeri, Keith and Donnette Fisher, NewEnterprise, PA, Bedford Co.

Red & White: Sweet Peas Felicity-red-ET, Lloyd and Denise Pease,Susquehanna, PA, Susquehanna Co.

The 48th All-American Dairy Show,the world's largest dairy show, ranSept. 17-22 at the Pennsylvania FarmShow Complex and Expo Center inHarrisburg. This year's show featured23 shows in six days, the nation'sonly all-dairy antiques show, morethan 2,400 animals and 925exhibitors from 26 states andCanada.

For more information, visitwww.allamerican.state.pa.us or call717-787-2905.

Ohio Jersey cow named All-American Supreme Champion

Frederick 2783 Adventure was Grand Champion of the All American Open Jersey

Show exhibited by Walton,Thornburg, Lackey, Rader and Iager of Pleasant Plain, Ohio.

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA —The Patrick-MurrayAdministration celebrated“Massachusetts Day” Sept. 22at the Eastern StatesExposition (The Big E).

With the fall harvest underway, Gov. Deval Patrick,Energy and EnvironmentalAffairs Secretary Richard K.Sullivan Jr. andMassachusetts Department ofAgricultural Resources (DAR)Commissioner Scott J. Soaresjoined the festivities to kickoff Massachusetts Day at TheBig E agricultural fair.

The day’s events highlightedan array of theCommonwealth’s commerce,tourism and agriculturalinterests and a number ofawards recognizing commit-ment to a sustainable agricul-tural future.

Celebrating a theme of“Local Foods, Local Farms,Healthy Choices,” Sullivanand Soares joinedMassachusetts Department ofPublic Health (DPH)Commissioner JohnAuerbach and Patrick on thetour and a healthy cookingdemonstration using localingredients hosted by celebri-ty chef Ann Sortun, owner ofOleana in Cambridge. Thedemonstration, which fea-tured local ingredients in twodishes that were sampled bytasters, was emceed by DPH’sMedical Director Dr. LaurenSmith.

“Today we applaud theyear-round efforts of local

farmers, shell fishermen andothers who work to enhancethe Commonwealth’s agricul-ture. Under the leadership ofGovernor Patrick, we contin-ue to support the work tobring the very best produce,meats and baked goods to ourtables,” said Sullivan.

Massachusetts Day eventsrevolve around theMassachusetts Building onthe Avenue of States — anattraction that features repli-cas of the original capitalbuildings of each NewEngland state. Managed year-round by the MassachusettsDepartment of AgriculturalResources (DAR), the

Massachusetts Building wasthe first state replica to bebuilt and was dedicated in1919 by then Gov. CalvinCoolidge and marked the offi-cial launching of the Avenueof States. This year many ven-dors at the MassachusettsBuilding will donate up to 5percent of the day’s proceedsto the Farm Disaster ReliefFund established in the wakeof Tropical Storm Irene.

The building recently wasinvolved in an energy auditconducted by the WesternMassachusetts ElectricCompany and MassSave. Thisyear, the main floor lightinghas been retrofitted with state

of the art T5 lighting LEDexterior lights have also beenadded. In collaboration withthe Massachusetts CleanEnergy Center and ‘Big Belly’Solar Trash Compactors, sixsolar powered trash com-pactors have been dispersedthroughout theMassachusetts buildinggrounds for use by fairgoersduring the fair.

“The Local Food, LocalFarms, and Healthy Choicestheme complements theP a t r i c k - M u r r a yAdministration’s goal to pro-mote greater access tohealthy, locally grown food.”said Soares. “With thousandsof visitors a day to the Big E,this is a great opportunity tolet folks know thatMassachusetts offers adiverse and growing array offresh, local, and healthy foodsacross our Commonwealth.”

Later in the afternoon, pre-sentations were made to rec-ognize winners of theMassachusetts AgricultureCalendar Amateur Contest,student winners of theMassachusetts “Fuel Up toPlay 60’” poster contest andthe reading of the StateProclamation declaring theWeek of Sept. 26 “ChildhoodObesity Awareness Week.”

“We encourage all residentsto use fresh and local ingredi-ents to make healthy foodsthat also taste great,” saidSmith. “Our Mass in MotionProgram is an additionalresource for everyone to learn

how to eat right and movemore.”

Other recognition awardsincluded in the presentationwere the MassachusettsAgriculture in the Classroom“Massachusetts Teacher ofthe Year.” This year’s recipientis Teresa Strong of theHarvard-Kent ElementarySchool of Charlestown. Anaward was also given out tothe 2011 MassachusettsBuilding Wall of Fame, AnnieDiemand of Diemand’sPoultry Farm of Wendall.

Special attractions at theMassachusetts Buildinginclude a replica of theMayflower II centered in themain floor of the exhibits.Smith Academy of Hatfield isdisplaying a mural depictingagricultural scenery. Themural honors Hatfield’s agri-cultural heritage and pro-motes the availability of localfarm products. Students ofthe Smith Academy designedand painted the 32-foot wide,eight-foot tall mural duringthe school year.

The MassachusettsDepartment of Fire Safety wason hand on MassachusettsDay to promote fire safety anddisplay a fire truck for chil-dren to learn about fire equip-ment. The MassachusettsChristmas Tree GrowersAssociation celebrated theHoliday Season early with a 9-foot lighted Balsam FirChristmas Tree along with asmall arrangement of fir andspruce trees of various sizes.

Governor, ag officials celebrate local foods, farms at Big E

Gov. Deval Patrick, center, and Department of Agriculture

Resources Commissioner Scott Soares join Chef Ana Sortun for

a cooking demonstration using health, local ingredients during

“Massachusetts Day” at the Big E, Sept. 22.

Photo by Matthew Bennett/Governor's Office

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Bolder in BoulderMy contact in Texas e-

mailed me an articlepublished two statesaway from him. The arti-cle was titled, “Expert:GMOs to blame for prob-lems in plants, animals.”It was written by Jeffer-son Dodge, and ap-peared the BoulderWeekly, a Colorado pub-lication, on Aug. 11. I’lltry to hit the article’shigh spots.

According to Dodge,the Boulder County pow-ers-that-be convened theday before to deliberateon the county’s policy forgenetically modified or-ganisms (GMOs) on openspace. A well-known ex-pert testifying at thatmeeting, Michael Mc-Neill, said scientists areseeing new, alarmingpatterns in plants andanimals due to increaseduse of glyphosate-basedherbicides. Michael Mc-Neill is an agronomistwho owns Ag AdvisoryLtd. in Algona, Iowa. Hereceived his Ph.D. inquantitative geneticsand plant pathologyfrom Iowa State Univer-sity in 1969 and hasbeen a crop consultantsince 1983. McNeill wasthe keynote speaker in-

vited by county officialsto testify at the Aug. 10meeting of the CroplandPolicy Advisory Group(CPAG).

CPAG, which has beenmeeting since Februaryof this year, is thesounding board for thecounty’s parks and openspace staff as they devel-op a new cropland policypertaining to what maybe grown on countyland. In earlier meetings,the group has onlytouched briefly on thesensitive GMO issue; butthe Aug. 10 meeting wasdevoted entirely to thesubject. McNeill toldBoulder Weekly that heand his colleagues seeserious, negative effectsproduced by the use ofglyphosate herbicides.This weed-killer is man-ufactured by a multi-na-tional corporation, whichhas also developed seedsresulting in plants im-mune to glyphosate ap-plications. Prolific use ofsuch an herbicide, com-bined with growing cropsgenetically modified totolerate that herbicide,has spawned a tidalwave of resistance in theenvironmental and or-ganic farm communities.

McNeill says that in the

Midwest and other areasof the country, such asLouisiana and Mississip-pi, weeds like waterhemp, giant ragweed,lamb’s quarter and vel-vetleaf weed have becomeglyphosate-res istantthrough natural selec-tion, due to a particulargenetic mutation thatsurvived the poison to re-produce successfully andwildly. The problem isthat farmers’ natural re-action has been to simplyapply more glyphosate totheir crops. This reactionis problematic, McNeillsays. “Used judiciously, itcan be a useful product,but as with anything, ifyou abuse it, it can havenegative effects.”

McNeill’s sentimentsclosely parallel those ofDon Huber, agronomyprofessor emeritus atPurdue University. (Anarticle discussing Hu-ber’s studies ong l yphosa t e - t o l e ran tcrops appeared in a Fall2007 issue of CountryFolks.) McNeill, like Hu-ber, explains thatglyphosate is a chelatingagent, which means itclamps onto moleculesthat are valuable toplants, like iron, calci-um, manganese, andzinc. According to Mc-Neill, when you sprayglyphosate on a plant,it’s like giving the plantits own acquired im-mune deficiency syn-drome. The farmers’ in-creased use ofglyphosate is actuallyharming their crops, ac-cording to McNeill, be-cause it is immobilizingrequired micronutrientsin the soil, a develop-

ment documented inseveral scientific papersby the nation’s leadingexperts in the field. Forexample, he says, harm-ful fungi and parasiteslike Fusarium, Phy-topthora and Pythiumare on the rise as a re-sult of the poison, whilebeneficial fungi and oth-er organisms that helpplants modify mineralsto a usable state are onthe decline.

Overuse of glyphosatemeans that oxidizingagents are on the rise,creating oxides thatplants can’t use, leadingto lower yields and high-er susceptibility to dis-ease. McNeill acknowl-edges that the pesticideindustry could simplydevelop a new chemicalthat kills the newly re-sistant weeds, but theweeds will just find away around it again. “It’smother nature’s plantbreeding program,” hesaid. “It (glyphosate) isvery widespread, and it’sa serious problem.” Mc-Neill says the situation iscausing “sudden deathsyndrome” in soybeans,which means they aredying at increased rateswhen they go into theirreproductive phase. Headds that corn is show-ing a higher incidence ofGoss’s wilt, which hasbeen a problem in Col-orado since the early1970s, and studies showthat glyphosate causes arise in both diseases.

And the problems arenot limited to plants…they are extending to theanimals that eat them,according to McNeill. Hesays he and his col-

leagues are seeing ahigher incidence of infer-tility and early-termabortion in cattle andhogs that are fed GMOcrops. He adds that poul-try fed the suspect cropshave been exhibiting re-duced fertility rates.

McNeill, who workswith universities, thefederal government, andprivate companies, sayshis advice to his farmerclients is to rotate chem-icals — or don’t usethem at all. While it ismore labor-intensive, or-ganic farmers usuallycut their weeds as an al-ternative to herbicides.He says he consults forabout 160,000 acres ofconventional farmlandand 5,000 to 6,000 acresof organically farmedland. “My clients are myfarmers, and I wantwhat’s best for them,” hesays. “And my clients arethe consumers who con-sume the farmers’ prod-ucts, and I want what’sbest for them.”

McNeill compares theglyphosate situation tothe way science eventu-ally caught up to anotherpoison: Just as DDT wasinitially hailed as a mira-cle pesticide and laterbanned, researchers arebeginning to discover se-rious problems withglyphosate. “Some issuesare starting to arise withtechnologies that proba-bly needed more re-search before we startedusing them,” he said.“It’s a moving target.”

Whether the increas-ing frequency ofg l yphosa t e - t o l e ran tweeds is a result of natu-ral selection or man-

made selection is a mootpoint: the problem wouldnot be occurring, inde-pendent of human influ-ence. Whatever kind ofselection is actually thecause of herbicide-toler-ant weeds, the wholeproblem bears painfulsimilarity to two cropdisease disasters I’vestudied… one within mymemory. The one I recallis the southern corn leafslight, which struck theU.S. during the early1970s. That blight wascaused by heavy relianceon a very limited numberof corn varieties which,though high-yielding,were closely related toeach other and lackedthe gene which wouldhave conveyed resist-ance to “race T” of thefungus Helminthospori-um maydis. That geneticshortfall cost the U.S. al-most one quarter of its1971 corn crop.

The other crop disasterwhich I’ve only studied,because it occurred overa century and a half ago,was the Irish potatoblight famine. Approxi-mately 90 percent of thepotatoes planted in Ire-land in the 1850s wereone variety. That varietylacked resistance to thefungus Phytopthera in-festans, the pathogencausing the blight, andthus costing Ireland al-most a third of its people.I believe that McNeill(and Huber) see painfulparallel between run-away overuse ofglyphosate and these twoblight epidemics justmentioned. As the sayinggoes, “those who fail tolearn from history…”

Crop Commentsby Paris Reidhead

Field Crops Consultant (Contact: renrock46@hotmail.com)

RICHMOND, VT – TheNortheast Organic Farm-ing Association of Ver-mont (NOFA-VT) is col-laborating with approxi-mately 75 restaurants,food markets, and foodcooperatives throughoutVermont for the 17th an-nual SHARE THE HAR-VEST fundraiser.

On Thursday, Oct. 6,participating restaurantsand food outlets will do-nate a percentage oftheir food sales to NOFA-VT’s Farm Share Pro-gram.

The Farm Share Pro-gram is dedicated toworking with Vermontindividuals who cannotafford to purchase freshproduce on a regular ba-sis. All funds raised onOct. 6 will benefit theseindividuals by supplyingthem with up to 22weeks of fresh farm pro-duce from local Commu-nity Supported Agricul-ture (CSA) farms.

The Farm Share pro-gram has been helpinglimited-income Vermon-ters purchase food fromlocal certified farmssince 1994. Within thepast 16 years, thou-sands of individuals andfamilies have benefitedfrom a season’s worth oflocally grown vegetablesand fruits as well asfarm education initia-tives.

For a listing of partici-pating restaurants andfood outlets, visit theNOFDA-VT Web site,www.nofavt.org . Formore information aboutthe Farm Share pro-gram, call NOFA-VT at802-434-4122.

The Northeast OrganicFarming Association isan organization of farm-ers, gardeners and con-sumers working to pro-mote an economically vi-able and ecologicallysound Vermont food sys-tem.

SHARE THEHARVEST fundraiserfor NOFA-VT slated

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Recently, the USDA’sCrop Production reportconfirmed expectations ofsmaller U.S. corn and soy-bean crops.

For the 2011-12 mar-keting year, which startsthis month, the averagefarm price for a bushel ofcorn is projected in arange of $6.50 to $7.50,well above the $5.20 aver-age of the past year. Forsoybean, the projectedprice range is $12.65 to$14.65, again, well abovethe $11.35 average of thepast year. These price in-creases will not be easy ondairymen’s pockets and agood risk management

will be necessary. It would be wise to look

into/revisit the LGM oncemore as LGM providesprotection to dairy pro-ducers not only againstunexpected declines inmilk prices but alsoagainst unexpected in-creases in feed costs.Gross margin is the mar-ket value of the insuredmilk minus feed costs.

Since its launch in2008, the LGM-Dairy hasgone through somechanges that resulted in abetter fit for dairy produc-ers. Timing of the premi-um paid, higher de-ductibles, and govern-

mental subsidies had thelargest influence on LGMuse.

The subsidy is the per-centage of the premiumpaid by the governmentbased on the dollaramount deductible select-ed by the producer. Policy-holders choosing a zerodeductible received thelowest premium subsidyat 18 percent; whereas,policyholders choosing a50-cent deductible re-ceived a 28 percent sub-sidy and those who choosemore than $1.10 de-ductible received 50 per-cent subsidy.

Unfortunately, the sub-

sidy funding for fiscal year2011 was exhausted inMarch due to the popular-ity of LGM-Dairy. If thesame level of funding isavailable for fiscal year2012 which begins on Oct.1, it would be wise for pro-ducers to contact agentsahead of the enrollmentperiod. Interested produc-ers need to schedule anappointment so that theyare assured a time slot tofinalize their enrollmentdecision before the salesclosing date and time.With level funding, manyexperts anticipate fundingfor LGM-Dairy subsidiesto be exhausted during

the October sales periodthat will end on Friday,Oct. 28.

For more information,those interested may at-tend one of the followingLGM-Dairy meetings:

• Wednesday, Oct. 5,from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,UNH CE office in Lancast-er, NH;

• Wednesday, Oct. 5,from 7-9 p.m., UNH CE of-fice in North Haverhill,NH; and

• Thursday, Oct. 6, from11 a.m. to 1 p.m., UNH CEoffice in Boscawen, NH.

The featured speaker isGene Gantz of the RiskManagement Agency in

Pennsylvania. Gene is aRisk Management Special-ist who is going to give youthe full details necessaryto understand the dairyinsurance program and anoverview of data analysisto make the right enroll-ment decision.

To register for one ofthese free workshops, con-tact Michal Lunak 603-787-6944 or Jay Phinizey603-224-7941. Bring yourown lunch for the daymeetings or a snack in theevening; we will take careof the coffee and milk. Pre-registration by Monday,Oct. 3 will be much appre-ciated.

www.kendallturner.comkendall@santoinsurance.com

(603) 627-4788 ext. 12

CHAMPLAIN DAIRYSERVICE INC.Swanton, VT

802-868-3144

DON'S DAIRY SUPPLY, INC.South Kortright, NY

607-538-9464

DYKEMAN FARMSFultonville, NY518-922-5496

FINGER LAKES DAIRYSERVICE

Lowville, NY315-376-2991

FINGER LAKES DAIRYSERVICE

Seneca Falls, NY315-568-0955

FINGER LAKES DAIRYSERVICE

Warsaw, NY585-786-0177

FISHER FARMSCanastota, NY315-697-7039

R&M FARM & PROHARDWARE

Marathon, NY607-849-3291

SOUTHERN TIER DAIRY SERVICEJava Center, NY585-457-4350

Smaller corn and soybean crops will mean higher feed prices

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While oil and environ-mental interests seek toblock the growth of theethanol market in theUnited States, other na-tions around the worldare increasing their useof American-madeethanol. According todata released Sept. 8 bythe federal government,U.S. ethanol exports inJuly set a new monthlyrecord. Exports of dena-tured and undenatured(non-beverage) ethanoltotaled 127.4 million gal-lons in July, edging outthe April 2011 total of120.1 million gallons to

set a new record. Julyexports were nearly dou-ble the amount exportedin June.

Ethanol exportsthrough July of this yeartotal 588.5 million gal-lons. That is moreethanol than was export-ed in 2009 and 2010combined. The U.S. is onpace to export up to 900million gallons of ethanolin 2011.

“Demand for a cleaner,more reliable alternativeto oil is growing acrossthe globe and America’sethanol producers arefilling that need,” said

Renewable Fuels Associ-ation Vice President Ge-off Cooper. “Unfortu-nately, domestic ethanolproducers are forced tolook at export marketsas special interests andsome policymakers areworking overtime to pre-vent America from usingmore of its own renew-able fuels. Americanethanol producers arethe most efficient, costeffective suppliers ofethanol in the world. Ifthis nation doesn’t wantto harness its own re-newable resources, it isevident that other na-tions will.”

Unprecedented U.S.ethanol exports continueto be driven by the factthat corn ethanol is cur-rently the lowest-costmotor fuel source in theworld. High sugar pricesand lower-than-expectedsugarcane ethanol out-put in South Americahave allowed the UnitedStates to overtake Brazilas the world’s leadingethanol exporter. In fact,Brazil and Canada areneck and neck as theleading importers of U.S.ethanol so far in 2011.

Exports of distillersdried grains with sol-ubles (DDGS), the animal

feed co-product resultingfrom grain ethanol pro-duction, totaled 644,525metric tons in July, upnearly 8 percent fromJune. Mexico continuedas the top DDGS export,receiving 156,400 metrictons in July. China(106,606 mt), Canada(63,707 mt), the UnitedKingdom (47,513 mt),and Vietnam (40,265 mt)rounded out the top five.Notably, exports to Chinahave increased in threeconsecutive months aftersliding significantly fromlate 2010 through April

2011. Year-to-dateDDGS exports total 4.43million metric tons,meaning the U.S. is onpace to export roughly7.6 million metric tons in2011.

“Whether its fuel orfeed, America’s ethanolproducers are reducingthe need for oil imports,helping feed the nation’slivestock population, andimprove our balance oftrade,” said Cooper. “Do-mestic ethanol produc-tion is the kind of inno-vative industry of whichAmerica needs more.”

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AlternativeFuels

Another record month for U.S. ethanolexports, feed exports rebound

Due to the recentfloods from TropicalStorm Irene, New Hamp-shire dairy producerscould be in for some fur-ther problems with theircows in the upcomingmonths.

Because mud is coat-ing many of the forages,clostridial contaminationof the crop can occur, ac-cording to UNH Coopera-tive Extension DairySpecialist and AssociateProfessor Pete Erickson.

This, along with thepotential of mold devel-opment, can becomeproblematic for manyproducers.

Erickson has providedsome tips to help dairyproducers:

• Vaccinate your cattleagainst clostridia, thisbacteria strikes fast andkills cows.

• Pack your silagesvery well; use an inocu-lant to help lower pH.

• Try putting plainwhite salt (50pounds/400 square feetof top surface); this willhelp reduce spoilage

• Make sure you coverthe silo.

• Feed a mycotoxinbinder.

• Don't feed any non-fermented (green silages)to your cattle.

For more information,contact Dr. Erickson at603-862-1909, or byemail at peter.erick-son@unh.edu

Handling floodstricken forages

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MAINECROWN EQUIPMENT, INC.

419 Sweden St.Caribou, ME

1-800-498-3196

MAINEKRAMERS TRACTOR SALES

Rt. 104, RD #3Sidney, ME

207-547-3345

MAINELIONEL THERIAULT, INC.

#10 Davis St.Presque Isle, ME

207-764-4405

VERMONTDESMARAIS EQUIPMENT, INC.

RR 2, Box 14Orleans, VT

802-754-6629

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CERTIFIED CROP ADVISER

Peg Cook owns and operates Cook’sConsulting located in Lowville, NY. Shehas been a CCA since 2001 and has 35years of experience working with cropgrowers. Currently Cook’s Consultingoffers Comprehensive Nutrient Man-agement Plan (CNMP) services for anyfarm in Lewis County. Peg’s pride inher job is evident in her dedication toher farm clients. She works very hardto help them accomplish the goals oftheir business and also feels that theyare integral to her success, stating“They know their fields best and byworking together, they have alsotaught me a great deal.”

When asked about being a CCA, Pegsaid, “I think in this day and age morethan ever, the CCA Program is essen-tial in keeping up your skills as a CropAdvisor and Agronomist. The CCA Pro-gram has become such a wealth of in-formation of different research andtools that are necessary in workingwith farm producers. The program al-so provides a great atmosphere for net-working with other professionals in thefield.”

Peg was born and raised in Bradford,PA and knew from age 4 that she want-ed to be involved in agriculture for therest of her life. Pursuing her dream sheattended Alfred State College, Alfred,NY graduating with an A.A.S. degree inAgricultural Science, Agronomy. At Al-fred St. she was the first girl EVER onthe Soils Judging Team. Both yearsshe was on the team they went to Na-tional competitions in Kentucky andTennessee. The teams ranked 3rd oneyear and 5th the next year. Peg com-ments, “those were such learning ex-

periences.”After college, a job with Kraft Foods

brought her to Lowville where sheworked until getting married andstarting a family. Her attention thenturned back to crops, first working asa 4-H Key Resource Leader where sheestablished a Vegetable Judging Team(which made it to the state fair) andthen starting her own business. TheGarden Shed opened in 1983, sellinglawn and garden products locally. Aspart of this business Peg opened a soiltesting laboratory and began part-timeconsulting work with farmers. The soiltesting business continued to grow,serving growers from across the U.S.,working with a number of organicgrowers. Peg said, “I loved this workbecause I was able to help them be-come more observant of their soils aswell as their crops.”

Over time the crop consulting com-ponent of the business continued togrow and Peg became very involved inIPM Field Crop Scouting. In 1993 Pegclosed The Garden Shed and estab-lished Cook’s Consulting, focusing onthe soil testing business and a fullservice IPM Field Scouting program.Due to health issues and the changingneeds of farmers Cook’s Consultingtransitioned out of the soil testingbusiness and shifted the focus to Nu-trient Management Planning, becom-ing a NYS Certified AEM (AgricultureEnvironmental Management) Plannerfor CAFO and non-CAFO farms. Pegadds “several farms have been with mefor 25 or more years.” Cook’s Consult-ing also works closely with the LewisCounty Soil and Water Conservation

District in providing technical assis-tance for the Agriculture ManagementProgram (AEM) and as a certified Tech-nical Service Provider (TSP) with US-DA-NRCS.

Peg feels that collaborating with herclients, Cornell Cooperative Extensionand Cornell Faculty with on-farm re-search projects is very important.“This data becomes valuable to a Nu-trient Management Planner in order tofollow state guidelines and regulationsfor making recommendations, but alsohelps the Planner to show the farmerbetter tools for becoming more produc-tive and efficient with their croppingprogram,” Peg comments.

She also feels that it is important tobe a contributing member of the com-munity and is involved is a number oforganizations locally, recently beingrecognized with the 2010 Water Stew-ardship award by the Lewis CountyWater Quality Coordinating Commit-

tee for her work with Agricultural Nu-trient Management.

Meet your CCA ~ Peg Cook

Peg Cook

by Janet B. Fallon, CCA, Dairy One For-age and Soils Lab Sales & TechnicalSupport

Where can I find resources fordealing with flood damaged crops

and livestock feed?In the wake of two devastating trop-

ical storms (Irene and Lee) many farm-ers across Vermont, New York andPennsylvania, are faced with sal-vaging submerged and flood damagedcrops while others have spotty dam-age resulting from ponding in low ar-eas of their fields. And then there arethe ag bags, bunk silos, and roundbales that were submerged.

If you haven’t already done so, it isimportant to check with the USDAFSA office in your area for assistanceand guidelines for dealing with fruits,vegetables, feeds, forages and grains(in the field or in bulk storage) dam-aged by flood waters.

Unfortunately, there are no guaran-tees or magic bullets. In fact, somefeed will not be fit to feed livestock anda lot more will be marginal. At thispoint, many are, quite simply, facedwith damage control so they don’t addinsult to injury.

The FDA has issued guidelines for

the use and handling of any “adulter-ated” flood damaged human food orlivestock feed in Vermont so be sure tocheck with your extension educatorsto make sure that you are in compli-ance. This is recommended in otherstates as well.

Below is a list of links to resourcesavailable to farmers victimized by theflooding in New York, Pennsylvaniaand Vermont. Please take advantageof all the resources available to you in-cluding your cooperative extensioneducators and Certified Crop Advis-ers. Most have been dealing with theclean-up for several weeks now andhave a good feel for many of the re-sources available. They may be able tolighten the load just a bit in this diffi-cult time.

Flood recovery information and resources

• EPA Natural Events and Disasters:www.epa.gov/agriculture/tned.html

• FDA Emergencies: www.fda.gov/Food/FoodDefense/Emergencies/FloodsHurricanesPowerOutages/ucm272322.htm

• Miscellaneous; www.dairyone.com/Forage/FactSheet/flooded_for-age.htm

Vermont Extension Resources• Managing Flood Damaged Crops

and Forage from Tropical Storm Irene,Written by UVM Extension SpecialistsSid Bosworth, Jeff Carter, HeatherDarby, Dan Hudson, and DennisKauppila with contributions by AlGotlieb (UVM retired): www.uvm.edu/extension/?Page=emergency.html

•Vermont Flood Crops Fact Sheet:http://pss.uvm.edu/vtcrops/arti-cles/Flooded_Crops_Factsheet_%20Irene_2011_UVMExtension.pdf

Cornell Extension Resources• Cornell Animal Science Fact Sheets

with guidelines for flooded forages:www.ansci.cornell.edu/dm/fact-

sheets.htmlhttp://cnydairylc.cce.cornell.edu/c

ropconditions/cropconditions.html• Handling Flood Damaged Crops CCE- Delaware County Paul Ceraso-

leti 607-865-6531 www2.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/EDEN/F

looded%20Crops%20for%20Silage%202011.pdf

• Food Safety Advice to CommercialGrowers Regarding Flooded Crops

Kevin Ganoe Regional Field CropSpecialist 315-866-7920 or khg2@cor-nell.edu

Central New York Dairy and FieldCrops Team Chenango, Herkimer, Ot-sego and Schoharie Counties

http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/oneida/Agriculture/Ag/crops/han-dling%20flood%20damaged%20crops%2082%20011.pdf

PSU Crops and Soils Flood Information

www.cas.psu.edu/docs/biosecuri-ty/EMERGENCY/Flood.html

http://cornandsoybeans.psu.edu/flood_damaged_crops.cfm

• Miscellaneous;Salvaging Crops and Feed After

Flooding www.ag.ndsu.edu/flood/farm-

ranch/salvaging-crops-after-floodingwww.ag.ndsu.edu/flood/farm-

ranch/salvaging-stored-wet-feed-and-grain

Ask your CCA

Judy Wright, Co ChairFarmland Protection

Consultantjlw4220@yahoo.com

Auburn, NYQuirine Ketterings,

Co ChairCornell UniversityQmk2@cornell.edu

Ithaca, NYJeanette Marvin

Administrative AssistantJFM Solutions

jmarvin@rochester.rr.comMacedon NYRyan Akin

Hemdale Farmsrakin1@rochester.rr.com

Canandaigua, NY Carl Bannon

DuPont Crop Protectioncarl.d.bannon@usa.

dupont.comAmherst, MA

Brian BoermanFarmland Environmental

bib@acsoffice.comIthaca, NY

Rich BonannoU Mass Extensionrbonanno@umext.

umass.edu Methuen, MA

Mike ContessaChamplain Valley Agronomics Inc.

fieldteck@aol.comPeru, NY

Heather DarbyU of Vermont Ext

Heather.Darby@uvm.eduVermont

Matt EckhardtCapital Area Ag Consultingmreconsulting@hotmail.com

Stephentown, NY Janet Fallon

Dairy Onejanet.fallon@dairyone.com

Tully, NYDale Gates

NRCSdale.gates@ny.usda.gov

Marcy, NY Jessica Heim

SWCD- Madison Countyjessica-heim@verizon.net

Hamilton, NY Doug LaFaveHewitt Brothers

dlafave@a-znet.com Locke, NY

Joe LawrenceCCE- Lewis Countyjrl65@cornell.edu

Lowville, NY Jeff Ten Eyck

NYS Dept. of Agriculture& Markets

jeff.teneyck@agmkt.state.ny.usGroton, NY

2011 North East Region Certified Crop Adviser Board Members

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CERTIFIED CROP ADVISER

by Judy Wright, CCA, CPAgThe recent tropical weather from

Irene and Lee are by now a distantmemory for some who were least affect-ed but for others, recovery is still un-derway and will take a very long time.Those most affected are still on every-one’s mind and we hope that the vari-ous forms of disaster assistance willprovide some relief.

Soils are the foundation of our crop-ping plans. Weather is always the vari-able and one that farmers are quiteadept at dealing with. But when back-to-back tropical weather systems passthrough an area and wash away soils(and crops they were growing in) thathave been the foundation of the farm fordecades or even longer, the results canbe devastating. In addition as the floodwaters recede, most likely what has re-placed the fertile soils can be contami-nated mud with little structure to growfuture crops.

As farms with livestock look to re-plenish feed that was either washedaway or contaminated in the field or gotwet and is now molded or rotten, thusinedible for livestock, new challengesmay be on the horizon. While grain pro-ducers have been pleased by the in-crease in grain prices, those looking topurchase on the open market will seethe increase in prices due to the in-crease in cost of fertilizer and fuel.

Through all of this it is wonderful tosee the agriculture community in New

York, the Northeast and other areas ofthe country coming together by eitherraising money to help supplement thegovernment’s disaster relief programsor donating feed or other needed sup-plies for those farms most affected bythe flooding.

It will be some time before the truecosts of Irene and Lee are determined.Initial reports appeared to be very dev-astating for the industry but these arestarting to be revised and it is hopedthat those most affected will have theresources and strength to pull through.

It has been good to learn that many ofthe tree fruits ( apples, pears, etc) werenot quite ripe and as a result may nothave suffered the damage they mighthave a few weeks later into the season.I also find it amazing that the trees wereable to withstand the flood waters whensome barns and other buildings wereeither washed away or moved from theirfoundations.

As farms start to recover from the ef-fects of Irene and Lee, be sure to con-tact your Certified Crop Adviser to helpyou assess the situation. They are thereto help you as a partner in your decisionmaking process. For those spared theeffects of Irene and Lee, your CertifiedCrop Adviser can be a partner in yourdecision making process for 2012 cropseason. Together we can rebuild andkeep New York agriculture a strong partof the local economy and help revitalizeour state’s economy.

Chairperson’s Corner

Measuring the emission of green-house gases from croplands shouldtake into account the crops themselves.

That’s the conclusion of a study in theSeptember-October issue of the Jour-nal of Environmental Quality, which ex-amined the impact of farm practicessuch as tillage on the greenhouse gas,nitrous oxide (N2O). Expressing emis-sions per unit of crop yield rather thanon a more conventional areal basis pro-duced very different results, says thestudy’s leader, Rod Venterea, researchsoil scientist with the USDA-ARS.

In particular, his team found that to-tal N2O emissions were not significant-ly affected by tillage practices when ex-pressed on an area basis. When theywere calculated per unit yield of grain,however, emissions were significantlygreater under no-tillage than conven-tional tillage. A byproduct of many agri-cultural systems, N2O is a potentgreenhouse gas (GHG) with a heat-trap-ping potential more than 300 times thatof carbon dioxide.

The findings have important implica-tions for how the greenhouse gases gen-erated by agriculture are reported, eval-uated, and potentially mitigated. N2Oemissions were slighter higher underno-till on an areal basis in the study,Venterea explains, but not high enoughto differ statistically from those under

conventional tillage. “But when weadded in the fact that no-tillage also re-duced yields, the effect of tillage did be-come significant,” he says. “The point isthat you need to look at both N2O emis-sions and yield together.”

While previous studies have shownthat practices like fertilizer and tillagemanagement can affect N2O emissions,relatively few have reported the effectsof these practices on crop performanceat the same time. In addition, GHGemissions are commonly expressedwith respect to area of field: for exam-ple, kg N2O emitted per hectare. Recentresearch has suggested that expressingGHG emissions per unit of yield may bemore meaningful, although few studieshave actually done that.

To see how yield-scaled calculationsmight change the picture on emissions,USDA-ARS researchers in collaborationwith University of Minnesota colleaguesmeasured the effects of tillage and ni-trogen (N) fertilizer management onN2O emissions, grain yields, and crop Nuptake over three consecutive growingseasons in Minnesota. The experimentwas conducted in research plots usedfor corn and soybean production, whichwere maintained under either no-till orconventional tillage for 18 years.

When the scientists calculated N2Oemissions per unit yield of grain or

grain N, they found that emissions un-der no-tillage were 52 and 66% higher,respectively, than with conventionaltillage. In other words, for this croppingsystem and climate, Venterea says, no-till practices would generate substan-tially more N2O than would convention-al tillage for the same amount of grain.The effect was due to lower yields underno-till, combined with slightly greaterarea-scaled N2O emissions.

Reduced yields under continuous no-till management in parts of the upperMidwest and other regions have been

attributed to lower soil temperatures inspring, which may inhibit plant devel-opment. In other geographic regions,though, no-till can actually increaseyields.

“So, for these other regions, express-ing GHG emissions on a yield-basiscould reveal benefits to no-till manage-ment that otherwise might not be quan-tified,” Venterea says.

The study was funded by the USDANational Institute for Food and Agricul-ture (NIFA) and the Foundation forAgronomic Research.

Crop performance matterswhen evaluating GHGs

Oct. 25 and 26: Keystone CropsConference, Holiday Inn Grantville,PA. CEU’s available. For more infor-mation, contact Amy M. Bradford atPennAg Industries Association,Phone: 717-651-5920, Cell: 717-574-9098, abradford@pennag.com CEU’savailable.

Nov. 4: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., CoverCrops Tour and Workshop, Big FlatsPMC, Corning, NY. RSVP by Oct. 28 at607-562-8404 orshawnna.clark@ny.usda.gov $10 tocover lunch. Go to www.ny.nrcs.us-da.gov/news/spotlight/cover_crop_tour.html for more information. CEU’savailable.

Nov. 5: Fall Hops Conference andAnnual Northeast Hop Alliance Meet-ing, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Brown’s BrewingCo. 417 River Street, Troy, NY. TheNortheast Hop Alliance (NeHA) willmeet to discuss ongoing research andhop production, plan events for thecoming year, and get together to cele-brate hops in our region.

For more information please con-tact Heather Darby at heather.dar-by@uvm.edu or Rosalie Madden atrosalie.madden@uvm.edu or call802-524-6501.

Nov. 21: Annual Field Crop DealerMeeting, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Jordan Hallat the NYAES in Geneva, NY, withbroadcast locations at CCE offices inAlbany, Cayuga, Cattaraugus, Clin-ton, Genesee, Jefferson and OneidaCounties. Attend the location that ismost convenient for you! Cost of at-tendance is $10 payable on the day of

the meeting at the site of your choice.Lunch will be available at all sites foran additional cost. The 2012 CornellGuide for Integrated Field Crop Man-agement will also be available for pur-chase the day of the meeting at allsites. DEC pesticide applicator andCCA CEU credits will be offered aspart of the $10 registration fee.

Pre-registration for this meeting isrequired. For more information or topre-register, please contact MaryMcKellar at 607-255-2177 ormem40@cornell.edu.

Nov. 29-Dec. 1: NRCCA Crop Con-ference, Doubletree Hotel, Syracuse,NY. Contact Jeanette Marvin 315-986-9320 jmarvin@rochester.rr.comfor complete registration information.CEU’s available.

Dec. 1: Cornell Seed Conference,10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Jordan Hall at theNYAES in Geneva, NY. The $20 regis-tration fee includes lunch. No pre-registration is required. Contact MaryMcKellar 607-255-2177 ormem40@cornell.edu for more infor-mation. CEU’s available.

SAVE the DATE! Jan. 20 and 21,2012: 16th Annual VT Grazing &Livestock Conference, featuringkeynote speaker Dr. Temple Grandin

Save the date; Jan. 25 and 26,2012: CCA Winter Crops Conferencein Portsmouth NH. Contact JohnJemison Jr Extension Professor,University of Maine, 495 College Av-enue, Orono, ME 04473 Phone 207-581-3241, e-mail jemison@maine.edu CEU’s available

CCA Calendar of EventsFall and Winter 2011

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WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Transportation Sec-retary Ray LaHoodjoined with Washington,D.C. officials and con-struction industry lead-ers at the constructionsite for D.C.’s 11thStreet Bridge Project andcalled on Congress topass the American JobsAct and make significantinvestments in job-creat-ing infrastructure proj-ects. He was joined atthe event by WashingtonD.C. Mayor Vincent C.Gray, DDOT DirectorTerry Bellamy, and Asso-ciated General Contrac-tors CEO Steven Sand-herr.

Secretary LaHood said,“We’ve got unemployedconstruction workers,standing by, ready to roll

up their sleeves rightnow. This is the momentfor Congress to set asidethe politics and partisan-ship, to pass the Ameri-can Jobs Act, and to putAmerica back to work.”

In his address to thenation, President Obamacalled on Congress topass the American JobsAct, which will invest injob-creating transporta-tion projects and estab-lish a National Infra-structure Bank, a con-cept with strong biparti-san support. There isalso wide agreementamong business leaders,labor unions, economistsand elected officials thatmaking significant in-vestments in America’sroads, rails, and airportswill not only put hun-

dreds of thousands ofpeople to work quickly, itis crucial to the nation’sfuture economic growthand prosperity.

Steven Sandherr, CEOof the Associated GeneralContractors, said, “Thereare few more effectiveways to create good jobs,deliver great roads, builda strong economy andprotect taxpayers than toinvest in infrastructure.That is why the Associat-ed General Contractors ofAmerica stands with thePresident and everyoneelse that is willing tomake the investmentsneeded to revive our in-dustry and rebuild oureconomy.” AssociatedGeneral Contractors isone of the nation’s largesttrade associations for the

construction industry.Secretary LaHood also

called on Congress toimmediately pass an ex-tension of the surfacetransportation bill,which is set to expire onSept. 30. If Congress al-lows the current surfacetransportation extensionto expire, more than4,000 federal employeeswill immediately go with-out pay. If Congress de-lays actions for just 10days beyond that, nearly$1 billion in highwayfunding that could bespent on constructionprojects across the na-tion would be lost. And ifCongress waits evenlonger, almost 1 millionworkers could be in dan-ger of losing their jobsover the next year.

Secretary LaHoodspoke at the constructionsite of the 11th StreetBridge Project in Wash-ington, D.C., which couldbe shut down if Congressfails to pass a surfacetransportation extensionby Sept. 30. There areroughly 380 workers onthe 11th Street Bridgeproject, which will reducecongestion by replacingtwo existing bridges with

three new bridges andimproving interchangesfor local and freeway traf-fic. By 2030, thesebridges will serve almost180,000 vehicles everyday — helping the regionbecome more economi-cally competitive. Sched-uled for completion in2013, the $300-millionproject is being complet-ed with $189 million infederal-aid.

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LEBANON, CT — TheLebanon Regional FFADairy Cattle Evaluationteam competed at theBig E on Sept. 17 andtook home first place.

The team qualified tocompete at the Big E bywinning first place in theCT FFA Dairy CattleEvaluation Career Devel-opment Event in May.The Connecticut team

was comprised of Scar-lett Abell, Rachel Mack-ewicz, Grace Schultz allof Lebanon, and EmilyVonEdwins of Hampton.

There are several com-ponents of the contestincluding dairy judging,herd record evaluation,general knowledge, rea-sons, evaluating pedi-grees and sire sum-maries and a team event.

The team from theLebanon Regional FFAChapter beat out theteams from 18 states inthe eastern region to wintop honors by almost200 points over theircompetition.

The team did out-standing individually aswell with Emily VonEd-wins earning first place,Scarlett Abell second

place, Rachel Mackewiczthird place, and GraceSchultz fifth place. Nextup for the team is theNational FFA Conventionto compete in the nation-al contest.

Lebanon Regional FFA wins cattle evaluationcontest at the Big E

TRADE SHOW OPPORTUNITIES

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO EXHIBIT AT OR ATTEND ANY OF THESE SHOWS

CALL 800-218-5586www.leetradeshows.com • mwhite@leepub.com

• KEYSTONE FARM SHOW •

January 3, 4, 5, 2012 • Tues. 9-4, Wed. 9-4 & Thurs. 9-3York Fairgrounds • York, PA

• VIRGINIA FARM SHOW •

Jan. 19, 20 & 21, 2012 • Thurs. 9-4, Fri. 9-4 & Sat. 9-3 Augusta Expoland • Fishersville, VA

• BIG IRON EXPO •

February 8 & 9, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 Eastern States Exposition • West Springfield, MA

• MATERIAL HANDLING & INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT EXPO •

February 8 & 9, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 Eastern States Exposition • West Springfield, MA

• EMPIRE STATE FRUIT & VEG EXPO •

Jan. 24, 25 & 26 2012Oncenter Convention Center • Syracuse, NY

• HARD HAT EXPO •

March 7 & 8, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 New York State Fairgrounds • Syracuse, NY

• MATERIAL HANDLING & INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT EXPO •

March 7 & 8, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 New York State Fairgrounds • Syracuse, NY

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The National Milk Pro-ducers Federation’sBoard of Directors votedSept. 21 in favor of a re-vised approach to reform-ing federal dairy policy,with the key change of al-lowing farmers an individ-ual choice between receiv-ing the financial protec-tion of a government safe-ty net, or opting out ofsuch protection.

As originally proposedback in 2010, NMPF’sFoundation for the Future(FFTF) program containeda government-subsidizedsafety net, the Dairy Pro-ducer Margin ProtectionProgram, to protectagainst periods of lowmilk prices, high feedcosts, or a combination ofthe two. This program of-fered a Basic level of sub-sidized insurance cover-age, plus the option ofSupplemental fixed-costcoverage partially paid byfarmers. The FFTF pro-gram also contained theDairy Market Stabiliza-tion Program, which wasa mandatory means to re-duce market volatility bydiscouraging new milkproduction during periodsof compressed margins.

Under the revised ap-proach backed on Sept.21 by NMPF, the Dairy

Producer Margin Protec-tion Program (DPMPP)would continue to be vol-untary, but if a produceropts to participate in theDPMPP, his/her partici-pation in the Dairy Mar-ket Stabilization Program(DMSP) would then bemandatory. If a producerchooses not to participatein the insurance program,then participation in theDMSP would not be re-quired. As with NMPF’soriginal reform package,the Milk Income LossContract program wouldbe eliminated, as wouldthe Dairy Product PriceSupport Program.

The NMPF Board be-lieves that the new ap-proach will result in bene-ficial changes to the leg-islative version of Founda-tion for the Future, whichis expected to soon be for-mally introduced in theHouse of Representativesby Representatives CollinPeterson (D-MN) and MikeSimpson (R-ID).

“Based on the feedbackwe received this summerfrom our cooperativemembership, and duringour grassroots tour, when1,300 farmers came to 12cities to talk with usabout Foundation for theFuture, we decided that a

slightly different ap-proach to reforming dairypolicy was the best way togo,” said Randy Mooney,NMPF Chairman, and adairy farmer fromRogersville, MO. “Clearly,a number of farmers areuncomfortable about hav-ing a mandatory govern-ment program to managemilk production. So weare endorsing a new ap-proach which gives farm-ers a clear choice.”

“This new approach ofmaking the Market Stabi-lization program optionalwill appeal to those whophilosophically do notwant government tellingthem what to produce. Atthe same time, those whowant the benefits of a gov-ernment safety net mustaccept some government-led market stabilizationas the price of that protec-tion,” Mooney said.

The other changes en-dorsed today by NMPF in-clude:

• Increasing the BasicPlan’s coverage to 80 per-cent of a producer’s pro-duction history on mar-gins between $0 and $ 4per cwt. In the legislativedraft of FFTF releasedearlier this summer, theBasic coverage was limit-ed to 75 percent of a

farm’s production history.• Giving farmers the op-

tion of acquiring coveragefor their productiongrowth under the Supple-mental Plan. Under suchan option, the productionhistory would be revisedannually as the produc-er’s production grows.The percentage of the pro-ducer’s production histo-ry to be covered, and thepremium rate per cwt.,would remain fixed overthe life of the Farm Bill.

• Accepting an adminis-trative fee to be charged toall producers signing upfor margin protection cov-erage under the DPMPP,with modest fees on asliding scale. This willhelp keep the cost of theprogram to a minimum.

• Eliminating the distri-bution of 50 percent ofp r oduce r - gene ra t edfunds to the U.S. Trea-sury under the DairyMarket Stabilization pro-gram, ensuring that all ofthe monies generated byproducer withholdingswould be available to pur-chase dairy products fordonation to non-commer-cial food assistance pro-grams as originally pro-posed.

Lastly, the revised FFTFpackage endorsed by

NMPF alters how reformsto the Federal Milk Mar-keting Order systemwould be pursued. UnderNMPF’s original ap-proach, the legislationwould have specificallyprescribed how competi-tive prices and a stream-lining of the classifiedpricing system were to beimplemented by theUSDA, without a hearingprocess. The new versiondirects the USDA to elimi-nate the cumbersome endproduct price formulasand make allowances forClass III, and use a com-petitive pay price insteadto determine the Class IIIprice. It also specifies thatafter USDA makes its de-cision, a majority vote byproducers will put thechanges into effect. If thechanges are not ap-proved, the current Fed-eral Order provisions re-main in place.

“The underlying objec-tives we have been pursu-ing for the past two years— offering a better dairyprogram featuring protec-tion, stability, and growth— remain intact in whatour Board has endorsedtoday,” according toNMPF President and CEOJerry Kozak. “But bymaking some adjust-

ments, we strongly believethat many of the concernsraised in the past year toour first approach nowhave been addressed andeliminated.”

Kozak went on to pointout that NMPF’s Founda-tion for the Future pro-posal, along with the ini-tial legislative discussiondraft released this sum-mer by Representative Pe-terson and cosponsoredby Representative Simp-son, allowed the dairy in-dustry and Congress “tokick the tires and reallyscrutinize the best way toreform dairy policy. We’velistened, we’ve analyzedand considered options,and now we’re endorsinga course correction thatwill still take us to thesame place, only withgreater unanimity andsupport from dairy farm-ers, and hopefully fromothers across the industryand on Capitol Hill.”

Mooney added that “it’stime everyone in the dairyindustry recognizes thatthe Peterson-Simpson billoffers the best — and per-haps only — opportunityto create an effective safetynet that allows us to takeadvantage of the chal-lenges and opportunities ofa global marketplace.”

We are your source for a wide range of used parts with free nationwide parts locator. Parts are dismantled, cleaned and ready for shipment.

TRACTORSAgco RT100 4WD tractor C/A/H 38” radials, 4 remotes, cleanJD 2240 4WD tractor w/loaderJD 5410 4WD tractor w/loader, snyc shuttle, w/2nd bucket & pallet forks‘05 Kubota M105 2WD, C/A/H, 2 remotes, good condition, 850 hrs.‘08 Kubota M108SDS 4WD, low profile, 540/1000 rpm, 32 speed, very clean, 634 hrs.‘08 Kubota M108XDTC 4WD, C/A/H w/loader, PS, 3 remotes‘06 Kubota M125XDTC 4WD, C/A/H, ldr., PS, 2 remotes, sharp tractor‘06 Kubota M5040 2WD, low hrs., clean tractor, 363 hrs.‘09 Kubota M5040 4WD tractor w/loader, ag tires, like new 151 hrs.‘09 Kubota M5640 4WD tractor w/canopy‘06 Kubota M6040 4WD, C/A/H, R4 tires, 1 remote, hyd. shuttle, 290 hrs.‘09 Kubota M6040 4WD, C/A/H, unused 4 hrs.‘09 Kubota M7040 4WD, C/A/H w/loader, 2 remotes, ag tires, good cond., 391 hrs.‘07 Kubota M8540 4WD w/canopy and new tires, 1166 hrs.‘08 Kubota M9540 4WD, C/A/H w/loader, good cond., 401 hrs.‘08 Kubota M9540 4WD, C/A/H, hyd. shuttle, 12 spd., creeper kit‘07 Kubota MX500 4WD, R4 tires, 1 remote, 108 hrs.‘09 Kubota MX4700DT 4WD tractor w/loader, ag tires, like new, 59 hrs.‘07 Kubota MX5000 2WD tractor w/ag tires, low hrs.‘09 Kubota MX5100 4WD w/ldr., 8x8 trans, R-4 tires, SS QT, 229 hrs.Zetor 5211 2WD tractor w/diesel, good condition

COMPACT TRACTORS & LAWN TRACTORS‘08 Bobcat CT235 4WD, TLB, hydro, R-4 tires, 249 hrs.Ford 1510 4WD w/loader, realy clean‘00 Kubota B2710 4WD, TLB, R-4 tires, hydro, very clean, 310 hrs.‘10 Kubota B2920 4WD tractor hydro, R-4 tires, 24 hrs.‘09 Kubota B2920 4WD TLB hydro, R-4 tires, thumb, like new, 78 hrs.‘02 Kubota B7500HSD 4WD w/60” mower, 485 hrs.‘06 Kubota B7510 4WD, TLB, 6 spd., R-4 tires‘09 Kubota B7800 4WD tractor w/72” mid mower, 116 hrs.‘07 Kubota BX2350 4WD tractor w/loader, R4 tires, good cond., 254 hrs.‘11 Kubota F2680 lawn tractor w/60” cut, same as new‘08 Kubota GR2010 20hp, AWD 48” cut w/ catcher, clean 151 hrs.‘07 Kubota L2800 4WD TLB, good cond., ag tires, thumb, 249 hrs.Kubota L2850 tractor w/ ldr., 4WD, good cond., 1 owner‘94 Kubota L2950 4WD tractor w/ ldr., SS QT, new rear tires, good cond.‘07 Kubota L3130 4WD tractor w/ ldr., hydro SS QT, good cond., 1467 hrs.‘07 Kubota L3130 4WD tractor w/ ldr., hydro R4 tires, good cond., 347 hrs.‘08 Kubota L3240 4WD tractor, R-4 tires, good cond., 590 hrs.‘07 Kubota L3240 2WD tractor w/ ldr., good cond., 332 hrs.‘08 Kubota L3400 4WD tractor w/ ldr., ag tires, 104 hrs.‘07 Kubota L3400 4WD TLB, hydro, ag tires, as new, 29 hrs.‘06 Kubota L3400 4WD tractor w/ canopy, ag tires‘00 Kubota L3410 GST 4WD tractor w/loader, hyd shuttle, GST trans., 1 owner,

650 hrs.‘06 Kubota L3430 4WD tractor w/loader hydro, R-4 tires, clean, 527 hrs.‘08 Kubota L3540 4WD tractor w/ ldr., hydro SS QT, clean machine, 264 hrs.‘09 Kubota L3940 4WD tractor w/loader, 8x8 trans., R-4 tires, SSQT, clean, 352 hrs.‘09 Kubota L3940 4WD, w/ loader, R-4 tires, GST trans, 408 hrs.

‘08 Kubota L3940 4WD tractor w/ ldr., 445 hrs.‘07 Kubota L3940 4WD tractor, hydro, canopy, R4 tires, clean, 149 hrs.‘07 Kubota L4240 HST 4WD w/loader, hydro, R4 tires, SS Qt sharp, 168 hrs.‘06 Kubota L4400DT 4WD w/loader, ag tires, 254 hrs.‘04 Kubota L4630 4WD tractor C/A/H creeper good cond., choice of tires‘10 Kubota T2080 20 HP, hydro, 42” cut lawn tractor‘08 Kubota T2380 48” cut, good condition‘08 Kubota ZD321 zero turn, 21 HP diesel, 54” cut, very good cond., 71 hrs.‘01 Kubota ZD326 60” rear discharge, like new, 28 hrs.‘08 Kubota ZD326 26 HP dsl 60” pro deck‘07 Kubota ZD331P-60 zero turn, 31 HP diesel, 60” cut, very good cond., 195 hrs.‘08 Kubota ZG222-48, 22 HP, hyd lift, canopy, 167 hrs.‘08 Kubota ZG222 48” cut, just like new, 36 hrs.‘10 Kubota ZG227 54” cut, like new, 27 hrs.‘09 Kubota ZG227 27 HP, 54” cut, good condition, 181 hrs.‘06 NH TC40A 4WD w/loader, shuttle shift, ag tires, like new, 96 hrs.

SKID STEERS‘07 Bobcat MT55 skid steer, good cond. w/ bkt., 634 hrs.‘07 Bobcat S220 OROPS, flotation tires, power tack, like new, 480 hrs.‘03 Bobcat S300 skid steer, gold pkg., C/A/H, P tach, hi flow, good cond., 288 hrs.‘03 Bobcat S300 C/A/H, hi flow ptach, very good cond., 288 hrs.‘08 Bobcat T190 skid steer, new tracks, good cond., 808 hrs.‘03 Bobcat T200 good cond., good tracks, w/bucket, 2073 hrs.‘08 Bobcat T300 C/A/H, SJC controls, 80” bucket, good cond.‘10 Kubota SVL75HW wide tracks, hyd, coupler, low hrs. 108 hrs.NH LS190 Cab hi flow 2 speed, weight kit, good tires‘05 Mustang 2099 skid steer C/A/H like new, 109 hrs.

PLOWS W/ SPRING RESET7 shank high clearance chisel plowAsst. 1, 2, 3, or 4 x 3 pt. plowsFord 101 3x plowFord 309 2x plow

SIDE RAKES & TEDDERSNew First Choice 2 star tedderNew First Choice 4 star tedder, hyd. foldNew First Choice 4 star tedder, spring assistFirst Choice 6 star hyd foldFirst Choice 10 wheel converge rakeH&S wheel rake, 9 wheelNH 55, 256, 258, 259 side rakes - priced from $500NH 256, 258 side rakes, some w/ dolly wheels

INDUSTRIAL‘02 Bobcat 328 excavator, ROPS, rubber tracks, runs & operates, good cond., 1634 hrs.‘04 Bobcat 331G ROPS, rubber tracks, 18” bucket, 645 hrs.‘05 Bobcat 334G excavator, ROPS, rubber tracks, QT bucket, 2182 hrs.‘07 Bobcat 337 excavator, 24” bkt., hyd. thumb, good cond., 499 hrs.‘05 Bobcat 435 excavator, C/A/H, SJC controls, 729 hrs.‘07 Bobcat V638 versahandler, 4WD, C/A/H, 38’ frame leveler, aux hyd.‘06 Bomag BW211D 84” smooth drum roller, very good cond.‘00 Bomag BW213 84” drum drive vibratory roller

Case CX130 excavator, C/A/H pattern selector, aux hyd, sharpCase 550E dozer, 6 way blade, rubber tracks, runs & works wellCat D3GXL dozer, C/A/H, 6 way blade, hy state, sharpCat CS-433E roller shell kit, blade, 1 owner‘09 Dynapac CA134D roller, 54” smooth drum, w/shell kit, very cleanGehl 153 excavator, adj. tracks, low hours‘07 Hamm 3205 54” vibratory roller, cleanHamm BW172D 66” smooth drum w/vibratoryIngersoll Rand SD77DX vibratory roller, 66’ drum, very niceIngersoll Rand 706H fork lift, 4WD, 15’ see thru mast 6,000 lb Cummins dsl.‘07 JLG 450A lift‘08 Kubota B26 4WD tractor w/ ldr., 4WD, hydro w/ ldr., R4 tires, 207 hrs.‘07 Kubota K008 excavator, 10” bucket, good cond., aux hyd.‘07 Kubota KX080 C/A/H, hyd. thumb, rubber tracks, straight blade, clean,

1 owner, 799 hrs.‘08 Kubota KX080 excavator, 120 hrs., like new, angle blade, lots of warranty‘‘09 Kubota KX121 excavator, ROPS, rubber tracks, angle blade, 133 hrs.‘08 Kubota KX121 excavator, rubber tracks, hyd. thumb, angle blade, 237 hrs.‘08 Kubota KX121-3 excavator, ROPS, angle blade, hyd. thumb,

rubber tracks, 343 hrs.‘07 Kubota KX161 excavator, C/A/H, hyd thumb, angle blade, good cond., 571 hrs.‘07 Kubota KX161 excavator, C/A/H, angle blade, thumb, 1 owner 337 hrs., clean‘01 Kubota L35 4WD TLB, GST trans., 18” bucket, 1 owner, 179 hrs.‘10 Kubota L39 4WD tractor w/ldr., top and tilt, as new, 80 hrs.‘05 Kubota L39 4WD TLB, front aux hyd, 1 owner, sharp, 542 hrs.‘09 Kubota L45 4WD, TL, hydro w/ HD box scraper & aux. hyd.,

like new, 73 hrs.‘08 Kubota M59 4WD TLB, front hydraulics, good cond., 466 hrs.‘09 Kubota M59 4WD TLB, front hyd., 24” bucket, sharp‘06 Kubota U25 excavator, ROPS, rubber tracks, hyd thumb, 745 hrs.‘09 Kubota U35 excavator, ROPS, angle blade, hyd thumb, 249 hrs.‘05 Kubota KX71 ROPS, rubber tracks, hyd thumb, good cond., good tracks‘06 Kubota KX121 excavator, C/A/H, angle blade, hyd thumb, good cond., 2463 hrs.‘07 Kubota KX121 excavator, C/A/H, straight blade, good cond., 1852 hrs.‘10 Kubota KX121 excavator, C/A/H, angle blade, hyd thumb, rubber tracks, 127 hrs.‘06 Kubota KX161 excavator, C/A/H, rubber tracks, 24” bucket, 1270 hrs.‘07 Kubota U45 excavator, ROPS, rubber tracks, hyd. thumb, sharp, 198 hrs.‘04 Morbark 2050 25 HP, gas, 5” capacity, clean machine‘08 Morbark Twister 12, 12” Cat diesel, auto feed, same as newRayco C87D crawler dozer. C/A/H, pilot controls, winch and forestry pkg., very

clean‘00 Takeuchi TB135 w/cab & heat, rubber tracks, 2 bucketsYanmar CBL40 4WD, TLB, hydro, SSQT, front hyd thumb, good cond.

BALERSHaybuster 256DS bale chopper, good cond., dairyman specialM&W round baler with monitor, good conditionNH 570 square baler, good cond., w/#72 throwerNH 575 square baler, good cond. w/throwerTanco 580S new, 30” wrap, cable controls, standup

CULTIPACKERS & SEEDERS8-10-12 cultipackersBobcat 72 seeder, 3pt. or SS mount, 6’ cultipacker seeder, good cond.Land Pride APS1572 seeder 72” spike roller front, cast roller rear, like new

MANURE SPREADERSBodco LAGU-42” manure pump lagoon typeKuhn SD4000 3 pt seeder, niceNH 1038 stack liner wagon, good cond.Pequea MS80P manure spreader, PTO drive, same as new

HAYBINES/DISCBINESMcKee 16’ 3pt. danish tines w/ rolling baskets, good cond.

DISCSIHC leveling disk, 14’

MISCELLANEOUSMonosem 4 row corn planterAsst used 3 pt. finish mowers & rotary mowersBefco 20’ batwing finish mowerBobcat 48 fence installer, SS mount, unused stakes & fence includedBrillion 3pt. 5 shank reset ripperBush Wacker 8410P rotary mower, 7’, pull type w/ hyd. cylinderDemco 500 gallon sprayer, tandem axleFerri TD42RSFM boom mower, unusedFord 309 3pt 2 row corn planter, very good cond.Ford 3000 sprayer, dsl., custom spray rig tractorGenset D337F 6 cyl. generatorHardi 170 gallon 3pt sprayer, 30’ boom, very cleanJD 450 grain drill, 19” dbl. disc, 7” spacing, grass & small grain,

fertilizer boxJD 1240 4 row corn planter‘08 Kubota RTV1100 4WD utility vehicle, C/A/H, camo, 78 hrs.‘08 Kubota RTV900 4WD, hyd. dump. canopy & windshield,

same as newKubota RTV900 utility vehicle‘07 Kubota RTV1100‘08 Kubota RTV1100 4WD utility vehcile, C/A/H, commercial plow, 63 hrs.Kuhn GMD33N unused 4 foot cutLandPride RCR2510 rotary mower, 10’, 3 pt., good cond.LuckNow 87 snow blower, 7’ 3 pt., 2 stage, good cond.NH 144 hay inverterNH 185 single manure spreaderNH 354 grinder, good cond.Orsi River L549 3pt boom mower, 4’ 3pt, good cond.‘04 Polaris 600 ATV with plow and winch, 183 milesSchulte RS320 rock picker, hid driveSkinner 1 row 3pt tree planter, very good cond.Stanley MB950 hammerSweepster RHFAM6 rotary broom 3 pt., 6’Yamaha Grizzly 700 EFI 4WD, 2500 lb. winch and 5’ plow

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2006 Kubota KX161 Excavator$49,000

2005 Bobcat 435 Excavator, C/A/H, SJC Controls,745 Hrs., $35,000

2007 Kubota L3130HST 4WD w/Loader, R-4 Tires,Good Condition, 347 Hrs.

2006 Kubota M6040DT 4WD, R4 Tires, 982 Hrs.

NMPF Board advocates changes to Peterson-Simpson dairy policy reform packageNew version would give farmers choice of opting for government safety net

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FARMER TO FARMERMARKETPLACE

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FORD 801 powermaster, new tires,$4,250; New 2012 Calico stock trailer, 16ft., $4,350, used 2 horse trailer, $2,150.336-260-7606.(NC)

KOOLS grinder blower for silage, HMC;Badger silo distributor; pair 18.4x26 tires;NH 316 baler w/ thrower and two wagons.315-784-5554.(NY)

430 WEAVERLINE feed cart, good condi-tion, $1,500; Ford sickle bar mower, extraparts, $400 OBO. No Sunday Calls. 607-243-5749.(NY)

SIX LARGE Holstein heifers, bred threemonths to a Jersey bull. 413-743-1990.(MA)

REG. WHITE and colored Romney breed-ing rams for sale. Also, select ewes fromchampion flock. Call after 10 am. 315-822-3478.(NY)

FOR SALE: 4x12 oil fired evaporator, couldbe modified for wood. Richard Loomis,Morrisville,NY 315-350-8584

WATER OPERATED CIDER PRESSES,4½bu $1,899; 6¾bu $2,499; 9½bu $2,699;13bu $3,300. Shipping $100/extra. Zim-merman Sales, 1077 Hall Rd., Lyn-donville,NY 14098

WANTED: Chicken processing equipment:plucker, cones, scalder in working shape.914-533-6529.(NY)

DION forage wagon, tandem roof, 3 beat-er, John Deere grain drill, 15’ silage grainelevator. 607-538-9612.(NY)

9N ford, all apart, many new parts, save itfrom crusher, $450; 518-466-1920.(NY)

INTERNATIONAL “140” (yellow), partstractor, good block, front end, rims,Hydraulic system. No hitch. Asking $800 orclose offer. (After 6) 607-566-2349.(NY)

Muscovy ducks, free range, $10 each; 315-374-6643.(NY)

JD Running gear, $500; 10 ft. Howard roto-vator, $1,500; 5 yr Black Percheron mare,17.3 h, $1,500; 315-963-7103.(NY)

WANTED: Oliver tractor for restoration,prefer row crop with narrow front, gas trac-tor, super or fleetline series. 607-532-8512.(NY)

GEHL 120 grinder mixer, JD 300 corn pick-er, NI 2 row corn sheller, NI 2 row cornpicker; WANTED: JD 300 pickers. 315-219-9090.(NY)

WANTED: IH #37 disc for parts, gauge,wheel assembly for four bottom plow, JDrock flex disc, 12’, reasonable. 315-271-3746.(NY)

TD15C dozer, JD 2950 4x4, cab/ldr. ford600 snowblade, 743 bobcat tracks, dozerblade, White #588 plow, G.D. potato digger,585-457-7061.(NY)

NH 892 chopper w/ 824 corn head, vgc,$7000; NI 1 row corn picker, $950; 16.9x30tractor tire. 716-941-5123.(NY)

WANTED: 12/4x38 tractor tires in goodshape; Also, PTO hydraulic pump andlooking for livestock hauling jobs in St.Lawrence Co. 315-250-3248.(NY)

Pair bkt Agrimax RT855 radial tires,520/85R38 on 18” double bevel rack andpinion rims, 95%, $2,000 for pair. 860-274-8132.(CT)

20 ft. Patz silo unloader. 518-673-2431.(NY)

2005 QUALITY gooseneck 10 ton trailer,30’, dual wheel, $5,000; 2440 John Deeretractor, new motor, tires, $7,000. 315-866-1131.(NY)

WANTED: Nigerian Dwarf or Pigmy goatswanted. Call for more information. Fullgrown or kids. 585-526-1077.(NY)

16.9x34 6 ply tire & tube, 30% tread, $50;NI mod. 4150 hay rake, vg condition, $975.NI manure spreader 413-738-5379.(MA)

3 SETS HD log tongs (3 sizes), (2) balderelectric motors, self-propelled baleunwrapper. 585-492-1692.(NY)

FOR RENT: Kernel processor, hammermills, blowers, lower your feed cost goingfrom nonprcoessed to processed cornsilage, H.M. Corn. 315-536-7634.(NY)

HEREFORD cows, bred, AI, and bull,mixed sheep, forty, must take all.Two rams.50’ hay grain elevator, like new. 315-380-0089.(NY)

BUNNIES, young, mature, female, male,various colors, mini, max, lion heads, cali-fornia, giants, chinchilla cross. Answeringmachine is always on. 315-776-4590.(NY)

FARMALL “C” tractor, new tires, battery,paint, decals, restored, PTO, pulley, lights,like new, $1,900 OBO. 716-942-3994.(NY)

SINGLE SEAT Buggy lights, work, brakes,wheels & gear guaranteed for 2 years,possible 2 seat buggy available. 315-536-2596.(NY)

INNES 4 row bean windrower, gc; Wheatstraw, small squares, assorted roughcutlumber. 315-945-1923.(CNY)

FOR SALE: NEW HOLLAND 570 baler,2009 model, like brand new. No Sundaycalls. 315-694-2039 or 315-536-6486.(NY)

HEREFORD cows, bred to calve spring2012, $1,200. 518-332-9143.(NY)

M.F. flex head, 13’ #1859; U-Z reel alu-minum boats; Herschel Tiger jaws, beenshedded, VG condition, $2,000 or b.o. 413-253-5471.(MA)

IH 3414 backhoe, $4,900! 607-898-4256.(NY)

PEQUEA 710 tedder, needs some workand teeth, $600 or b/o - Hay spreader forbucket loader, $75. 585-624-7637.(NY)

6 TON Behlen grain bin, very good shape,$1,100; Also, 3 ton running gear, needswork, $375. Assorted harnesses, all sizes.413-283-2743.(MA)

GEHL 1230 rebuilt 3 row corn head, keptinside, extra parts, belts for kernel proces-sor, $1,200. 860-428-3554.(CT)

FORD 641 work master, all original, goodcondition, tires fair, $2,600. 724-452-8063.(PA)

2 20.8 38 tires, 1 Goodyear, 20% tread,$100; 1 Firestone, all tractor radial, 30%tread, $200. 315-651-3076.(NY)

JOHN DEERE 260 loader, complete. 96”bucket. Good condition. $4,000. 315-827-4311.(NY)

1949 FORD Panel Truck VG Flatheadengine, $5,500; 603-869-5819.(NH)

‘85 GMC 7000 silage dump B.O., F350 ‘93diesel 72,000 mi., dually 12’ diamond platedeck, 2wd, JD A, 315-684-9465.(NY)

TWO HORSE Trailer; Cattle or horse trail-er. 518-885-6286.(NY)

PEQUEA 8’x18’ kicker hay wagon, metalsides, good condition, $2,200; 203-623-2956.(CT)

275 GAL. fuel tank vg cond., painted,$250; Mont. Co. 334 Mill Lane, Fort Plain.518-993-5426.(NY)

WANTED: Hay tool collector buying hay-mow forks, hay carriers, grappling hooks,hay carriers, for wood, steel, cable, rodtracks. Mfg.’rs catalogs. 717-792-0278.(PA)

JACK RUSSELL Puppy, $75. No SundayCalls, Please! Yates Co. 585-554-5204.(NY)

Electric Uebler feed cart 810. JD 7720 4wdcombine. Syracuse Area. 315-430-4115,315-492-1510.(NY)

7 TINE MOHAWK chisel plow, $800; Papec35A chopper, CH + pts mach $300; 16’shell corn elevator, $250. All bro. 603-787-2396.(NY)

BUCKETS for John Deere backhoe, 12”and 24”, new, $450 ea.; Laser alignmentlaser, tripod, and rodeye, $550. 585-732-3376.(NY)

McConnell dump wagon, 14 foot long,$4,500; WD Allis Chalmer, $1,200. 315-688-4488.(NY)

JOHN DEERE 12 ton tandem gear, verygood condition, asking $1,500. Boonville.315-942-4475.(NY)

JOHN DEERE 1941 LA plows, cultivator,mower, belt pulley wheels, wgts, ownersmanual; 1941 H, 1943 A, 1946 B, allrestored. 607-369-7656.(NY)

ELECTRIC FENCE insulators, all types,approx. 300, $50 for the lot. Five fences,two AC units, $80.Two Solar $25. 518-789-3035.(NY)

ANGUS Cattle - 2011 heifers, -2010 Reg-istered Bull. Near Cazenovia. 315-440-3083.(NY)

300 gallon Mueller or Sunset bulk tank.Dan D. Miller, 3201 Maple Street Road,Lyons, NY 14489

WANTED: International Harvester FiftySix, two row pull corn planter, good condi-tion. 716-523-1391.(NY)

1086 IH tractor, 540, 1000 PTO frontweights, wheel weights, Cab, AC, heat,works good, $1,100; Good condition 139HP. 585-554-4423.(NY)

12.4-38 tire, $75; 12.4-38 JD tire & rim,$75; Year around cab for JD $575 or BO.585-356-1667.(NY)

JAMESWAY 16’ silo unloader, blower only1 year old. Also, unloader winch. Both usedthis month. 315-843-4852.(NY)

WANTED: 6” or 7” transport auger, approx46’ with electric or PTO driven. Ontario Co.585-748-9474.(NY)

41’ PTO drive speed, King Hay grain eleva-tor, $800; Gravity wagon, 6 ton gear, $450;IH 56 blower, $500. 585-786-3364.(NY)

(4) REAR WHEEL tractor weights offCase; Also, (4) 8.25x20 power lug tires onrims, less that 1000 mi. 607-525-6417.(NY)

NH 707 3 pt chopper corn head, hay head,stored inside, parts machine also, $1,200;518-993-4619.(NY)

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by John HartWhen the U.S. Farmers

and Ranchers Alliancewas formed in November2010, organizers knewthat the task aheadwould be daunting. Afterall, this was the first timeever that all of agriculturewould come together un-der one banner to in-crease its share of voicein the food conversationarena.

“This is a historic join-ing together of farm or-ganizations,” said Ameri-can Farm Bureau Feder-ation President Bob Stall-man, when the formationof USFRA was an-nounced. “We are com-mitted to developing a

well-funded, long-term,coordinated campaign toincrease consumer trustin agricultural producersand the food system.”

Stallman, who servesas chairman of USFRA,would be the first to tellyou that USFRA facesskeptics who doubt thatall sectors of agriculturewith disparate interestscan work together in aunited effort. But as US-FRA approaches its firstanniversary, it is provingthe skeptics wrong. US-FRA is financially strongand the current member-ship of 49 organizations,representing groups asdiverse as egg farmersand rice producers, is

united in the goal to en-gage in a dialogue aboutthe value of modern foodproduction.

The public conversa-tion with consumers andfood decision makers hasbegun. On Sept. 22, US-FRA held “The Food Dia-logues” a connected,town-hall-style meetingat four locations acrossthe country — Washing-ton, D.C., New York City,Fair Oaks Farms in Indi-ana and at the Universityof California-Davis. Thelive event was also viewedonline by consumers andfarmers alike and wasquite the buzz on socialmedia platforms such asTwitter.

During the dialogues,USFRA released the re-sults of two national sur-veys that polled farmersand consumers aboutfood and farm issues. Theresults of those surveysfurther underscore thedifficult task at hand.The surveys show thatconsumers think aboutfood production con-stantly and are interestedin knowing about thefood they eat, yet theyknow very little abouthow food is brought tothe dinner table.

This finding doesn’tsurprise Stallman. At theWashington, D.C. townhall, Stallman said the re-sults of the survey under-score the need of farmersand ranchers to do a bet-ter job of reaching out toconsumers. The goodnews, he says, is thatfarmers and rancherswant to open up to theircustomers and becomemore transparent.

The consumer surveymakes it clear that Amer-icans have become dis-connected from their

food. A staggering 72 per-cent surveyed knownothing or very littleabout farming andranching. Still, 70 per-cent said their purchasedecisions are affected byhow food is grown andraised, while 72 percentsay they think about thetopic when purchasinggroceries.

Another importantfinding of the surveyshows that consumersexpect farmers to pro-duce healthy foods, with79 percent of those sur-veyed saying producinghealthy choices for allconsumers is very impor-tant for farmers andranchers to considerwhen planning farmingand ranching practices.

In the survey of farm-ers and ranchers, awhopping 86 percent re-sponded that the averageconsumer has little or noknowledge about modernfarming and ranching. Aclear result of the surveywas that farmers and

ranchers believe the topmisconception they mustovercome is the notionthat a few “bad actors”represent all of agricul-ture. Additionally, farm-ers and ranchers identi-fied the role of pesticides,antibiotics and fertilizersin food production as themost important prioritiesthey should addresswhen communicatingwith consumers.

The results of the sur-vey underscore thedaunting task USFRAfaces. But the dialoguehas begun and leaders ofUSFRA are committed toengaging, openly andhonestly answering ques-tions about how food isgrown and tended. Al-ready, USFRA is provingthe skeptics wrong. Stall-man and other USFRAleaders have one clearmessage to consumers:“We’re listening.”

John Hart is director ofnews services for theAmerican Farm BureauFederation.

CATTLE HOOF TRIMMING TILT TABLES4 Models To Choose From

• Portable • Stationary • Skid Steer Mount • 3Pt Hitch• 20 Years Experience in the tables design

• Right or left layover chutes • We deliver to your door• All chutes now have a self catching head gate

• All chutes have a hydraulic belly lift• We also have an optional hydraulic lift for

our portable tables for work height adjustments.• Galvanized cattle hoof trim chutes

• Rubber mat on table and headboard

Call or visit us on our Web site at www.berkelmanswelding.on.ca

519-765-4230BERKELMANS’ WELDING & MFG.

AYLMER ONTARIO, CANADA

FACTORYDIRECT

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ROOFING AND SIDING PANELSTEEL ROOF, WALL & LINER PANEL

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Complete Wood Packages from 24' x 24' to 106' x 400'Penn State Style

Complete All Steel Pkg. up to 200' clear span

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We Are Now Manufacturing Mini-Self Storage Systems

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FALL SAVINGS29 Ga. Galvalume

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$2.55 / Lin. Ft.Hurry while suppies last

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©2007 CNH America LLC. All rights reserved. Case IH is a registered trademark of CNH America LLC.CNH Capital is a trademark of CNH America LLC. www.caseih.com

(2) Big MII’s Disc Mower John Deere 4890 SP Mower $35,000

USED EQUIPMENT BLOW-OUT!

5109 State Route 22, Salem, NY 12865

1-800-999-3276

New Holland TC45A w/16La Loader &Woods 9000 Backhoe, 2000 hrs, Very

Good Condition, R4 tires, $17,500

John Deere 4300 Tractor w/430 Loader& 72” mower deck, 955 hrs, Turf tires

$14,900

New Holland TC34A DA w/240Loader, HST Trans, 217 hrs, R4 tires, Very

Good Condition $16,500

John Deere 4510 Tractor w/460Loader, R4 tires, Power reverse gear drive,

Very Good Condition, 800 hrs, $17,500

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE American Farm Bureau Federation

Alliance up for the daunting task ahead

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On Sept. 27, the Na-tional Biodiesel Board(NBB) applauded the U.S.Department of Agricul-ture’s announcementthat it will award millionsof dollars in bioenergypayments to spur theproduction of advancedbiofuels such asbiodiesel.

The payments, author-ized under the 2008 FarmBill, are going to more

than 160 producers in 41states, including dozensof biodiesel companiesacross the country.

“These payments willcreate jobs and economicactivity while helping thebiodiesel industry ad-vance new technologiesand improve efficiency,”said Anne Steckel, NBB’svice president of federalaffairs. “It’s another ex-ample of this administra-

tion’s strong commitmentto boosting domestic pro-duction of advanced bio-fuels and securing ourenergy future.”

The payments are au-thorized under the FarmBill’s Bioenergy Programfor Advanced Biofuels,which Congress createdto ensure an expandingsupply of domestic ener-gy. Payments are basedon the amount of biofuels

a recipient produces fromrenewable biomass otherthan corn kernel starch.Eligible recipients includebiofuels derived from veg-etable oil and animal fats,cellulose, crop residue,animal, food and yardwaste, and gases fromlandfill or sewage wastetreatment.

Biodiesel is America’sfirst advanced biofuel —a renewable, clean-burn-

ing diesel replacementthat is creating jobs, re-ducing U.S. dependenceon foreign petroleum andimproving our environ-ment. Made from an in-creasingly diverse mix ofresources such as sec-ondary-use agriculturaloils, recycled cooking oiland animal fats, it is thefirst and only commer-cial-scale fuel usedacross the U.S. to meet

the Environmental Pro-tection Agency’s defini-tion of an advanced bio-fuel. Biodiesel is pro-duced in nearly everystate in the country andwill support more than31,000 U.S. jobs in 2011while replacing nearly 1billion gallons of petrole-um diesel. It can be usedin existing diesel enginesand meets strict specifi-cations of ASTM D6751.

Capital Tractor Carries All TheParts, Equipment & Service

That You Will Needwww.capitaltractorinc.com

TRACTORS

1994 Ford 1920 4wd, ROPS w/ Ford 7108 Loader, 12x12 Shuttle Trans.,

2,410 Hrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,250

2004 NH TL90 4wd, ROPS, Excellent Cond, 1,976 Hrs . . . . . . . $25,900

1997 NH 8770 4wd, Supersteer, Mega Flow Hydraulics, Rear Duals,

7,164 Hrs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $53,750

2009 NH TD5050 4wd, Cab, 90 HP, 2683 Hrs., Excellent Cond.. . . . . $29,750

2000 NH TS100 4wd, Cab, 32x32 Shuttle, 2 Remotes, 2,135 Hrs. . . $39,995

2008 NH TN75A 4wd, Cab, Power Shuttle w/NH 810TL Loader, 900 Hrs.$37,500

1995 White 6215 Cab, Tractor, 4wd, Duals, 215 HP, w/Degelman Blade P.O.R.

2007 NH TL100A 4WD, Cab, w/NH 830TL Loader . . . . . . . . . . $43,795

1988 Ford 1720 4wd, ROPS w/Loader, 12x12 Shuttle Transmission,

3,140 Hrs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,995

2008 Mahindra 1815 4wd, ROPS, HST, Loader, 185 Hrs.. . . . . . $9,875

1976 Ford 3000 3cyl. Gas Tractor, 2wd, Good Condition. . . . . . . $2,995

Yamaha Rhino UTV, 4wd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,995

2008 M.F. 1528 4wd, ROPS w/Loader, 9x3 Gear Trans., R4 Tires - 325

Hrs. - Like New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,500

2010 Mahindra 2816 4wd, ROPS w/Loader, 9x3 Gear Trans., R4 Tires,

Forks, Bucket, 112 Hrs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,200

2011 Mahindra 1816 4wd, ROPS, HST, Loader + 52” Mid Mower - 90

Hrs., Like New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,750

2008 Mahindra 1815 4wd, ROPS, HST, Loader, 185 Hrs.. . . . . . $9,875

AGRICULTURE EQUIPMENT

2004 NH 92LB Loader w/ 108" Bucket fits NH TG Series or 8000 Series,

Excellent Cond., Like New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,000

2000 Unverferth 5 Shank Zone Builder, 2 TO CHOOSE FROM . $8,400

2008 Pequea 175 Manure Spreader w/Hyd. End Gate, T Rod Chain,

Like New. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,595

2001 Gehl 1075 Forage Harvester, 2 Row Corn Head, Hay Pickup,

Metal Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,700

2009 NH 74CSRA 3Pt Snowblower, Like New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,450

2000 Gehl 1287 Tandem Manure Spreader, 287 Bushel, Slurry Sides,

Hyd. Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,495

1987 NH 790 Forage Harvester, Metalert, 790W Hay Pickup . . . $4,995

2003 Challenger SB34 Inline Square Baler w/Thrower, Hyd. Tension -

Like New. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,375

2001 Krause 6152 Landsman one pass tillage tool . . . . . . . . . . . $7,450

2000 LP RCR 2584 7’ Rotary Cutter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,540

2005 H&S ST420 Rotary Rake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,900

Brillion 24’ Drag Harrow w/Transport Cart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,200

WIC Cart Mounted Bedding Chopper with Honda Engine . . . . $1,450

2008 Cole 1 Row 3pt. Planter with multiple Seed Plates . . . . . . . $1,195

1981 NH 320 Baler w/70 Thrower Hyd. Bale Tension . . . . . . . . . . $4,995

2001 Keenan FP80 Mixer Wagon (needs new liner) . . . . . . . . . . $4,200

Gehl Forage Box, on Dion D1200 Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,895

JD 336 Baler w/Thrower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,200

2010 NH H7230 10’4” Discbine, Roll Conditioner, Like New, Demo. . $24,900

1987 NH 326 Baler w/70 Thrower, Hydra Formatic Tension, Hyd.Pickup . $7,700

2010 E-Z Trail CF890 Rd Bale Carrier/Feeder, 4 Available . . . . . $4,995

1989 NH 570 Baler w/72 Thrower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,300

2003 NH 1411 Discbine, 10’4” Cut w/Rubber Rolls, Field Ready . $15,950

Woods B60C 60” Brush Bull Rotary Cutter w/New Blades . . . . . $1,195

2010 Kuhn SR112 Wheel Rake, Like New. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.300

Majaco M580LD, Bale Wrapper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,500

2010 LP RCR 1884 7’ Rotary Cutter, Like New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,495

NH 824 2 Row Corn Head for a NH 900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,250

Miller Pro 1150 Rotary Rake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,200

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

2008 NH W50BTC Mini Wheel Loader, Cab w/ Heat/Air, Bucket/Forks,

290 Hrs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $69,500

2009 NH E135B SR Excavator w/Cab, Dozer Blade, 36” Bucket,

1,211 Hrs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $128,500

2009 NH E50B Cab w/Heat & Air, Blade, Rubber Track, Hyd. Thumb,

348 Hrs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48,500

2000 Cat 313B CR Cab, Heat/Air, Removable Rubber Pads on Steel

Tracks, 32” Bucket, 5,884 Hrs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32,500

2007/08 (2) NH C185 Track Skidsteer, Cab, Heat/AC, Pilot, 84” . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Choice $46,250

2010 NH L170 Skidsteer, OROPS, 72” Bucket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $21,500

2000 NH LS180 Skidsteer, OROPS, Bucket, 3,105 Hrs. . . . . . . $15,025

Mustang MS60P 60” SSL Pickup Broom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,650

2004 NH LS150 Skidsteer, Hand Controls, 60” Bucket, 3,908 Hrs.. . $9,750

2002 NH LS170 Skidsteer, OROPS, 72” Bucket, 4,685 Hrs. . . . . $9,875

1999 NH LX865 Skidsteer, OROPS, Bucket, Hi Flow Hyd., 1,202 Hrs.$15,625

2008 NH L160 Skidsteer, Cab w/Heat, Hyd. Quick Attach Plate, 72”

Bucket, 3476 Hrs.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,795

ATTACHMENTS

1999 Mensch M1100 6’ Sawdust Shooter, SSL Mount, Good Cond. . $3,150

2002 Mensch M1100 6’ Sawdust Shooter, SSL Mount, Like New . . $3,640

1999 Coneqtec APX400 Adjustable Cold Planer. . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,995

2008 NH 96” Hyd. Angle Dozer Blade, Demo . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,875

2010 NH/Bradco 6” x 4’Trencher, Skidsteer Mount, Like New. . . $3,995

2009 Virnig HD Hyd. Drive SSL Post Hole Digger w/ 9” Auger . .$2,195

Since 1966www.capitaltractorinc.com

1135 State Rte. 29Greenwich, NY 12834

(518) 692-9611FAX (518) 692-2210

CAPITAL TRACTOR, INC.

Biodiesel industry applauds USDA advanced biofuel paymentsPayments will boost economy while advancing U.S. technologies

The U.S. biodiesel taxincentive is working asintended to create jobsacross the country andreduce America’s de-pendence on foreign oil,according to testimonysubmitted by the Nation-al Biodiesel Board (NBB)to the House Ways andMeans Committee.

“While we understandthe pressures facing Con-gress, this is the wrongtime to pull support from

a growing American in-dustry that is a rarebright spot in this econo-my,” said Anne Steckel,NBB vice president of fed-eral affairs. “Our industryis having a record year ofproduction, and the taxincentive is a key ingredi-ent in that success. Strip-ping the incentive awaythis year would put thou-sands of jobs in jeop-ardy.”

Steckel’s written testi-

mony was submitted tothe committee for a hear-ing on energy tax policyand tax reform. In it, shehighlighted the biodieselindustry’s rebound thisyear after the biodieseltax incentive was rein-stated following a one-year lapse in 2010.

Without the incentive,production dropped dra-matically last year asdozens of plants shut-tered and thousands of

people lost jobs. Since itsreinstatement this year,biodiesel production isthriving, with plantsramping up productionagain and hiring new em-ployees. Through July,the industry had pro-duced roughly 475 mil-lion gallons comparedwith 315 million gallonsin all of 2010.

This year’s increasedproduction of at least 800million gallons will sup-

port more than 31,000jobs while generating atleast $3 billion in GDPand $628 million in fed-eral, state and local taxrevenues, according to arecent economic studyconducted by Cardno-Entrix.

“We believe the U.S.biodiesel industry offers aclear and compelling casethat strong domestic en-ergy policy can boost thiseconomy,” she said. “Our

production turnaroundthis year is creating good-paying jobs in nearlyevery state in the coun-try.”

Steckel also highlightedbiodiesel’s strong publicpolicy benefits. In addi-tion to creating jobs andeconomic activity,biodiesel is reducing U.S.reliance on foreign oil,bolstering U.S. nationalsecurity and improvingthe environment.

Biodiesel tax incentive creating jobs, economic productivityIndustry thriving even in struggling economy

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Relegislating, repeal-ing, or reopening the Re-newable Fuel Standard(RFS) at this time is badpolicy, the RenewableFuels Association (RFA)said. That includes thereportedly newest effortby Representative BobGoodlatte and Represen-tative Jim Costa to waivea portion of the RFSwhen the corn stocks-to-use ratio falls below anarbitrarily determinedlevel.

“Seeking to relegislatethe RFS in this mannerwould do nothing to ad-dress the concernsraised by the livestockconstituents of Repre-sentatives Goodlate andCosta,” said RFA Presi-dent and CEO Bob Din-neen. “Research clearlydemonstrates that im-plementing an RFS waiv-er trigger based on thestocks-to-use ratio willnot have the effects oncorn prices desired by

livestock and poultry in-terests, nor will it meanmore corn is immediate-ly available for feed use.Rather than knee-jerkpolicy reactions, Con-gress should maintainthe integrity of the RFSto help drive job creationand wean America fromits addiction to foreignoil.”

Recent studies haveconcluded that the RFShas been only a minorcontributor to corn

prices in recent years. AJuly 2011 analysis com-missioned by the Inter-national Centre forTrade and SustainableDevelopment found thatcorn prices would havebeen exactly the same in2009/10 if both the RFSand Volumetric EthanolExcise Tax Credit(VEETC) had not existed.

Additionally, thestocks-to-use ratio haslimited value as an indi-cator of expected market

dynamics and price. Uni-versity of Illinois econo-mist Darrell Good cau-tions that stocks-to-useratio should only be con-sidered as “a startingpoint (for estimating po-tential price impacts)since very different sup-ply and demand condi-tions in individual yearscan lead to similar ratiosof stocks-to-use but verydifferent prices.”

The RFA also cau-tioned that if this effortwere to be successful,the loss of ethanol in thefuel supply would ham-mer American con-sumers at the pump. Astudy from the Centerfor Agriculture Develop-ment (CARD) this pastspring estimated that theuse of nearly 13 billiongallons of ethanol in2010 kept gasoline

prices $0.89 lower thanthey otherwise wouldhave been. In the pastdecade, the average an-nual savings has been$0.25 per gallon, accord-ing to CARD.

“If successful, reduc-ing America’s use of itsown domestic renewablefuel would wallop con-sumers at the pump, re-sulting in far greater eco-nomic pain than themarginal impact ethanolproduction has on grainprices,” said Dinneen.“In fact, given the dispro-portionate impact onfood pricing exerted byenergy and fuel prices,raising gas prices by re-ducing ethanol usewould exacerbate con-cerns with rising foodprices. This is simply thewrong policy to addresscorn supply concerns.”

This Family Friendly House

Situated in a Beautiful Country Setting

Rural Route Cooperstown, NY

Could MakCould Make Ye Your Drour Dreamseams

Come TCome True...rue...

More than a house, a wonderful way of life. 3.5acres, Kitchen with built in Dishwasher, Stove,

Refrigerator/Freezer, Ample Cupboards and WorkIsland. Dining Area - Living Room adjacent toDen, 3 Bedrooms with 3 Baths. Large, GlassedSunroom, Outside Deck, Insulated Barn withconcrete floor. Oil Hot Water Baseboard Heat. You owe it to yourself to come and take a look. Owner will carry mortgage for qualified buyerwith down payment. Otsego Lake Privilege.

Contact Owner • 518-568-5115or Hubbell’s Real Estate • 607-547-5740

Frost Farm Service, Inc.PO Box 546

Greenville, NH 03048-0546603-878-1542

Townline Equipment1474 Rte. 12A

Plainfield, NH 03781603-675-6347

Salem Farm Supply5109 Rte. 22

Salem, NY 12865518-854-7424

RFA warns against reported effort to relegislate the RFS

www.leepub.com

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The U.S. companyknown for inventing thepremiere high-tensionbanding castration toolon the market is now in-troducing a lighter,sleeker version designedto bring the same hu-mane, user-friendlytechnique to newborncalves, sheep and goats.

No-Bull Enterprises isunveiling the next gener-ation of innovation inbloodless castration withthe Callicrate ‘WEE’Bander™, an instrumentcrafted from surgicalquality, corrosion resist-ant stainless steel. It isdesigned to insure prop-er ligation with every ap-plication — the key to ef-fective humane castra-tion and a signature fea-ture of the CallicrateBander® which has beenmanufactured and dis-tributed worldwide since1991 with more than50,000 units sold.

Achieving adequatetightness is the singlemost essential compo-nent in reducing stressduring banding, accord-ing to animal welfare ex-perts like Colorado StateUniversity animal sci-ence professor TempleGrandin.

“Previously, the onlybanding option availablefor the smaller animalswas the green elastratorring,” says inventor MikeCallicrate, owner of NoBull Enterprises, basedin St. Francis, KS. “We

used the same simpletechnology, but com-bined it with a means ofattaining proper tension,resulting in a completeligation. In replacing theelastrator rings, whichlack sufficient tensionand are considered themost stressful method ofcastrating young ani-mals, the ‘WEE’ Ban-der™ also provides analternative to castrationwith a knife, which isprobably the secondmost stressful methodyou can use.”

Studies of high tensionbanding have demon-strated that the completenegation of blood flowtriggers a natural anal-gesic effect that blockspain while minimizingswelling and relatedcomplications.

“While in New Zealandtesting our high tensionbanding technology, Icastrated a set of lambswith veterinarian JohnSouthworth,” Callicratesays. “All of the lambsreceiving the elastratorrings showed extremediscomfort,” Callicratecontinues. “They wererolling around bleatingand kicking. The lambswith the high-tensionCallicrate bands, bothnewborn and larger insize, were comfortableand back suckling theirmothers right away. Wechecked on the lambsfrequently. The lambswith elastrator rings

were still showing signsof pain 24 hours later.The high-tension bandedlambs were lying aroundcomfortably and nurs-ing, similar to what wewould expect to seebased on our resultswith cattle.”

Those findings areconsistent with researchat the University of Cali-fornia-Davis, whichshowed high tensionbanding generated amore localized immuneresponse with no dis-cernable depression inappetite or rate of gainwhen used on youngbulls.

“The stress of using anelastrator ring, whichlacks sufficient tensionto block pain, doesn’tmeet the public’s height-

ened standards for hu-mane animal treatment,”Callicrate says. By in-suring proper applica-tion of the band, the Cal-licrate ‘WEE’ Bander™measures up to the in-creasingly rigorousworldwide emphasis onanimal care and well-be-ing.

Not only is the Calli-crate method for high-tension banding themost stress-free castra-tion method for the ani-mal, it’s also easiest forthe person performingthe operation.

With the CallicrateBander®, band applica-tion is mechanically as-sisted to insure consis-tent results every time.The ‘WEE’ Bander™ iseven lighter weight, just

as fast, effective andbloodless, but requiresno manual cutting orcrimping of the rubberloop.

The process works likethis: the operator loads arubber loop on a trian-gular nosepiece at thefront of the applicatorand places it around thetesticles of the newborncalf, lamb or goat. Onceboth testicles are withinthe loop, the operatorsimply releases a smallthumb tab to secure theband firmly in place. Theprocess of tightening theband around the testi-cles to reach propercompression is veryquick and simple and re-quires no cutting of thebanding material.

“The bands are spe-

cially formulated to with-stand and maintain thehigh tension needed forconsistent results,” Call-icrate says. “The correctformulation and curingof the rubber gives it theelasticity, strength andmemory for fail-proof ap-plication.”

Like the CallicrateBander®, the Callicrate‘WEE’ Bander™ is madein the USA using thehighest quality materi-als. It is essentiallymaintenance free. Fiveloops are included witheach ‘WEE’ Bander. Ad-ditional loops can bepurchased in bags of 25or 100.

For more information,visit www.callicrateban-ders.com or call 800-858-5974.

Visit These New York-New England Dealers

KRAMER'S INC.RFD #3 Box 245,

Augusta, ME 04330207-547-3345

CLINTON TRACTOR& IMPLEMENT CO.

Meadow Street, PO Box 262

Clinton, NY 13323-0262315-853-6151

FOSTERDALE EQUIPMENT CORP.

3137 Route 17BCochecton, NY 12726

845-932-8611

WHITE'S FARM SUPPLY, INC.

RD 4, Box 11Jct. Rtes. 31 & 316

Canastota, NY 13032315-697-2214

LAMB & WEBSTER INC.

601 West MainSpringville, NY 14141

716-592-4924

Humane castrator for newborn livestock introduced

Brought to you by yourfriends at ShelburneFarms, Starry Night Caféand the Starline RhythmBoys!

Great locally producedfood donated by The Innat Shelburne Farms andStarry Night served in aspectacular lakeside set-ting with a popular localband providing the mu-sic … it adds up to a not-to-be-missed benefit forthe Vermont Farm Disas-ter Relief Fund.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5,from 5 - 8 p.m., at theCoach Barn at Shel-burne Farms, there willbe barbecued beef, porkand lamb and a vegetari-an option, vegetablesand salads from theFarms' Market Gardenand delicious dessertsfrom Starry Night Café.And the popular Starline

Rhythm Boys will beplaying for listening anddancing.

Cost for tickets is $20with the opportunity todonate more. All pro-ceeds will go to the Ver-mont Farm Disaster Re-lief Fund, administeredby the Vermont Commu-nity Foundation and theVermont Agency of Agri-culture where, accordingto Agency Secretary,Chuck Ross, “the fundcreates a vehicle wherewe can connect the re-sources of concerneddonors to the needs of af-fected farmers who havesuffered damages fromTropical Storm Irene.”

To purchase advancetickets, go to the Shel-burne Farms on-linestore at www.shelburnefarms.org. Purchase ear-ly as event may sell out!

Vermontfarm - raiser

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INDIANA COUNTY,PENNSYLVANIA — Man-aging manure on a largedairy farm takes seriousplanning, and BrooksideDairy is adopting newtechnology that thatsaves money and protectsthe environment.

The family

Seven generations ofGeorges have lived atBrookside Dairy since1781. Now Bill Georgeand his two sons, Kevinand Keith, along withKeith’s son Shane, arepartners on the farm,with Kevin overseeing thedairy operation while Kei-

th manages the 1,200acres of crops.

The dairy operationThe Georges expanded

their herd in 2001 to milk550 dairy cows in a 200by 300 foot freestall barnwith 326 stalls. The highventilation barn features28 five-foot fans at one

end that produce a 7.5mile per hour wind tokeep the cows cool duringhot weather. A sprinklersystem uses water to coolthe cows, and rubbermatting on the floors pro-vides cushion for thecows as they walkthrough the barn.

With the expan-sion came increased elec-tricity costs for the newbarn and more manurewaste with the additionalcows. The Georges beganresearching options toaddress the new issuesthat arose, specifically ananaerobic methane di-gester.

Keith says there were

several reasons for con-sidering a digester ontheir dairy operation“economics, odor controland the resulting betterquality fertilizer.”

The decisionThe Georges sought

help from Jim Resh, ofthe Indiana County Con-servation District, to in-

vestigate installing an on-farm digester. Theyfound a digester wouldmeet the specific needsthey were considering.

The renewable energyproduced through thebiogas is set up to offsetthe farm’s electricity useand/or sell at wholesalerates to the local utility.

The conversion to bio-gas results in less odor-causing compounds inmanure in a typical liquidstorage system.

The breakdown of ma-

nure in the digester con-verts the organic nitrogeninto ammonium which,when spread on thefields, is more readilyavailable when taken upby the plants, allowing forless nutrient runoff. Theprocess also reducesweed seeds in the fields,causing fewer weeds

growing among the crops. The digestion process

also reduces methane, agreenhouse gas, emis-

YOUR NEW ENGLAND DEALERHicks Sales LLC Ken & Debbie HicksToll Free 877-585-5167 1400 Bowen Rd, E. Corinth, VT 05040www.hicksales.com

TERRITORY SALES MANAGERJim DeWittj.dewitt@bauer-at.com630-750-3482

A 100-horse powermotor run on

biogas operates a90 kilowatt

generator to keepthe BrooksideDairy methane

digester in motion.Photos courtesy of

PennsylvaniaDepartment of

Agriculture

Keith George, partner in Brookside Dairy in IndianaCounty, stands beside the anaerobic digester built in2006. The digester produces enough energy to powerthe farm in addition to 55 homes each day.

Brookside Dairy turning on-farm waste into energy

After themanure iscirculatedthrough thedigester atBrookside Dairy,the solids areseparated anddried and usedfor bedding. Theremaining liquid,or effluent, isspread onto thefields asfertilizer.

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sions that would other-wise remain in the at-mosphere for nine to 15years.

After deciding it was aviable option and met theneeds of their farm, theGeorges secured an En-ergy Harvest Grant fromthe Pennsylvania Depart-ment of EnvironmentalProtection. The grantsare designed to help fundprojects that address en-ergy and environmentalissues.

The digesterThey opted to install an

anaerobic digester, whichmeans no oxygen is in-volved in the process ofusing the cow manure toproduce a biogas ofmethane and carbondioxide. Microorganismsin the manure performthe decompositionprocess.

The manure is removedwith automatic alleyscrapers from the barnand is combined withwaste water from themilking parlor, along withfood wastes from a localbrewery and Pittsburghrestaurants.

Four times a day, 3,000gallons of manure ispumped into the digester,which holds 260,000 gal-lons.

“The digester is like acow — it likes to be fed atthe same time with thesame quality feed everyday,” said Keith.

The digester is a 14-feetdeep concrete pit andcovered with a domemade of plastic and cloth.A 100- horse power mo-tor that is run on the bio-gas operates a 90 kilo-watt generator to keepthe digester in constantmotion. All the machin-ery is automated and runthrough a computer sys-tem.

The manure spendsone month rotating in thedigester at 98 degreesFahrenheit after which itis pumped to the manuresolids building where thenutrient-rich liquid, or ef-fluent, is pressed out to a400,000 gallon holdingpit. The effluent ispumped from the pit andspread onto the fieldsevery two months.

The separated driedsolids are used for bed-ding the freestalls, whichrequire 20 tons per weekto keep the stalls cleanand dry.

Pennsylvania is hometo more than 50 opera-tional or proposed anaer-obic digesters, with morethan half in the Chesa-peake Bay watershed.Most digesters are locat-ed on dairy and swinefarms.

The capital costs for in-

stalling a digester are de-pendent on many factorsincluding number of ani-mals, type of digester andsite-specific conditions.The estimated range isfrom $500,000 to morethan $1 million.

The resultsKeith believes, in the

five years since the di-gester was installed,Brookside Dairy has al-ready seen the benefits ofthe investment.

“The digester producesenough energy to powerthe farm in addition to 55

homes each day,” saidKeith. “We’ve also seen animprovement in the qual-ity and yield in the cropswith the better fertilizerwe can spread on thefields, and we’ve had nonegative effect on thecows’ health as a result ofusing the solids for bed-ding.”

All told, the time andcost involved in adoptingthis project has had apositive effect on Brook-side Dairy, making goodbusiness and environ-mental sense.

Coming Soon - The newest publicationin the Lee Publications, Inc. family of

agricultural papersWine and Grape Grower will offer fea-

tures, news and information on growinggrapes, and making and selling wines.

As readers of Country Folks andCountry Folks Grower you know thevalue of our publications as you run andimprove your business.

If your current business or futureplans include grapes or wine you cannow have a publication with thosesame benefits for that branch of yourbusiness.

Subscribe today and don’t miss asingle issue.

If you have friends or family whowould be interested please feel free toshare with them also.

If your business provides products or services for the grape growers and wine mak-ers, please contact us for information on marketing opportunities to this importantsegment of agriculture. You can reach us at 8800-218-5586 or dwren@leepub.com

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Servingg Thee Professionall •• Growerr •• Winemakerr •• Seller

Classifieds

Equipment

Marketing

SectionOne

The 200 by 300-foot freestall barn at Brookside Dairy in Indiana County is a high-ventilation barn. The 28 five-foot fans produce a 7.5 mile per hour wind that keepsthe cows cool during hot weather.

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MILK PRODUCTIONSTILL STRONG

NATIONAL MILKMODIFYS FFTF

Issued Sept 23, 2011August milk production

in the top 23 states to-taled 15.3 billion pounds,up 2.2 percent from Au-gust 2010, according tothe Agriculture Depart-ment’s preliminary data.Output in the 50 statesamounted to 16.4 billionpounds, up 2.1 percent.

The increase was morethan expected. July out-put in the 23 states wasrevised 45 million poundslower, to 15.4 billion, upa half percent from a yearago.

August cow numbers inthe 23 states totaled 8.47million head, up 3,000head from July, and

102,000 more than a yearago. Output per cow aver-aged 1,810 pounds, up18 from a year ago.

California milk outputwas up 2.9 percent from ayear ago, thanks to24,000 more cows and a30 pound gain per cowwhile Wisconsin was up1.2 percent on a 20 poundgain per cow. Cow num-bers were up 1,000 head.

Third place Idaho wasup 3.9 percent on 11,000more cows and a 40pound gain per cow. NewYork was down a half per-cent on a 5 pound loss percow and 1,000 fewer cows.Pennsylvania was down2.1 percent on a 30 poundloss per cow and 2,000fewer cows, and Minneso-ta saw a 4.5 percent dropdue to a 75 pound loss percow. Cow numbers wereup 1,000 head.

The biggest gain was11.1 percent in Texaswhere output per cowjumped a whopping 100pounds and cow numberswere up 20,000. Next wasFlorida, up 9.9 percent ona 65 pound gain per cowand 5,000 more cows, fol-lowed by Washington, up6.7 percent on a 30pound gain per cow and13,000 more cows.

The biggest drop oc-curred in Missouri, down7.9 percent, due to a 60pound drop per cow and3,000 fewer cows. Min-

nesota was next, fol-lowed by Ohio, down 2.8percent, on a 20 pounddrop per cow and 4,000fewer cows.

Weather had varying ef-fects on output per cow;up in Michigan, Iowa,Kansas, Wisconsin, andIndiana as temperaturesand humidity moderatedfrom July while Westernoutput showed consistentgains per cow and cownumbers. eDairy econo-mist Bill Brooks wrote inthe September 20 InsiderOpening Bell that the Au-gust gain was “above av-erage and compared tostrong growth a year-ago.”

USDA’s LivestockSlaughter report showsan estimated 244,600culled dairy cows wereslaughtered under feder-al inspection in August,up 37,500 from July and13,700 more than Au-gust 2010. January toAugust 2011 dairy cowslaughter was estimatedat 1.909 million head, up83,400 from the sameperiod in 2010.

Checking the cup-board; August butterstocks totaled 165.6 mil-lion pounds, down 22.2million pounds or 12 per-cent from July, but 10.4million pounds or 7 per-cent above August 2010,according to USDA’s lat-

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est Cold Storage report.American cheese to-

taled 641.8 million, down1 percent from July and 7percent above a year ago.Total cheese stocks, at1.06 billion pounds, weredown 2 percent from Julyand virtually unchangedfrom a year ago.

The cash cheese mar-

ket dropped following themilk production reportbut inched up followingthe Cold Storage data.The 40-pound cheeseblocks closed the fourthFriday in September at$1.7275 per pound, downa nickel on the week, and2 1/4-cents below a yearago. The 500-pound bar-

rels closed at $1.7075,down a penny and aquarter on the week, and2 3/4-cents below a yearago. Twenty five cars ofblock traded hands onthe week and 22 of bar-rel. The NASS-surveyedU.S. average block pricefell to $1.8159, down 5.9cents, and the barrels av-

eraged $1.7815, down2.2 cents.

Spot butter closed Fri-day at $1.77, down an-other 13 1/4-cents on theweek, and 46 cents belowa year ago. It has lost 231/2-cents in four weeks.Three cars found newhomes this week. NASSbutter averaged $1.9393,

down 9.6 cents. Cash Grade A nonfat

dry milk held all week at$1.49 while the ExtraGrade lost 3 cents, slip-ping to $1.58. NASS pow-der averaged $1.5364,down 2.1 cents, and drywhey averaged 59.08cents, up 0.2 cent.

The October Federal or-

der Class I base milkprice was announced byUSDA at $19.56 per hun-dredweight, down $2.22from September, but still$2.98 above October2010. It equates to about$1.68 per gallon andpulled the 2011 averagedown to $19.26, still$4.26 above a year ago atthis time, and $8.17above 2009.

The NASS butter priceaveraged $1.9893 perpound, down 9.6 centsfrom September. Nonfatdry milk averaged$1.5461, down 3.4 cents.Cheese averaged$1.8347, down 3.2 cents,and dry whey averaged59 cents, up 2.6 cents.

No MILC payment toproducers is expected forOctober but is possiblefor November and/or De-cember, according to oursources. There have beenno MILC payments sinceOctober 2009.

The CME’s Daily DairyReport warns that Ameri-cans continue to drinkless milk. Estimated milkuse in the May to July pe-riod was off 2.4 percentfrom last year and down4.3 percent from twoyears ago, according toFederal Order and Cali-fornia data. Sales weredown 1.8 percent in thefirst seven months of theyear and July was theworst month in at least15 years, according to theDDR. USDA says saleswere down 4.5 percentfrom a year ago howeverestimated sales of totalorganic fluid milk prod-ucts increased 10.7 per-cent from 2010.

In politics, with the is-sue of supply manage-ment threatening the fu-ture of National Milk’s“Foundation for the Fu-ture” (FFTF) dairy policyreform proposal, the Fed-eration announced itwould modify its plan.Dairy Profit Weekly editorDave Natzke reported inhis Friday DairyLine pro-gram that the revisionswould make participationin the supply manage-ment portion voluntary.However, participation inthe supply managementprogram, called the DairyManagement Stabiliza-tion Program, would be aprerequisite for farmer el-igibility for income insur-ance payments under theDairy Producer MarginProtection Program.

“By making the pro-gram voluntary insteadof mandatory, it alsoeliminates another con-troversial area,” Natzkesaid. “Under the previousplan, half of all moneycollected under the DairyManagement Stabiliza-tion Program would have

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gone to the U.S. Trea-sury. Now, all fundscould go to purchasedairy products to be usedfor feeding programs.”

Instead of specifyingcomprehensive changesto the federal milk mar-keting order system, therevised plan mandatesUSDA to replace currentend-product pricing for-mulas and make al-lowances with a competi-tive pay price formula,but leaves the method upto a dairy farmer vote.

The plan still calls forelimination of the DairyPrice Support and MilkIncome Loss Contractprograms and the revi-sions were rolled intolegislation drafted byRep. Collin Peterson,Ranking Member on theHouse Ag Committee,and Rep. Mike Simpson,Idaho Republican.

In a Friday morningconference call, Petersonreported that he wouldintroduce the bill (“DairySecurity Act of 2011”)that afternoon in theHouse with NationalMilk’s modifications. Hesaid support is growingfor the plan but, becauseof delays in getting theoriginal bill scored by theCongressional Budget Of-fice, it will now likely bepart of the new Farm Bill.The International Dairy

Foods Association saidthe changes to the FFTFstill “miss the mark.”

Natzke also reportedthat a second dairy policyreform plan was outlinedthis week, this one fromU.S. Sen. Kirsten Gilli-brand (D-N.Y.), a memberof the Senate Ag Commit-tee. Gillibrand’s plan ad-dresses the supply man-agement issue by limitingit to regional supply anddemand conditions, in-stead of a national bal-ancing plan. She wouldalso incorporate incomeinsurance into the exist-ing MILC program, usingproduction limits to de-termine insurance pay-ment eligibility, and asksUSDA to evaluatechanges to federal milkmarketing orders.

Meanwhile; Dairy ProfitWeekly reports that sev-eral dairy organizationssent a letter to HouseAgriculture Committeeleaders, opposing supplymanagement provisionscontained in impendingdairy policy reform legis-lation. The organizationsurged lawmakers to rejectthe Dairy Market Stabi-lization Program, pro-posed in National Milk’sFFTF program and in-cluded in the legislationauthored by Representa-tive Collin Peterson.

Co-signing the letter

were the Dairy BusinessAssociation, a Wisconsin-based producer organiza-tion, along with its mar-keting co-op, Dairy Busi-ness Milk Marketing Co-operative; the board of di-rectors of Bongards’Creameries, MinnesotaMilk Producers Associa-tion, First District Associ-ation, all of Minnesota;Alliance Dairies, Florida;Dairy Policy Action Coali-tion, Pennsylvania; HighDesert Milk, Idaho; Na-tional All-Jersey, Inc.,headquartered in Ohio;and the Northeast DairyProducers Association.

On the other hand; the

Holstein AssociationUSA’s board of directorsconfirmed their supportof discussion draft legis-lation containing majorcomponents of the Foun-dation for the Future pro-gram, stating that “TheDairy Market Stabiliza-tion part of the programis key, and a major rea-son for the Association’ssupport of the program,”according to Holstein As-sociation presidentChuck Worden.

In yet another politicalissue; the National Fami-ly Farm Coalition and 56allied organizations rep-resenting family farmers,

ranchers, fishermen andadvocates signed a letterto Congress condemningthe pending free tradeagreements (FTAs) withSouth Korea, Colombia,and Panama.

As the letter states,more FTAs will only ac-celerate the economicdisasters in agriculture:industrial farms depend-ent on massive amountsof petroleum-based in-puts, low-paying ex-ploitative jobs in process-ing and packing plants,and increased consolida-tion throughout the agri-cultural supply chain.For complete details, log

on tohttp://nffc.net/Press-room/Press%20Releas-es/2011/finalsignon.tradeltr.Sept2011.pdf.

While we’re talkingabout international mar-kets; the Global DairyTrade (Fonterra) auctionindex dropped to its low-est level in more than ayear with large declinesin anhydrous milkfat(AMF) and skim milkpowder (SMP), accordingto the CME’s Daily DairyReport. The weighted av-erage price for AMF was$1.74 per pound, down11.2 percent from the

TRACTORSCase IH 9110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23,900 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleCAT D4H LGP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $27,500 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenFord 8N w/Blade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 4240 Quad Cab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 5510 w/540 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18,500 . . . . . . . . Fultonville(2) JD 244 J Loaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $37,900 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleAC CA 2btm/cult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,750 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleKubota MX5000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,400 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleNH TL90 cab 2WD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $27,900 . . . . . . . . . ChathamAC 200 w/ cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,900 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 4230 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 5425 w/542 ldr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $36,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 5325 2WD/Cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 5325 2WD/Cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26,000 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 5065M w/553. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,500 . . . . . . . . . . Goshen

COMPACT TRACTORSMF 1220 w/mower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,595 . . . . . . . . . ChathamJD 2305 w/ldr & deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,900 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 110 TLB, w/cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $27,800 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 855 w/cab, & loader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,800 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 2520 w/loader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,900 . . . . . . . . . ChathamJD 3720 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24,900 . . . . . . . Clifton ParkJD 4400 w/loader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,500 . . . . . . . . . ChathamKioti DK455 TLB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenKubota L39 TLB, canopy . . . . . . . . . . . . $28,400 . . . . . . . Clifton ParkKubota L5450 loader/backhoe . . . . . . . . $21,000 . . . . . . . . . ChathamNH TC45D cab/loader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $27,500 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenNH TZ25DA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,900 . . . . . . . . . . Goshen

SKID STEER / CONSTRUCTION317 Skid steer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,500 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenCat 236 cab, heat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleNH L160 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,900 . . . . . . . . . ChathamNH L170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $21,500 . . . . . . . . Fultonville

MOWERS CONDITIONERSNH 477 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,900 . . . . . . . . . ChathamJD 925 Moco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,900 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 946 Moco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,500 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenKuhn FC 302 Moco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,500 . . . . . . . . . Chatham

TILLAGEBrillion Seeder 10’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming In . . . . . SchaghticokeIH 710 4 bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming In . . . . . SchaghticokeIH II Shank Chisel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming In . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 1450 4 bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 2000 6 bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 2500 4 bottom plow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 . . . . . . . . Fultonville

HAY AND FORAGEClaas 870 SPF H w/Heads . . . . . . . . . $169,500 . . . . . SchaghticokeGehl 860 w/2R 6’ po . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,950 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleGehl 1470 RB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 . . . . . . . . . ChathamNH 258 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,750 . . . . . . . . Fultonville

NH Flail Chopper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleMiller Pro Rake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,900 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleMiller Pro Rake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,750 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleMiller 1416 merger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28,500 . . . . . SchaghticokeMiller 1416 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18,500 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 714 Forage Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,750 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 6750 SP w/640 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming In . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 7300 SP w/686 & 640 . . . . . . . . . . . $139,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 3960 forage harv., base unit . . . . . . . . $3,800 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 3970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,000 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 3970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coming In $8,000 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 3RN corn head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 5 1/2 pickup (like new). . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleNH 166 inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,850 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleFahr KH500 Tedder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,200 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleVicon 4 Star Tedder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,200 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenKuhn 500 Disc Mower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 . . . . . . . . . ChathamKrone 550 Tedder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,650 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleSitrex 302 Tedder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 . . . . . . . . Fultonville

PLANTING / TILLAGEBrillion 18’ Harrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,900 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 220 disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleTaylorway 16’ disc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,500 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 2500 4 btm hyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 7000 4RH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,550 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 12’ BWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $750 . . . . . . . . Fultonville

BALERSNH 326 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,900 . . . . . SchaghticokeNH 316 baler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500 . . . . . . . . . . GoshenJD 335 Round Baler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,850 . . . . . . . . FultonvillePequea Fluffer 81⁄2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleHesston 560 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500 . . . . . . . . . ChathamHesston Rounder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500 . . . . . . . . Fultonville

MISCELLANEOUSHARDI 210 3pt Sprayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,850 . . . . . . . . FultonvillePOLARIS RAZOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,950 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleARCTIC CAT 650 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,850 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 135 mixer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 245 loader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,500 . . . . . SchaghticokeJD 840 loader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,950 . . . . . . . . . ChathamJD 6600 combine w/215 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,800 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 7000 Series 3 pt./PTO, front hitch . . . $4,950 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleJD 9500 combine, “nice” . . . . . . . . . . . Comin In . . . . . . . . . ChathamH&S 125 spreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleGreat Bend loader for JD 7000’s . . . . . . . $5,500 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleBush Hog 4 ft. mower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $850 . . . . . . . . . Chatham7’Loader blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $875 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleMC 7’ Rotary Cutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,200 . . . . . . . . FultonvilleLandpride 7’ HD Blade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,900 . . . . . SchaghticokeFrontier 7’ HD back blade, hyd Angle . . . $1,850 . . . . . Schaghticoke

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Information on Furthering Your Agricultural Education

FALL2011 Supplement to Country Folks

& Country Folks GROWER

Don’t miss our open house on October 31, 2011. Register athttp://admissions.unh.edu/visit-campus/thompson-school-fall-open-house/

Choose your course of study:

APPLIED ANIMAL SCIENCEDairy ManagementEquine ManagementSmall Animal Care

APPLIED BUSINESS MANAGEMENTBusiness ManagementRestaurant Managment

CIVIL TECHNOLOGYArchitectural TechnologyConstruction ManagementSurveying and Mapping

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

CULINARY ARTS AND NUTRITIONCulinary ArtsDietetic Technician

FOREST TECHNOLOGY

HORTICULTURAL TECHNOLOGYLandscape OperationsOrnamental Horticulture

THOMPSON SCHOOLDIPLOMA PROGRAMS

Pet GroomingCommunity LeadershipLandscape Operations

The Thompson School of Applied Sci-ence was founded in 1895 by the legis-lators of New Hampshire to provide abroader opportunity to the citizens ofthe state to study the agricultural sci-ences in a 2-year timeframe instead ofhaving only the 4-year option. TheThompson School continues to upholdthis legacy providing quality associatedegree programs with an educationalbelief that the best way to learn is bydoing. Our programs are designed tobring the ideas of the classroom to life,inspiring students to learn and achievewith their minds and hands engaged.

The Thompson School currently of-fers seven associate in applied sciencedegree programs: applied animal sci-ence, applied business management,civil technology, community leader-ship, culinary arts and nutrition, for-est technology, and horticultural tech-nology. Most programs additionally of-fer the opportunity for students to spe-cialize within their fields of study. Toguide students in these pursuits arefaculty who not only excel as teachers,but as professionals who practice whatthey teach.

The Thompson School is located onthe Durham campus of the Universityof New Hampshire surrounded byacres of fields and forests and support-ed by first-rate academic buildings andfacilities, including greenhouses,equine and dairy centers, laboratories,a sawmill, a restaurant, and a groom-ing shop. We encourage you to visitUNH, to meet with our faculty and cur-rent students, tour the campus and at-

tend a class or two. UNH studentshave options: they may attend part-time or full-time, may live on campusor commute and may choose from themany activities and organizations of-fered on campus. As UNH is a Com-mon Application school, the applica-tion process is fast and easy.

As members of the UNH community,Thompson School students enjoy thebest of both worlds in the personalizedattention and support of a smallschool, along with the resources of amajor research and land-grant univer-sity. The Thompson School is an aca-demic unit of UNH’s College of Life Sci-ences and Agriculture. It is fully ac-credited by the New England Associa-tion of Schools and Colleges.

Our seven degree programs and 14program concetrations (architecturaltechnology, business management,community leadership, constructionmanagement, culinary arts, dairymanagement, dietetic technician,equine management, forest technolo-gy, landscape operations, ornamentalhorticulture, restaurant manage-ment, small animal care and survey-ing and mapping) comprise a balanceof professional, science-related, andgeneral education courses in appliedcurriculums that prepare students tomeet the specific demands of a tech-nical or applied profession, continu-ing education, and the general de-mands of life. Here is a brief glance ofeach of our degree programs:

From muzzle to hoof, the Applied An-imal Science program at the Thompson

School prepares students for leader-ship roles in an animal-related indus-try. Students gain expertise with thelatest technology and a firm groundingin animal anatomy, physiology, nutri-tion, health, breeding, and businessmanagement. They put classroom the-ory to the test in facilities that includethe UNH Equine and Dairy Centers,Grooming Shop, Biology laboratories,and nearby, animal shelters. Proposedfor Fall 2012 is a Veterinary Techni-cian Program and an Integrated Agri-culture Management concentration.

The Applied Business Managementprogram connects to every business,restaurant, organization and govern-ment agency on Earth! Effective Mar-keting and Sales — getting and keep-ing customers, Personnel Manage-ment — getting and keeping good em-ployees, Finance, and OperationsManagement — location, layout andday-to-day operations are the majorkeys to success for any enterprise andmake up the core of our program.This program is for individuals whoaspire to own or manage a small tomedium size business.

In Civil Technology, learn in one ofthe finest Computer Aided Design(CAD) facilities in New England, open24/7. Work with a faculty of licensedand professionally active land survey-ors, engineers and an architect. Utilizea state-of the-art computer mappingand Geographic Information Systems(GIS) laboratory. The motto for our Civ-il Technology program could very wellbe if you build it, they will come. And

our students do. They come to us witha strong sense of place and a naturalcuriosity about the construction ofeverything from roads to bridges tobuildings. We offer a firm foundationin computer drafting, field surveyingand mapping, construction businessmanagement, math and science.

The Community Leadership programis designed for students who wish totransform a passion for community ac-tivism into a rewarding career. Thisprogram is one of only a handful na-tionwide to combine hands-on commu-nity outreach with an academic studyof communities, leadership, citizen in-fluence, and non-profit organizationmanagement. The courses help stu-dents gain skills such as supervisingvolunteers, facilitating meetings,speaking in public, organizing events,and grant writing.

The Culinary Arts and Nutrition Pro-gram gives career choices to studentsthat are plentiful in numerous fieldssuch as the hotel industry, restaurantindustry, healthcare, sales of food andfood service related items and yes,even television celebrities! Studentswill develop practical skills and willstudy a variety of topics such as clas-sical culinary cuisine, nutrition andmanagement techniques. ThompsonSchool’s 180 Blue Restaurant com-bines practical lab experiences withthe benefit of fine dining for our cus-tomers as well.

Forest Technicians are stewardsof the forest, one of our most valu-

University of New Hampshire’s Thompson School of Applied Science:New England’s best kept secret

Thompson 4

The Cornell UniversityCollege of Agricultureand Life Sciences (CALS)is considered the verybest college of its kind inthe nation, if not theworld. Our mission is todiscover, integrate, dis-seminate, and applyknowledge about agri-culture and Food Sci-ences, applied social sci-ences, environmentalsciences and the life sci-ences as a basis for sus-tainable improvement inthe lives of peoplethroughout New YorkState, the nation, andthe world.

Fluid, overlapping,and interdependent,these priority areas weredeveloped in response tothe global challenges ofthe 21st century andrepresent the college’sland grant mission ofpublic service and out-reach at its broadestand most dynamic.

Ezra Cornell favoredan education that wasboth classical and prac-

tical: accordingly, thecollege’s academic pro-grams address contem-porary, real-world issueswhile building on a tradi-tional liberal arts foun-dation. Faculty, staff,and students at CALSare at the cutting edge ofresearch in areas suchas environmental sus-tainability, advancingagriculture and food sys-tems, health and nutri-tion, food security, bio-logical sciences, educa-tion, economic develop-ment, communication,and information science.

Flexibility and oppor-tunity for substantial ex-ploration and cross-col-laboration within the col-lege, and among Cor-nell’s other six under-graduate colleges, arehallmarks of CALS’ aca-demic programs.

Home to the world’slargest academic agricul-tural and life sciences li-brary in the UnitedStates, CALS also main-tains unique and out-

standing facilities, in-cluding a teaching win-ery, a biofuels researchlaboratory, Shoals Ma-rine Laboratory, a stu-dent run organic farm,the Lab of Ornithology, aworking orchard, andworld-class collections ofplants, insects and ver-tebrates. The college isalso home to the CharlesH. Dyson School of Ap-plied Economics andManagement, one of thetop-ranked undergradu-ate business programsin the country, and aFood Science programthat is ranked among thetop in the nation.

With more than 3,000students, CALS is thesecond-largest under-graduate college at Cor-nell University and thethird-largest college of itskind in the United States.

Read what a few of ourstudents are sayingabout CALS:

“Opportunities arelurking around every cor-ner waiting for you to

take advantage ofthem.” - Corey Reed,Adams Center, NY

“Cornell is the best uni-versity that any FFA

member could attend!” -Katie Grandle, LasCruces, NM

“Cornell has been agreat way to continue myeducation after attendinga two year school.” - TedraMcDougal, Adams, NY

“I knew that the aca-demic environment would

challenge me and helpme succeed in the fu-ture.” - Kaylie Ackerley,Liberty, NY

“My Cornell experiencehas been much more re-warding than I couldhave ever expected.” -Rebecca Deveau, Cam-bridge, NY

able natural resources.Trees are an importantpart of the New Hamp-shire landscape andbring many tourists tothe Granite State. Thestudents in this pro-gram have the opportu-nity to help manageUNH’s extensive wood-lands. In traditionallecture and outdoor labsettings, students willlearn to use the tools ofthe trade including GISand GPS technologies,forest ecology, dendrol-ogy, forest surveyingand mapping, logging,forest fire control/useand how to produceforest products in thenew UNH sawmill. OurForest Technologygraduates are proud toplay a vital role inmanaging and sustain-ing our important for-est resources.

Our HorticulturalTechnology programgives students the op-portunities afforded bya large 4-year campusand the advantages of asmall school atmos-phere. The program hasdeveloped and changedas horticulture in the

state has become moretechnology based andhas shifted from foodcrops to a sustainableornamental horticul-ture and landscapingindustry. Students whopursue horticulturegraduate with the tech-nical ability, scientificexpertise, creative in-sight, and problemsolving skills necessaryto start a career.

The need for graduateswith an associate degreeeducation is more in de-mand than ever. TheUnited States Depart-ment of Labor is statingthat the greatest needemployers have is foremployees with associatedegrees. Thus studentsentering the ThompsonSchool are positioningthemselves for successin the world of work. Ad-ditionally, over half ofour graduates continueon to earn a baccalaure-ate degree either righthere at UNH or at anoth-er college or university.

To learn firsthandabout UNH’s ThompsonSchool, join us for ourFall Open House, Mon-day, Oct. 31. Come meet

the faculty, students andstaff of ThompsonSchool of Applied Sci-ence and experiencewhat we are all about.

For more information,visit us online ath t t p : / / t h o m p s o n -school.unh.edu or con-tact Deb Pack, our Assis-tant Director of Admis-sions, at 603-862-3115or deborah.pack@unh.edu

Cornell UniversityCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Thompson from 3

Feature ArticlesSoap Bubbles to Insulate Greenhouses . . . . . . . . . .Page 5

Boat to Fork Community Supported Fisheries . . .Page 11

Juneberries - They Go Where Blueberries Can’t . .Page 13

Managing a Buyers Club for Freezer Lambs . . . . .Page 16Supplement to Country Folks

FALL 2011

SMALL FARM QUARTERLYGood Living and Good Farming – Connecting People, Land, and Communities

SMALL FARM QUARTERLYGood Living and Good Farming – Connecting People, Land, and Communities

SMALL FARM PROGRAM UPDATECornell Small Farms Program Update ........................................................Page 3

COMMUNITY AND WORLDBoat-to-Fork Community Supported Fisheries Riding A Wave,

by Martha Herbert Izzi.............................................................................Page 11

DAIRYWhole Farm Nutrient Analysis: The Casey Farm, by Lisa Fields...............Page 4

FARM ENERGYSopa Bubbles to Insulate Greenhouses,

by Bruce Parker & Margaret Skinner .......................................................Page 5

FOREST, FIELD AND WOODLOTStrategies to Control Undesirable and Interfering Vegetation in Your Forest,

by Peter J. Smallidge ...............................................................................Page 8

HOME & FAMILYSwitchel - A Time Tested Thirst Quenching Favorite, by Ron Mac Lean ..Page 3

HORTICULTUREJuneberries - They Go Where Blueberries Can’t, by Jim Ochterski.........Page 13Black Currents Bring Opportunity, by Christen Trewer.............................Page 17

LOCAL FOODS & MARKETINGBuilding the C in CSA, by Elizabeth Lamb...................................................Page 6New York Cheese Wrapped Up, by Patricia Brhel ......................................Page 15

NEW FARMERSFarmer Driven Company Evolves, by Kathleen Harris..............................Page 12Young Farmers Take Their Message to Washington,

by Lindsey Lusher-Shute .......................................................................Page 15FarmStart: Continuing the Tradition of Agriculture in the Northeast

by Kristie Schmitt ...................................................................................Page 20

NON-DAIRY LIVESTOCKManaging a Buying Club for Freezer Lambs, by Ulf Kintzel ....................Page 16

NORTHEAST SARE SPOTLIGHTFor Disease-Resistant Apples, A Moment in the Sun,

by Elisabeth Rosen ..................................................................................Page 9

RESOURCE SPOTLIGHTSThe Art of Silvopasturing: A Regional Conference, by Nancy Glazier ..Page 17

STEWARDSHIP & NATUREFarmscapes for Birds, by Margaret Fowle .................................................Page 19

TECHNOLOGY ON THE FARMThe New Town Crier, by Michelle Podolec ....................................................Page 7

WOMEN FARMERSBeginning Women Farmer Program Provides Tools for Personal and

Professinal Growth, by Crystal Stewart ...............................................Page 14

YOUTH PAGEA “Fruitful” Adventure by Meredith Bell ........................................................Page 10Not the Computer Job!, by Natalia Panzironi.............................................Page 10

SMALL FARM QUARTERLYGood Farming and Good Living —

Connecting People, Land, and Communities

Small Farm Quarterly is for farmers and farm families — including spouses andchildren - who value the quality of life that smaller farms provide.

OUR GOALS ARE TO:• Celebrate the Northeast region’s smaller farms;• Inspire and inform farm families and their supporters;• Help farmers share expertise and opinions with each other;• Increase awareness of the benefits that small farms contribute to society

and the environment.• Share important research, extension, and other resources.

Small Farm Quarterly is produced by Lee Publications, Inc., and is distributed fourtimes a year as a special section of Country Folks. Volume 9 publication dates:January 10, April 4, July 4 and October 3, 2011.

EDITORIAL TEAM:• Anu Rangarajan, Cornell Small Farms Program Editor in Chief 607-255-1780• Violet Stone, Cornell Small Farms Program Managing Editor 607-255-9227• Laura Biasillo, Broome County CCE New Farmers 607-584-5007• Celeste Carmichael,

NYS 4-H Youth Development Program Youth Pages; Home and Family 607-255-4799• Gary Goff, Cornell Natural Resources Department Forest and Woodlot 607-255-2824• Martha Herbert Izzi, Vermont Farmer New England Correspondent 802-492-3346• Betsy Lamb, CCE Integrated Pest Management Program Horticulture 607-254-8800• John Thurgood, USDA-Natural Resources

Conservation Service-Vermont Stewardship and Nature 802-865-7895• Nancy Glazier, Northwest NY Dairy, Livestock

and Field Crops Team, Cornell Cooperative Extension Grazing 315-536-5123• Jill Swenson Community and World 607-539-3278• Michelle Striney Farm Technology 607-255-9911

FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION CONTACTTracy Crouse, Lee Publications, Inc., PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

888-596-5329 subscriptions@leepub.com

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT:Laura Clary, Lee Publications, Inc., 518-673-0118 or 800-218-5586, ext. 118

or lclary@leepub.com

SEND YOUR LETTERS AND STORIES TO:Cornell Small Farms Program

15A Plant Science Building, Cornell University , Ithaca, NY, 14853607-255-9227 • vws7@cornell.edu

About copyright: The material published in Small Farm Quarterly is not copyrighted unless otherwise noted.

However, we ask that you please be sure to credit both the author and Small Farm Quarterly.

ABOUT OUR ADS...All advertisements in Small Farm Quarterly are managed by Lee Publications. Cornell’s SmallFarms Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other Small Farm Quarterly sponsors andcontributors do not endorse advertisers, their products or services. We receive no revenues fromadvertisers.

To find out how your business or organization can advertise in Small Farm Quarterly, contact:Laura Clary, Lee Publications, 518-673-0118 or 800-218-5586, ext. 118, lclary@leepub.com

SMALL FARM QUARTERLY - FALL 2011TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cornell Small Farms Programwww.smallfarms.cornell.edu607-255-9227

NYS 4-H Teen Programwww.cce.cornell.edu/4h

607-255-0886

www.cce.cornell.edu www.cals.cornell.edu

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:

Cover photo: Cod freshly caught and on its way to Cape Ann’s Community Supported Fisheries cus-tomers. Photo by Steve Tousignant.

Page 2 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

www.nrcs.usda.gov802-865-7895

Help for Flooded FarmsThere are many organizations and resources to offer you support.These resources are mainly focused on New York Farms. Contactyour local Cooperative Extension, Farm Service Agency or Soiland Water Conservation office in your region for assistance.• Farm Service Agency Assistance: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov• Cornell Cooperative Extension Resources: http://emergencypre-paredness.cce.cornell.edu/disasters/Pages/Irene-Lee.aspx• Agricultural and Community Recovery Fund: To see if your farmis eligible and to learn more, visithttp://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AD/release.asp?ReleaseID=1976• New York Extension Disaster Education Network: http://emergen-cypreparedness.cce.cornell.edu/AboutNYEDEN/Pages/default.aspx

Fall Online Courses for Beginning Farmers Open forRegistration!This Fall, we'll be offering 7 online courses - including 4 new topics- to help you continue your farming education. As always, ourcourses are taught by experienced Cooperative Extension educa-tors, farmers, and other specialists. Courses are typically 6 weekslong, cost $175, and include both real-time meetings (online webi-

nars) and on-your-own time reading and activities. We do not offerany academic credit, but those who successfully complete acourse will receive a certificate and are also eligible for FarmService Agency (FSA) borrower training credit, which can improveeligibility to receive a low-interest FSA loan. Courses fill up fast socheck our calendar for details, times, dates and availability. Moreinfo at http://nebeginningfarmers.org/online-courses/

Let the Sun Shine In: Farms Show Off Renewable EnergyThis past September, over 100 attendees gathered at farmsaround New York to get plugged in to the possibilities of renewableenergy at four small farms around New York. Tim and JeanMcCumber at Dorpers Sheep Farm taught a do-it-yourself solarelectric and solar thermal workshop. Jay and Polly Armour at FourWinds Farm described their professionally installed PV electricsystem and share other techniques to reduce fossil fuel use. Janand Ron Bever, shared info on how to live off the grid on a maplesugar farm. And Dani Baker and David Belding at Cross IslandFarms led a tour of their brand new 10KW wind turbine and a7KW solar array. To see videos from the field days or to locateother energy resources, visit http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/resources/production/energy.cfm

By Ron Mac Lean

My Dad used to tell about working on his auntand uncle's farm in the summer. Doing somerapid math, that may have been in the early1930's. He didn't tell many farm stories but abrief one that stands out involved working dur-ing haying season. He emphasized theextremely hard work -- the heat, the sweat, thebreathing, the hay mow -- all to impress uponme his good work ethics. Dad's farm storyalways ended with Aunt Minnie preparing andbringing out to the field or barn a very refresh-ing drink called switchel.

When asked what switchel was, my father saidhe really didn't know exactly but thought it hadvinegar, water and honey in it. For years Ithought it was an Aunt Minnie and UncleCharley thing. However, over the last seventy-some years I have heard other references toswitchel and I discovered some people called ithaymakers punch. Others have referred to it asswitzel, swizzle, ginger-water, and switchy.

One summer as a teenager, I helped a farmerfamily friend with his haying when he was shortof manpower. My father was absolutely right, itwas hard work. In the early 1950's, hay wasbaled and left on the field to be lifted andstacked onto the hay wagon for the trip back tothe barn. After the baler dropped the bale, oneof us would carry it with a hay hook and lift thatheavy concentration of hay to the wagon, whereone or two others would lift and stack them. Thelonger the day grew, the heavier the bales got."Hay dust" was created every step of the waywhich made breathing difficult. A hay bale ele-vator moved the bales from the wagon to thehay mow door. The worst job of all was to be inthe hay mow stacking bales where the heat andhay dust intensified. The chaff would stick to asweating body and the air circulation was

almost non-existent. All we got to quench ourthirst was cold spring water. No switchel for us.

Switchel originated in the Caribbean andbecame a popular summer drink in theAmerican Colonies in the late 17th century. Bythe 19th century, it was a traditional drink toserve to thirsty farmers at hay harvest time.Hence, the nickname haymakers punch.Switchel not only quenched the thirst of thosefarmers in the hay fields but it also replenishedtheir electrolytes needed to keep them going inthose hot, humid summer days.

Like many other recipes, all the "AuntMinnie's" out there had their own version andcalled it whatever they wanted. Most recipescall for Cider Vinegar, Molasses, Ginger andvery cold Water. However, many resourcesmention that honey, sugar, brown sugar ormaple syrup could be substituted in place ofmolasses. Dad wasn't too far off in hisdescription of Aunt Minnie's recipe. InVermont, oatmeal and lemon juice weresometimes added. Once the drink was con-sumed, the switchel-soaked oatmeal becamea snack to be eaten. A Vermont physicianD.C. Jarvis, recommended a mixture of honeyand cider vinegar which he called "honegar".

Even our literature contains references to thisbeverage for the thirsty. Herman Melville wrotein I and My Chimney, "I will give a traveler a cupof switchel, if he want it; but am I bound to sup-ply him with a sweet taste?" Another author,

Laura Ingalls Wilder in The Long Winter,describes a switchel-like beverage that hermother had sent for Laura and her father todrink while haying: "Ma had sent them ginger-water. She had sweetened the cool well-waterwith sugar, flavored it with vinegar, and put inplenty of ginger to warm their stomachs so theycould drink till they were not thirsty." It wasanother time but the same old beverage.

I have a neighbor who is about the same age asmy father would be, if he were alive, and whowas raised on a farm in our area. While havingcoffee one morning, I asked him if he ever heardof switchel on his farm. "I sure did" he said."Did you drink it?" "Yes I did and it tasted good,"he added. "Do you know what ingredients werein it," I asked? "I have no idea," he confessed.

I'm guessing that times were tough even in theyears leading up to the Depression. Folks cutcorners any way they could and maybe it popu-larized switchel as a refreshing social drink aswell as a necessity in the hay field.

In hopes that Switchel, the time tested, thirstquenching, refreshing beverage from theCaribbean may be enjoyed today, the followingbasic recipe is provided for all of you to try. Youmight even like it.

Ron Mac Lean grew up in a small village sur-rounded by farms in Central New York. He isnow retired and lives in the Fingerlakes Regionof the state.

Cornell Small Farms Program Update

How can I get Small Farm Quarterly?Country Folks subscribers automatically receive SFQ four times a

year at no extra cost. Country Folks is delivered weekly for $45 per year.

SFQ-only subscribers receive just the 4 issues of Country Folks that contain the SFQ insert for only $5 a year.

Cooperative Extension Associations and other organizations can offer their members a subscription to SFQ as a member benefit! Your organization collects the names, forwards them to Country Folks Subscriptions, and pays Country Folks just $2.50 for each subscriber.

Country Folks mails out the copies.

Bulk orders: You can order multiple copies of any issuefor just 10¢ a copy!

Minimum order is 50. Orders must be placed at least 4 weeks beforethe publication date - Winter 2012 copies need

to be ordered by December 9th.

To find out more, contact:Tracy Crouse

Country Folks SubscriptionsP.O. Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

1-888-596-5329 email: subscriptions@leepub.com

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 3

HOME & FAMILY

Switchel - A Time TestedThirst Quenching Favorite

Message from the Managing EditorIt’s been a difficult fall, with a series of tropical storms causingdisastrous flooding to many areas in our readership. We at theCornell Small Farm Program send our deepest sympathy tothe hundreds of farmers and homesteaders that lost crops,livestock, buildings, roads and precious topsoil. As I look backupon the 2011 issues of Small Farm Quarterly, a reoccuringtheme this year has been the many ways in which farmingbuilds community. I hope in the aftermath of the severe weath-er, your farming neighbors, friends and customers come togth-er as a community to begin restoring what was lost. I alsohope Small Farm Quarterlyserves as a reminder that youare part of a vibrant communityof creative, hardworking, spiritedindividuals.

As always, we love to hear fromyou. Drop us a line anytime!

Best wishes, VioletViolet Stone

An elderly farm couple hoists hay into the wagon in Schenectady County, New York, 1943. Photo courtesy Library of Congress ArchiveRecipe for Switchel

(or Haymaker Punch)

1 Cup Cider Vinegar1 Cup Molasses1 Tbs Fresh Ginger (grated)1 Quart Water

Stir all ingredients together and serve on ice.Serves 4 to 6 people. If you have time, prepare4 to 8 hours in advance, as it helps to mellowthe ginger.

By Lisa Fields

Bill and Joanne Casey of Apulia Station, NYown a 60 cow organic, grass based dairy farm.Management intensive grazing is essential tofeeding the herd. Pastures, which are bothgrazed and mechanically harvested asbaleage, only receive manure deposited by thecows. The Caseys also compost manure andspread it in the fall on hay ground. In 2009, theCaseys joined the three year Whole FarmNutrient Analysis project (WFA), a CornellNutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP)initiative. A WFA goal for the 11 participatingfarms was to identify opportunities forimproved nutrient inputs or allocations to bene-fit the environment and farm profitability. Caseyexplained why he participated. "I thought itwould be a good learning opportunity to gain abetter handle on my management's impact onthe soil resources. I spread compost in the fallto avoid manure residue in baleage, buthaven't applied any other nutrients for 15years. I hoped to learn about the effect overtime."

Patty Ristow, NMSP Extension Associate, out-lined the WFA process. "Each farmer assem-bled a team of people. Initially, farmer con-cerns were identified and goals were set. Afterdata analysis got underway, we held meetingsto discuss the results and their application tothe farmer's concerns. We then developed anaction plan to address those issues." Caseyidentified a herd health concern. "I had a fewfresh cows three years ago that didn't respondto normal milk fever treatments. Pumping thecows with phosphorus got them up and goingbut I wasn't fully aware of the cause. I ques-tioned the risk of repeated problems andhoped the farm data would reveal answers tothe team. Compounding the problem is thatwe're unable to separate dry cows from themilking herd so a dry cow ration isn't anoption". The Casey's team included Ristow,John Conway, Cornell PRO-Dairy ExtensionAssociate and Janice Degni, Cornell SouthCentral NY Dairy Team Field Crop Specialist.

Ristow explained, "The first team step wasgathering relevant data to analyze the farm'snutrient use efficiency. The next step was run-ning the data through diagnostic tools general-ly used in stand-alone fashion. The toolsapplied on the Casey farm were five years ofNutrient Mass Balance (NMB) data, past andcurrent soil tests, and manure and forageanalyses. The integrated results provided acomprehensive view (of the nutrient status) ofthe farm."

The NMB approach calculates the annual netnutrients (N, P and K) that remain on a farm bysubtracting nutrients exported from thoseimported, providing a picture of nutrient trendsacross the entire operation. Soil test reports in

conjunction with manure and forage analysesprovide a more field specific view of thesetrends. Degni compiled the Casey's NMB andnoted, "This went smoothly as the Caseys' hadexcellent records. The NMB showed that com-pared to other NYS farms, potassium remain-ing on the farm was relatively high, phospho-rus was moderately low and nitrogen was well-balanced."

Degni explained how the data fit together. "TheNMB trend of high K balances along with mod-erate to high K forage analyses, high Kmanure nutrient ratios and somewhat high Ksoils were very useful in identifying potentialdry cow issues." Conway remarked, "Havingeveryone at the table facilitated data interpreta-tion. Bill faces the same challenge as non-

organic dairies in trying to provide some low Kforage. The data are a point of awareness. Ifdry cow issues persist, Bill knows to considertheir K intake from the forages." Casey noted,"The team discussions about potassium levelshave proven useful, as I'm finding the cowsrejecting high quality, very high K forages. I'mmore keenly aware of how forage qualityaffects animal performance and the cows' viewof the feed".

The diagnostic tools led the discussions fromproblem identification to solutions. Ristowexplained, "The soil results were displayedgraphically and, together with farm maps,clearly showed where nutrients were ultimatelyending up. The soil tests also indicated mostlyoptimum-range phosphorus, with many fieldsat the low end of optimum. Along with the NMBtrend, this illustrated that phosphorus coulddrop too low in certain fields. This identified the

opportunity to adjust P and K levels on individ-ual fields by changing manure distribution."

Casey added evidence to the nutrient imbal-ance discussion, "Back when the cow healthproblems occurred, I had to purchase someforage that was organic-by-neglect. I believelow nutrient levels, especially P rather thanhigh K, caused the problems. The severe milkfevers were resolved by returning to home-grown forages. In addition, I decreased milkfever occurrence by reducing the cows' dryperiod to 45 days.

The P and K data changed Casey's manureapplication management as well. He comment-ed, "Before this program, I hadn't sat down andanalyzed my farm's soil test data. I wasspreading to obtain maximum yields withmanure N. When I learned how high the potas-sium levels were in some fields, I changedwhere the manure compost gets spread. As anorganic farm, I've maximized on-farmresources to avoid purchased inputs. By con-tinuing to track soil tests I can determine if thechanges I'm making in manure allocations

address phosphorus needs or whether I mighthave to purchase phosphorus. Where theWFA program really provided insight was get-ting specific about nutrient allocation. Now Ihave the knowledge to plan manure applica-tions and improve the forage allocation to thecows."

The Casey's team summarized their WFAexperience. Degni stated, "It was very worth-

while as we're all learning. I view it as part of aprocess in developing effective tools to helpfarms be more efficient and profitable."Conway agreed," It was really interesting tosee how the diagnostic tools can fit together toprovide useful information." Casey noted theproject's impacts. "Farming in an environmen-tally sound manner is very important to me.Participation in the WFA project helped with mynutrient efficiency goals. It also had a positiveimpact on profitability by helping me increaseforage quality, palatability and yields."

Lisa Fields is an independent consultant inAgronomy and Farm Management and residesin Worcester, NY. She may be reached atlafields@hughes.net.

Page 4 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

DAIRY

Whole Farm Nutrient Analysis:The Casey Farm

Group discussions facilitated data interpretation at Casey Dairy.Photo by Quirine Ketterings

Call today to pick your installation date - 717-442-8850

Call today for your installation: Fall time may be a good time to turn your cows out for a dayof renovating.

Starting a Farm?Visit our NortheastBeginning Farmers Projectonline resource center!Enter the ‘New Farmer Hub’to start drafting your busi-ness plan with the help oftutorials and interactiveworksheets.Find answers to commonquestions, browse the Guideto Farming, and check outthe latest beginning farmeronline courses. You canbrowse our events calendar,subscribe to our monthlye-news, follow our blog, orvisit us on Facebook andTwitter, all from thehomepage of the new site:at http://nebeginningfarm-ers.org

By Bruce Parker and Margaret Skinner

Unfavorable weather is an unpredictable challenge for farmersoften leading to financial instability. Growers are turning togreenhouse production to reduce their losses from poor weath-er and to increase the length of the growing season. Thoughplastic hoop houses are inexpensive to erect, they demandlarge amounts of energy to keep them warm, especially innorthern climates. Scientists from the University of Vermonthave teamed up with several engineers and Chris Conant, fromClaussen's Greenhouses and Florist in Colchester, VT, to testtwo energy-saving devices in his traditional plastic coveredgreenhouses.

One greenhouse has been retrofitted with an energy/thermalcurtain, which is available off-the-shelf (Fig. 1). This technologyis in common use, particularly in large gutter-connected green-houses. The curtain is closed in the afternoon to hold the heatclose to the plants, and reduce the space that needs to beheated.

In an adjacent greenhouse we installed a novel experimentalsystem that injects soap bubbles into the air space between thetwo layers of plastic that cover the greenhouse (Fig. 2).

Greenhouses are commonly covered with two layers of plasticthat are inflated with air, which provides a small level of insula-tion. The bubble insulation system is reported to increase the R-value for the standard inflated greenhouse from 1-2 to over 30.

The R-value is a term used to rate the insulation potential of amaterial. The larger the R-value, the more insulation it provides.In 2001, a grower constructed one of the first hoop greenhous-es with bubble insulation in Ontario where winter temperaturescommonly reach 20 below zero (°F). He reduced propane heat-ing costs from $1,137 to $146 per year and extended green-house production from 6 to 10 mo. We are testing this systemand will compare heating costs for the thermal curtain green-house with the bubble greenhouse and a standard greenhousewith no improvements.

The bubble insulation system is not new. Over 20 years agoresearchers from the Univ. of New Hampshire tested it, but raninto many problems. The foam solution leaked out or froze upslicing holes in the plastic. The freezing problem has beensolved with the development of a new foam solution and leak-age can be minimized by carefully making sure the plastic cov-erings are secure at all contact points. More recently Sunarc, aCanadian company, developed a bubble system for gutter-con-nected greenhouses, but it is not fully operational nor commer-cially available. We were fortunate to be able to obtain a proto-type of their system to retrofit for smaller hoop style greenhous-es that are more common in the Northeast.

SunArc, a company located in Canada, expanded and improvedupon the concept (www.sunarc.ca/english/home.html), and untilrecently marketed the technology in the US and Canada.Economic constraints linked with the recent financial crisis ledto downsizing Sunarc, though rights to the system have beenshared with a company in Israel, where it is being developed asa means of shading. While this technology is not currently avail-able commercially, given the steadily increasing cost of fuel, webelieve the work we are doing to test the system in hoop hous-es will revive interest and lead to its expanded commercial useby growers.

The energy curtain was installed in October 2010, in time fortesting during production of the fall poinsettia crop and ChrisConant was extremely pleased with the system. Over the entirecropping season (Oct. - Dec.), he used half as much naturalgas in the greenhouse with the curtain than in the standardunimproved house.

Installation of the bubble system has taken time because astandard system suitable for a hoop house does not currentlyexist, and the equipment we obtained from Sunarc requiredmajor retrofitting (Fig. 4). Limited testing of the bubble systemwas done in mid-February (2011). Over the period of operation,gas use was 25% less in the house with the bubble system and7% less in the house with the curtain than in the unimprovedcontrol house. Gas use was 20% less in the house with thebubble system than in the house with the curtain. In general, 3-7 ccf/day more natural gas was used in the control house thanin the house with the bubble system. Savings would be evengreater for greenhouses that heat with propane or oil, which arethe more common fuels used by greenhouse growers in NewEngland. These preliminary results clearly demonstrate thepromise of the bubble system for conserving energy and savinggrowers money. Monitoring equipment has been installed toquantify the energy savings over time relative to ambient tem-perature. This will provide growers with tangible information onthe energy conservation benefits and costs of construction andoperation. While the chill of the approaching winter is in the air,the future potential of bubbles should give greenhouse growershope for a future of lower energy costs in the future.

Drs. Bruce L. Parker and Margaret Skinner are professors at theUniversity of Vermont Entomology Research Laboratory inBurlington, VT. For more information they can be contacted bytelephone at 802-656-5440 or by email at bparker@uvm.edu ormskinner@uvm.edu. Additional information about their researchis available on their website at http://www.uvm.edu/~entlab/

Acknowledgments: This project is supported with funding fromthe NE Sustainable Agriculture Research and EducationProgram (SARE), University of Vermont College of Agricultureand Life Sciences, and the USDA Natural Resources andConservation Service Conservation Innovation Program.

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 5

Soap Bubbles to Insulate Greenhouses:A New Approach to Energy Conservation

FARM ENERGY

Figure 3. Piping system developed by Sunarc to inject soap bub-bles between the two layers of plastic.

Figure 1. Thermal curtain in the gable-roof greenhouse before itwas filled with plants (insert shows the open curtain).

Figure 2. Bubble system in operation, filling void with soap bub-bles. Arrows indicate stream of bubbles generated at the peakof the greenhouse.

Figure 4. Installation of bubble system by consulting engineerand UVM personnel. Photos by Margaret Skinner

Join the Cornell SmallFarms Program onFacebook!You can now receive small farmnews, events and much more onFacebook! This venue will help us tocontinue providing great resources tothe Northeast community withoutcluttering your email inbox! VisitCornell Small Farms Program onFacebook and click the “Like” buttonto see our resources pop up in yournewsfeed.

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By Elizabeth Lamb

The first things that come to mind when starting aCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmingoperation probably relate more to the what,where, when, and who of growing crops than toplanning your website and writing newsletters.But the C in CSA does stand for community andgetting and keeping members is essential to yoursuccess.

NewslettersA newsletter that is sent to existing members isprobably the easiest place to start. Create a list-serve and e-mail members a weekly list of what isavailable. You can even print out a few copies forpickup with the produce for those members thatprefer hardcopy. Add recipes for the ingredientsin the share, particularly if they are somewhatunusual. You could even title it "What do I do withthis?" and avoid your own set of emails with thatquestion from members.

Risk is part of being in a CSA and a newslettergives you the opportunity to explain that risk toyour members. One of Full Plate FarmCollectives' recent newsletters said "Nature throws somethingdifferent our way every season, and one of the most importanttraits of a good farmer is a constantly learning, self-educatingand experimenting mind. We're in safe hands with theseguys!" (Katie Church, http://www.freewebs.com/fullplatefarms/)Then it becomes easier to break it to the members that no,there aren't any tomatoes, yet.

If you have a little more time, you can include announcementsof special events or volunteer activities on the farm. You canalso include community events that might appeal to your mem-bers, such as Field-to-Fork type events or crop mobs. Anddon't forget to include some out-of-season emails to remindmembers that farming is a year 'round occupation and to getthem salivating for harvest - and signing up for next year!

Of course, finding the time to write something weekly in thethick of the season can be daunting. Perhaps you have amember who would be happy to write up and send out yournewsletter - and might even have the time to get creative! Buta newsletter is meant to be a brief reminder to your membersso save some of that creativity for the next level . . . .

WebsitesA website is a resource for your members, but also a way ofattracting new members.

We are lucky in Tompkins County to have a CSA fair wherepotential members can meet growers and gather informationbefore deciding which CSA is the best match. If you don'thave that option, your website might be your primary tool forattracting new members. Most of us have used searchengines to find what's available in an area, from ice creamstores to Farmers' Markets. Try googling CSA and your areato see what you find. Websites don't have to be fancy to beeffective and it is getting easier and easier to create your ownwebsite (see the Resource Spotlight for some suggestions).You can also create a page on a national website. From theIthaca area, High Point Farms, LLC, has a page onwww.eatwellguide.org and Kestrel Perch Berry CSA has apage on www.localharvest.org.

You can find lists of questions to ask before joining a CSA atwebsites like http://thelocalcook.com/2011/03/31/top-10-ques-tions-to-ask-before-joining-a-csa/,http://www.localharvest.org/csa/questions-for-csa.jsp andhttp://www.yumsugar.com/CSA-Box-18062154. Answeringsome of those questions in a clearly marked spot on yourwebsite will help make a perfect match of CSA and member.Other suggestions can come from lists of advantages and dis-advantages of CSA's to members or even "tips for PotentialMembers" (http://www.localharvest.org/csa/tips.jsp)

As long as your website is up to date on information that mightchange (are you still accepting members?), it doesn't have tochange constantly. However, a new picture or two or a recipefeaturing a current share item help keep it interesting.

Be creative and have fun! The WE Cooperative and CatalanFamily Farm website has a haiku contest for their members(http://wecooperative.com/tag/community-supported-agricul-ture/)!

BlogsA blog, or weblog, is a series of regular entries, or posts, withcommentary or descriptions of events and graphics, photo-

graphs or video (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog).They may be interactive, with the potential forreaders to leave comments. A blog does requiremore time, as the expectation is that new blogposts will be available fairly frequently. The blogfrom Little Flower Farm in Michigan is a goodexample. It combines wonderful story telling onthe daily activities of family farming with pragmaticinformation on CSA shares and pickup informa-tion (http://littleflowerfarmcsa.blogspot.com/).

Blogs may be incorporated into websites, or betied to social networking sites like Facebook orTwitter. In fact all your methods of communicationcan be linked together. Pete's Greens Good EatsCSA has information and discussion items on thefarm Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48147346697&v=info) which linksto the website where you can find their blog!Mano Farm has a Twitter feed for announcements,new photos and other items of interest to mem-bers (http://twitter.com/#!/manofarm). CheckMichelle Podolec's article on social media in thisedition of Small Farm Quarterly for more informa-tion.

So, start simple and see what works best for you and for yourmembers. As you gather information and images and experi-ence, you will continue to build the community in yourCommunity Supported Agriculture enterprise!

Elizabeth Lamb is a Senior Extension Associate with the NYSIntegrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University inIthaca, NY. She may be contacted at 607 254-8800 oreml38@cornell.edu.

Page 6 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

LOCAL FOODS AND MARKETING

Building the C in CSA: Websites, Newsletters and Blogs forCommunity Supported Agriculture Members

The blog from Little Flower Farm in Michigan combines wonderful story telling on the dailyactivities of family farming with pragmatic information on CSA shares and pickup details.

Resource SpotlightCommunicating with Your CSA

There are several broad-based resources on starting aCommunity Supported Agriculture enterprise that havebasics on reaching your customer base.

Rodale Institute - Starting a CSA (some links are datedand you may have to search a bit)http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0403/csa_resource_list.shtml

Robyn Van En Center - a national resource center forCSAshttp://www.wilson.edu/about-wilson-college/fulton/robyn-van-en-center/robyns-resources/index.aspx

USDA CSA Resources for Farmershttp://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csafarmer.shtml

Creating Websites and BlogsLocal Harvest: www.localharvest.org - post your busi-ness, location, and product in this great national website.Has free and low cost options for individual websites forfarmers, very good reputation and well known!

The Eat Well Guide: http://www.eatwellguide.org is aconsumer oriented website where you can create a pagewith photos and link to your website, too.

Farmer Faces (Small Farms Central):www.SmallFarmCentral.com - a low cost webpage greatfor CSA's or markets that work as co-ops. Features acentral page for your business with individual farmer'pages' to highlight individual sellers.

Word Press: www.wordpress.com - free blogs for individ-uals or businesses, with low-cost options for upgradesand more design capacity. Easy to learn with manyhelpful online tutorials.

Constant Contact: www.constantcontact.com - to man-age their emails to customers, social media, andnewsletters. They have great templates and helpfulvideos that will have you creating beautiful, customemails with links and pictures in no time. Low cost, feebased service (Their website might overwhelm you butplay around in it - perhaps start with the Email templatesunder Email Marketing)

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October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 7

By Michelle Podolec

You've heard all the hype: supposedly everyoneis using social media these days. But as asmall farmer, how can social media help youand your business? Creating an online pres-ence using the free or low-cost online softwareapplications provided by social media sites canhelp drive new customers to your business.This can be a wonderful low-cost way to adver-tise your business and expand your market.

Online social media tools liked Twitter andFacebook allow users to keep in contact withlists of friends and connections, and sendthese contacts short updates. Social mediasites are accessed through the internet. If youhappen to have a smart phone or other internetconnected mobile phone, these social mediasites have downloadable 'apps' that place ashortcut to your profile on your device andmake accessing your profile quick and easy.These applications can be used to enhanceconversations between you and your cus-tomers, and can drive more views to your web-sites and blogs by allowing instant updates toonline content.

Farmer and entrepreneur Gordon Sacks of 9Miles East Farm in Northumberland, NY, hasfound success with an integrated social mediaoutreach strategy that involves a website,Facebook, Twitter, Constant Contact emailnewsletters, and even a LinkedIn resume.

Every week during the growing season,Gordon and his crew harvest what's in peakseason and cook hearty, full-flavored mealsthat put the focus on high-quality ingredients.His clientele subscribe to weekly meals just likea vegetable share in a CSA. Gordon says,"We communicate with our customers andcommunity to help them understand what wecan do to make their lives easier. E-mail andsocial Web sites like Facebook are great toolsfor telling our story, but even better than that,they allow customers to share their apprecia-tion for our farm with their friends."

As a farmer and business owner, think of socialmedia as an opportunity to have brief, casualonline interactions with your clients as you goabout your daily tasks. Many customers enjoylearning more about your daily activities on thefarm, crop conditions, sneak peeks into CSAshares for the week, and where they can findyou selling your product. These conversationskeep customers connected to your businessand remind them to look for YOU at the market.

Social media not only keeps your customersconnected...it goes beyond that and createscommunity. Gordon says, "We use e-mail andFacebook to invite people inside [our farm] andbuild a community that cares about local food.We think that there is a social value to the farmthat extends beyond the meals we deliver andthe vegetables we grow. Anything that fosterscommunity helps to build that bond and include

people in this fundamental aspect of life: grow-ing and preparing food. It sounds basic, but itstill means something to know and trust yourfarmer."

Most online social media applications are free,and the most popular (and a great place to start)are Facebook and Twitter. Think of Facebook asa public square where groups of people chatand share information, and Twitter as the towncrier shouting out headlines and hot topics.Other interesting options for small farmersinclude YouTube (post videos of your farm activi-ties), and Foursquare (share your location asyou travel about to markets and stores).

How can you use social media to make yourbusiness a success? Take advice from otherexperienced farmers. Gordon Sacks shares thefollowing from his experiences with socialmedia: "Make it interesting and fun for people.Share your expertise in a small specific way,with concrete detail... Social media is an intim-idating term, but it's really pretty easy to usesimple tools to reach out and share your enthu-siasm for farming. Make the time every weekand get your message out there. It doesn'thave to be perfect."

Once you have explored the basics of socialmedia and have developed a familiarity with the

applications, you may find you want more infor-mation about your followers and help managingyour new activities online. Management siteslike Hoot Suite help you schedule and organizeyour posts to social networks, and can assistyou by automatically sending scheduledupdates while you are away on vacation or fac-ing a busy harvest season. Online analyticaltools like Google Analytics can help youassess what topics excite your customers andwhat times of day your profile receives themost visits. You'll know you've really made it inthe social media network when your Klout net-working score rises, and shows your onlinereputation to be growing grows in leaps andbounds.

The internet offers small farmers many ways toaccess their customers in free or low-costways. Give social media a try and see if it fitsinto your plans for advertising and marketingyour business!

Michelle Podolec is the co-coordinator of theNortheast Beginning Farmer Project. She maybe reached at (607) 255-9911 or mls266@cor-nell.edu.

To learn more about 9 Miles East Farm, visithttp://www.9mileseast.com/

TECHNOLOGY ON THE FARM

The New Town Crier:Demystifying Twitter and OtherSocial Media

Farmer and entrepreneur Gordon Sacks of 9 Miles East Farm in Northumberland, NY, has foundsuccess with an integrated social media outreach strategy that involves a website, Facebook,Twitter, Constant Contact email newsletters

Small Farm Quarterly is Recruiting!We are looking for several new members to join the Small Farm QuarterlyEditorial Team, and we are always looking for new writers and photogra-phers. We are especially looking for editors and writers from outside of NewYork State, so that we can improve our coverage of New England andPennsylvania small farm issues and innovators. All SFQ editors and writersare volunteers. If you're interested, please contact Violet Stone at 607-255-9227 or vws7@cornell.edu

Tips to make your social media a success:* Start slow. Commit to one or two postings of new content each week, and see what kind of aresponse you get from your customers. Not every social media application will suit you and yourbusiness; don't be afraid to bail out if after a decent trial period, you are unsatisfied with customerresponse.* Begin small. Social media relies on personal connections between individuals to be a success.Limit your early connections to good friends and customers who you know have an interest in yourfarm and activities, and grow a larger audience as you become more comfortable.* Separate business and personal life online. Sites like Facebook offer different features in per-sonal and business pages. Use a dedicated business profile for your social media and keep yourtopics on farm work, products, staff, and news about your farm and neighbors. General farm familynews and updates can be fun to share occasionally, but keeping work and play separate helps youmaintain a professional business image and ensures personal privacy.* Pick a topic. Create a list of topics, activities or concerns that come up during your farm year,and use these to help guide your social media outreach. Think seasonally - summertime is greatfor conversations on crops, insect pests, hot weather, and grazing, while wintertime is more appro-priate for conversations on seed selection, books you are reading, conference reviews, and coldweather animal care.* Keep it short, interesting, and fun. Gordon Sacks gave us the following great advice... "Peopledon't have time to read an opus on the woes of your wet spring and how it delayed planting, or theproblems you're having with flea beetles. I'm not suggesting you romanticize what is clearly a verychallenging business, but focus on what will be of interest to your audience."* Have conversations. Ask questions of your friends and followers, and leave comments on otherpeople's posts. This is a great opportunity to get feedback and talk about new ideas with your cus-tomers and friends. Share links to resources and articles that interest you and relate to your farmbusiness.* Use pictures. People are more likely to click, comment, and linger on your profile if you sharephotographs of you and your farm. Be cautious when using hosted sites, and make sure you readthe Terms of Use completely for each hosting site, notes Ontario County extension specialist JimOchterski. "Anything shared that goes undeleted is open for Facebook's use. Be judicious:Facebook content gets passed along in directions you would not expect, and Facebook has theright to use anything you post, even if it is not consistent with your intent. Make sure that every-thing you share is truly meant to be public and openly sharable everywhere."* Promote your social media presence. Now that you are comfortable with your social mediaactivities, share your profile information on brochures, your website, and at your business.* Be consistent with updates. Friends and clients can't have a conversation with you if you don'tpost updates to your social media. Assign yourself a regular and frequent dates or times to devoteto creating your posts, and your friends and clients will learn when to watch for new informationcoming from you. People quickly lose interest in your site if content is old - keep it fresh!

Social Media ReferencesFacebook www.facebook.com A must-visit site for young folks, and rapidly growing in popularitywith baby-boomers, this is the best place to start if you're considering online social media. Easy tolearn with pages available for personal or business use. Share status updates, pictures, web links,GPS locations, and more. Free basic services for business use.

Twitter www.twitter.com Participate in fun, fast paced conversations with your 'followers' using thisshort message service. Best for those who like to share news clippings, snapshots, and stay ontop of the hottest topics. A great site for networking with other farms and agricultural organiza-tions. Free

YouTube www.youtube.com The best site for amateur videographers! Post videos of your farmand market activities, link your profile with other friends and businesses. Access thousands ofpeople looking for fun, interesting, thought-provoking videos. Free

Foursquare www.foursquare.com This mobile web application links your GPS enabled phone ordevice with Facebook and Twitter and enables you to share your real time travels via postings withlinked map locations. Great for those who sell at multiple markets, make CSA deliveries, and selltheir products at local restaurants. Free

Hoot Suite www.hootsuite.com Management of your social media campaigns is easier when youcan schedule updates ahead of time. See all your social networking profiles in one place, and cre-ate updates in advance for weeks when you know you will be too busy to update regularly. Freebasic services.

Klout www.klout.com Klout uses an algorithm to measure your overall online influence. This inter-esting site categorizes how you communicate with your contacts and helps you develop a betterunderstanding of the true reach of your reputation. Free basic services.

Google Analytics www.google.com/analytics/ This analytics tool help you gain insights into yourwebsite traffic and marketing effectiveness. Free basic services.

Page 8 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

By Peter J. Smallidge

On most wooded properties, the owner will recognize the pres-ence of at least a few undesired plants species. In some cases,these plants become sufficiently abundant and interfere with theowner's objectives. Interference might include the developmentof a beech or fern understory that impedes oak or pine regener-ation; hardwoods that interfere with the establishment andgrowth of conifer forests; or invasive shrubs that reduce thediversity of native plant species. In situations of overabundance,the owner may need to control the interfering plant to more fullyachieve his or her objectives.

Landowners should resist the temptation to grab a saw, brushloppers, a bottle of herbicide, etc. and head out to do battleagainst the undesirables. We all have limited time, experience,ability, equipment, and money to commit to "weed" control, so itis wise to plan ahead to make the most of our efforts! Each sit-uation of interfering plant control is somewhat unique, so a setof guiding principles will help owners consider the range of man-agement strategies.

Strategic GoalsLandowners should consider the following factors when planningfor control of interfering plants:* Efficient use of labor, energy and equipment* Cost effective to minimize the consumption of tools, suppliesand especially time* Targeted control of the interfering plants with minimal damageto desired plants

Integrated vegetation management, or IVM, is the approach thatincorporates these management goals in a framework thatallows optimal control of interfering plants. IVM originated withplant management on power utility corridors, but its principlesapply to private lands.

The foundation for effective IVM is a situation profile thatincludes knowledge of: plant biology, the extent of the plantproblem, the desired level of control, and an estimate of thecosts (equipment, supplies, and time). The owner and managershould consider these four elements of the profile before com-mencing any treatment of the vegetation. Not considering theseelements may result in unnecessary cost, undesired damage todesired plants, excessive use of herbicides or wasted labor andsupplies, and ultimate failure to control the target plant(s).

IVM Situation Profile and Vegetation Treatments* Plant Biology - Identify the plant, understand its life cycle,reproductive strategy, and any mechanism that the plant usesto store propagules or energy reserves. Give special atten-tion to what allows the interfering plant to be successful.* Extent of the Problem - The geographic extent of the prob-lem plant on the property being treated and within the land-scape will influence the likelihood of reintroduction, the opera-tional efficiency of potential treatments, the likelihood of treat-ments affecting viable non-target species, and the amount ofdisturbance and open space following the treatment.* Desired Level of Control - Complete annihilation of aspecies is a difficult task. In many cases, ownership objec-tives can be satisfied with less than 100% control of the tar-get plant. However, any residual plants may allow for spreadinto the treated areas. Some objectives may be satisfied withspatial control (e.g., within rows for a plantation) or control fora period of time to allow other species to become estab-lished.* Costs - Costs include the actual financial cost of the materialsand labor, the ecological costs associated with the treatment,the ecological costs of not controlling the undesirable plant, thecost for re-treatment if the initial effort fails, and the risk to thestaff applying the treatment. Failure to plan to successful re-vegetation with desired species is an added future cost.

IVM treatments can be described by mode and method (Table1). Mode is the specificity of the treatment to the target and iseither broadcast or selective. Method is the mechanism thatallows the treatment to limit the plant and includes mechanical,chemical and biological. Each treatment is a combination ofmode and method, the choice depends on the profile of the tar-get plant. Each method functions differently to control targetplants. Mechanical methods remove the plant and thus futurepropagules. This removes the plant, depletes the root energyreserves as plants attempt to resprout, and limits the ability foron-site reintroduction. Chemical methods disrupt biochemicalpathways by changing the plants' ability to, for example, regulate

growth hormones or form enzymes used in photosynthesis.Biological methods include a variety of host-specific insects,fungi, viruses and bacteria that limit the success of the targetplant to grow and reproduce.

All the advantages (Table 2) and the disadvantages (Table 3)may not apply to each situation, but should be considered. Theintegration of ownership goals and IVM situation profile deter-mine the combinations of methods and modes to consider. Usethe treatment that is least intrusive and has the lowest environ-mental impact, but that gives an adequate level of effectivenessand efficiency. Managers should independently scrutinize eachsituation, assess the likelihood of potential advantages and dis-advantages, and discuss treatment options with the owner (ifnot your land) to achieve management goals with minimal costs.

Hypothetical ExampleHere is a hypothetical example of IVM in practice.1. Profile - multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) has invaded a 60-

year-old hardwood forest. Positive identification confirms it isnot a desired species. The plants have an average height ofover 5 feet. The shrub's abundance has reduced wildflowerdiversity and will restrict the future regeneration of desiredhardwoods. The shrub has reduced access by the owner intothis section of the woods. A moderate to large deer herd islikely helping to favor the multiflora rose (not heavily browsed)over desired species. The shrub dominates 15 acres of theproperty and has spotty but limited presence in other areas.The manager recommends at least 90% control, sustained for10 to 12 years, to ensure successful hardwood natural regen-eration. The desire to control the shrub is fairly high and theowner wants to avoid a prolonged treatment period.

2. Response Selected - The owner and manager want to mini-mize the use of herbicides, but recognize that some herbicidewill be needed to kill the root system in an effort to minimizesoil disturbance. They opt for a combination of selectivemechanical and selective chemical treatments. The prescrip-tion involves cutting the shrub and applying an appropriateherbicide to the freshly cut surface of the stump (NOTE -check with your local office of Cooperative Extension forassistance in the selection and application of herbicides).The owner has the equipment and labor necessary to applythis type of treatment at a reasonable cost. The cut stemswill be left clustered but not piled in an effort to impede theaccess of deer to the area and minimize their impact.Further, the owner works with hunters on his property andneighbors to increase the harvest of female deer. Initial IVMefforts will concentrate in the main area of infestation, butalso expand to scattered shrubs. In future years, the ownerwill pull small shrubs as they are noticed or apply a selectivefoliar herbicide to areas having numerous small scatteredmultiflora rose shrubs. A forester has developed a prescrip-

tion to open the forest canopy to increase sunlight and furtheraid in hardwood seedling regeneration.

3. Why not other treatments - Each situation is different and thetreatments used by one owner might not work in the future ormight not work for the neighbor's need. The owners andmanagers decided against selective foliar herbicide spraysbecause these would not have been as effective given theshrub's abundance and height. Repeated cutting would notsufficiently control the shrub and would have required repeat-ed entry that the owner did not have time to complete.Grubbing and excavation was deemed too disruptive to thesoil in this location. Controlled grazing with silvopasture princi-ples would work, but the owner lacked access to livestock orfunds for fencing.

The complexity of IVM rests primarily in understanding the biol-ogy of the plant and the relative merits of the different treatmentoptions. Most owners will benefit from the advice of foresters orothers trained and experienced in plant biology and vegetationmanagement. Consult with your state's forestry agency andCooperative Extension Service to help identify people who canhelp. A recorded web conference of IVM, including descriptionsof several problem species, is provided atwww.ForestConect.info

Peter J. Smallidge is a New York State Extension Forester withCornell University Cooperative Extension. He may be reachedat pjs23@cornell.edu or visit www.ForestConnect.info

Strategies to Control Undesirable andInterfering Vegetation in Your Forest

FOREST, FIELD AND WOODLOT

Flame weeding is an organic control option that provides con-trol for some woody species such as autumn olive, bush hon-eysuckle, and barberry.

A productive hardwood forest, reverted from an abandonedagricultural field.

Land managers need to understand the biology of the speciesthey hope to control. Biennial plants, such as the garlic mus-tard (Alliaria petiolata) pictured, or woody shrubs may have oneor more years of vegetative growth before they produce fruit. Examples of vegetation management techniques.

Potential advantages of method-mode approaches to vegeta-tion management

Potential disadvantages of method-mode approaches to veg-etation management

This native honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) has no interferingqualities, although other species of honeysuckle can becomeproblematic. Photos by Peter J Smallidge

By Elisabeth Rosen

It was a winter morning in 2006, and Lou Lego was indignant.Leafing through Core Report, an apple industry magazine, hehad discovered a startling claim: the new disease-resistantapple varieties which had produced beautiful fruit on his ownfarm did not have the "quality" to be grown in large commer-cial orchards. "This was certainly not our experience," Lousays, his voice as flavorful as the heritage apples he favorsover more conventional fruits like Empire and Red Delicious.

Over 25 years, Lou has experimented with many apple vari-eties, growing newer disease-resistant strains alongside clas-sic European and early American fruit with names rich in his-tory: Northern Spy, Bramley's seedling. The most successfulapples become fixtures on Elderberry Pond, the family's 100acre certified organic farm in Auburn, NY. Visit the farm, andyou can try them all in the tasting room or in the farm restau-rant run by Lou's son Chris, a Culinary Institute of Americagraduate, where the prized heirloom apples are baked intoseasonal desserts like a baked apple nest featuring CavilleBlanc d'Hiver. Disease-resistant varieties have grown well atElderberry Pond for several years, but Lou thinks that CoreReport discouraged their use because grower's associationslike the New York State Apple Association, which producesCore Report, receive much of their financial support fromchemical companies. If they endorsed disease-resistantapples, which do not have to be treated with chemical sprays,the chemical companies would lose revenue and perhapsreduce their support to the grower's associations.

So Lou came up with the idea of carrying out a systematicevaluation. By comparing new disease-resistant apples topopular commercial and heritage varieties, he could showgrowers that these varieties really could work for them. Louemphasizes that the stakes are high. Apples are number oneon the Dirty Dozen (the annual list produced by the USDAEWG, which lists the 12 most pesticide-laden fruits and veg-etables). For both organic and non-organic farmers, disease-resistant apples provide an easy way to reduce chemicalexposure.

The Proof is in the PieHow do you prove that one apple is better than another? Theanswer seems simple: take a bite. But since many peoplecook apples as well as eating them raw, getting to the core ofthe matter required considerable effort. With help from aSARE grant, Lou and his co-workers harvested an exhaustivevariety of apples and prepared them in several different ways.They squeezed the fruit into juice and cider, baked it into pie,sliced and dried it, and of course, set some aside for plain oldmunching. A panel of tasters decided which products tastedbest.

"I think every farmer has questions that they would like to

have answered," Lou says. "The farmer grant program is anopportunity to do evaluations to answer these questions foryou and for other farmers." And even though writing the pro-posal can be onerous, he points out that putting your plansdown on paper can help you organize your farm's future-evenif you don't end up getting funding.

An Apple in the Hand...For straight-up eating, the top 10 list contains mostly familiarnames- Gala, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp-as well as a fewmore unusual varieties like Pink Pearl, a crisp, tart apple withsignature bright pink skin, and Esopus Spitzenberg, a spicyheirloom rumored to be a favorite of Thomas Jefferson (it'salso Lou's apple of choice.) But for juicing, there were somesurprising results. Gala, which ranked high among the eatingapples, produced a disappointingly bland juice. "You can't picka great juicing or cider apple by tasting it out of hand," Lousays, explaining that when you bite into an apple, this pro-duces "volatile flavor bursts" that disappear when the apple iscrushed and juiced.

Another surprising finding: many sweet-tasting apples, likePound Sweet, were low in soluble sugars-and vice versa. It'slow acidity and not sugar content, Lou says, which providesthe sweetness that we taste when we bite into a Honey Crisp.

Lou's favorite findings, of course, are those which confirm hissupport for disease-resistant fruit. Pristine, the farm's best-selling apple-a disease-resistant variety developed by thePurdue, Rutgers, Illinois (PRI) breeding program-was afavorite among taste testers. And several other disease-resist-ant apples also scored high (see sidebar for complete details).

A Sustainable FutureLou hopes that the project will encourage larger growers toplant some of the new disease-resistant varieties. It looks likehe may have gained a following: after publicizing his results,Lou received scores of invitations to present at conferencesand apple festivals throughout the Northeast. But althoughgrowers might be grateful for the findings, home cooks mightbe just as thrilled to finally know exactly which apples to usein that Thanksgiving pie.

This article discusses SARE grant FNE07-614. To view thefinal report, visit http://mysare.sare.org/mySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewProj&pn=FNE07-614. For moreinformation, contact Lou Lego at llego@baldcom.net.

Elisabeth Rosen was a summer intern with the Cornell SmallFarms Program in 2011.

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 9

An old Pennsylvania Dutch apple called "Smokehouse"Photos by Lou Lego

Welcome to the Northeast SARE Spotlight!

SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Researchand Education) offers grants to farmers,educators, universities and communi-ties that are working to make agricul-ture more sustainable - economically,environmentally, and socially. Learnabout whether a SARE grant would be agood fit for you.

For Disease-Resistant Apples,A Moment in the SunLou Lego found the best apple varieties for each culinary use.

Apples being dried for taste testing.

Sustainable Community Grants - Due October 19, 2011Sustainable Community Grants - Due October 19, 2011Sustainable Community Grants are for projects thatstrengthen the position of sustainable agriculture as itaffects community economic development. Communitiesand commercial farmers must benefit from these proposals,and the selection emphasis is on model projects that otherscan replicate.We also look for projects that are likely tobring about durable and positive institutional change andfor projects that benefit more than one farm. Grants arecapped at $15,000. Learn more at:http://nesare.org/get/sustainable-community

Partnership Grants - Due November 1, 2011Partnership Grants are for agricultural service providers--extension staff, consultants, nonprofits, state departmentsof agriculture, and others working in the agricultural com-munity--who want to conduct on-farm demonstrations,research, marketing, and other projects with farmers ascooperators. Partnership Grants allow agricultural serviceproviders to explore topics in sustainable production andmarketing in cooperation with client farmers. The goal is tobuild knowledge farmers can use, encourage the under-standing and widespread use of sustainable techniques,and strengthen working partnerships between farmers andfarm service providers. Projects must take place on farmsor directly involve farm businesses. Reviewers look for well-designed inquiries into how agriculture can enhance theenvironment, improve the quality of life, or be made moreprofitable through good stewardship. Grants are capped at$15,000. Learn more at: http://nesare.org/get/partnership/

Farmers Grants - Due December 1, 2011Farmer Grants are for commercial producers who have aninnovative idea they want to test using a field trial, on-farmdemonstration, or other technique. Farmer Grants let com-mercial producers explore new ideas in production or mar-keting; reviewers look for innovation, potential for improvedsustainability and results that will be useful to other farm-ers. Projects should be technically sound and explore waysto boost profits, improve farm stewardship, or have a posi-tive impact on the environment or the farm community.Grants are capped at$15,000.Learn more at: http://nesare.org/get/farmers/

Upcoming SARE GrantDeadlines

SARE offers sustainable agriculture grants, bul-letins, books, an online events calendar and

many other resources. Learn more about theNortheast SARE program by visiting

www.nesare.org or by contacting NortheastSARE 655 Spear Street University of Vermont,

Burlington VT 05405 Phone (802) 656-0471Fax (802) 656 -0500 E-mail: nesare@uvm.edu

Taste Test ResultsBest Eating Pristine (DR), Gala, HoneycrispBest Pie Baking Duchess, Smokehouse, Northern Spy,

Enterprise (DR)Best Juice: Esopus Spitzenberg, Enterprise (DR),

Goldrush (DR)Best Drying: Esopus Spitzenberg, Pink Pearl (DR),

Enterprise (DR)Best Fresh Slice: Enterprise(DR), Winesap, Cameo,

Goldrush (DR)

(DR = Disease Resistant)

Page 10 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

Small Farm Quarterly

Youth PageThe youth pages are written by andfor young people. Many thanks to the4-H'ers who contributed to this issue.We believe there's a bright future foryoung farmers in the Northeast.Whether you live on a farm or only wish you did, we'd love to hear from you.

More information about theCornell Cooperative Extension

4-H Youth Development program can be found at:

http://nys4h.cce.cornell.edu

BByy MMeerreeddiitthh BBeellll

Through the 4-H program, I have been able totravel to Cornell University and choose acareer class. I chose "A small Farm Dream!"Living on a farm with different things likecattle, sheep, crops, and horses, I thoughtthat I knew almost everything about farming,how it works, and what jobs are availablethrough farming. I can certainly tell you I waswrong. There is so much more to farmingthan I can imagine and "Small Farm Dream"helped me understand that.

Throughout the three day class, we visitedmany interesting places, both on campus andalso off. Our first visit was to theMacDaniel's Nut Grove, which was located ina part of woods on campus. Mr. Ken Mudgeshowed us a few projects he and his gradu-ate students are working on, and new experi-mental ways to make a profit. One of theirmain projects in mushroom production, andwe even got to inoculate our own logs withmushroom spawn. We drilled holes aboutfour inches apart in a straight line, andmade four rows around the log. We filledthese holes with a sawdust mixture that willstart the growth of the mushrooms. Next wepainted a thin coat of wax on each of theholes. This helps to keep the moisture in the

log to create the right environment formushroom spawn. We all took a log home,and if we soak our logs, next summer weshould get about two crops of mushrooms.

Our second day consisted of visits to DilmunHill Farm, Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheeseand Black Diamond Orchard. Dilmun Hill wason campus, and run by different studentmanagers. They showed us their organic pro-duce farm, and the methods in which theygrow their crops. We got to learn about thedifferent vegetable families and how theyhave similar characteristics. We also learnedhow important it is to have your farm on acrop rotation, and the different ways torotate your farm. If crop rotation is notdone, your produce can be more susceptibleto disease.

Our next visit was to Finger LakesFarmstead Cheese. For many of us this wasthe most interesting, since it is not a com-mon field trip for most people. Ms. NancyRichards explained the process of makingcheese and how crucial it is to keep harmfulbacteria out of the processing rooms. Shethen took us into the Cheese cave, where allof the aging cheese is kept in a humid, chilledroom. We ended the tour with a taste of theamazing cheese from the creamery.

Our last stop was at Black DiamondOrchard, owned by Mr. & Mrs. Ian and JackieMerwin. We met them in their cherry orchardpicking ripe cherries, which were very delicious!They gave us a full tour of the entire farm;they grow many different types of fruit. Wealso got to see the different stages of fruitplanted and the various growing methodsthat Ian uses to produce better quality. Healso showed us many alternatives for keepingpests under control. One of my favoriteswas the Pheromone Trap, which is a trap thatuses female scents to attract males. There

are animal pests, too. Ian says that "when itcomes to fruit, the best pest repellent isfencing and netting." We then finished ourday with helping Ian and Jackie pick cherries,which was rewarding in many different ways!

All three of the farms explained an aspect offarming which many people don't think about,the marketing. All three of the farms saidthat they sell most of their produce andcheese to local farm markets. Some alsosaid that they sold through special orders orwholesale delivery. All in all, all three farmswere an example of how small farms can bebeneficial, rewarding, and career oriented inmany ways.

The "Small Farms Dream" was a great experi-ence for me and many others also. It showedthe many different career options withinfarming, one's that never even knew existed!We got to meet new people, see the scenicIthaca area, and get hands on experiencewith farming materials. Small farms can bedreams, hobbies, careers, and lifestyles formany people, and "small Farms Dream"helped me understand that!

Meredith Bell is from Wyoming County, NYand may be reached at bellmkme@frontier-net.net.

A "Fruitful" Adventure

One of 75 varieties of unique apples grown onBlack Diamond Orchard.

Photo credit: Black Diamond Orchard

BByy NNaattaalliiaa PPaannzziirroonnii

Remember when you were a young kid and people asked youwhat you wanted to be when you grow up? I do! I always want-ed to have an animal rescue farm! This summer a bunch of4-h teens gathered together from all over New York to learnabout careers. I learned that farming isn't just putting aseed in the ground and watering the seed till it grows.Farming is actually a lot of hard work and you have to havecreativity.

The first place we went to was MacDaniel's Nut Grove. Thisfarm is located on the Cornell campus. This was very inter-esting because I never heard of forest farming before. Thepeople who worked there explained how to grow mushroomsand then let us take a log home so we can start our ownmushroom growing. Growing mushrooms is simple but theytake at least a year to harvest.

The next place we went to was Dilmun Hill Farm which is alsolocated on the Cornell campus. The people who worked therewere also students at Cornell University, so it was good toget a view point from a younger generation of people. It wasexciting to see the expressions on their face when they wereshowing off part of their section of the farm. It showed thatthere are people out there who actually have pride in whatthey do; they are not just farming because they need a job. Ithink that is very important, you have to find a career thatyou love and you're not doing for the money.

The next place we visited was a cheese making farm. NancyRichards has about 40 cows that her brother milks everyday. Then she turns that milk into cheese. Hard cheese isn'ta food that you can eat an hour after you make it. It mustgo into a cooling cave to age. Some of the cheese stays inthe cooling cave for years, depending on the type of cheeseand how big the cheese wheel is. It's not as simple as puttingthe cheese in the cooling cave and coming back in a few yearsso you can eat it. The cheese has to be flipped once in a while

so the rind on the cheese can get hardened. Cheese pro-duced in larger batches commercially always tastes differentfrom the cheese you buy on a farm.

The last place we went to was an orchard. I found the orchardvery interesting even though I live next to one at home. Ian

Merwin had over seventy five different types of apples. Healso had cherries, apricots, blueberries, prunes, and grapes.We got to learn about how he takes care of his farm andwhat type of pests they have in their farm.

The past few days I learned that there is more to life thanjust sitting around at a computer working! There are jobsthat allow you to go outside and get dirty! This experienceopened my eyes and showed me that maybe animals aren'tgoing to be the only farm pursuit in my life.

Natalia Panzironi is from Orange County, NY and may bereached at natasha.panzironi@gmail.com.

Enthusiastic student Farm Managers at Dilmun Hill offeredinspiration to the teen Career Explorers.

Not the Computer Job!

Is Farming Right for You?4H teens learn about the hard work and creativity needed to run a successful small farm during Career Exploration Days on theCornell University Campus.

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October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 11

By Martha Herbert Izzi

The Community Supported Agriculture model (CSA) - where thefarmer provides fresh produce weekly to members who havebought shares at the beginning of the season - is now one of themost popular means of marketing for the small grower. Themodel has been adopted by farmers coast to coast and contin-ues to find its way into new kitchens as more people realize thevalue of locally grown produce and the growers who provide it.

So, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the diminishingsmall-scale fishing industry has started looking to the CSAmodel as a means of survival. Small-scale fishermen havestruggled to compete for years with the behemoth industrialscale factory fleets operating in global markets. Today, there ishope for those small, mostly day-boat owners who have beenrapidly disappearing. Thanks to an innovation that began inNorth Carolina and then spread to Port Clyde, Maine in 2007,the National Atlantic Marine Alliance estimates that there areapproximately twenty other sites in the U.S. and Canada whereCommunity Supported Fisheries (CSF) are operating, and thelist is growing.

Cape Ann Fresh Catch CSFCape Ann Fresh Catch out of Gloucester, Massachusetts beganin 2009 and is now the largest Community Supported Fishery,according to Operations Manager Steve Tousignant. The CSFpurchases approximately 100,000 pounds of fish a year. It oper-ates under the administrative and purchasing arm of theGloucester Fishermans' Wives, a non-profit organization, whotook action when they saw the cultural and social erosion of theirvenerable centuries-old fishing community. It is a spiraling prob-lem that has spread rapidly in many coastal areas.

Essentially the Cape Ann model begins in Gloucester where thefish is landed and purchased by Ocean Crest Seafood, theregion's official dealer. Tousignant says, "They get the freshestfish that comes in from a core group of about three dozen, most-ly day-boats". The daily catch is then transferred to TurnerFisheries who process and package the fish, and within hours,the fish are loaded on to Cape Ann's refrigerated truck and takento the scheduled delivery sites for member pick-up. Cape Annruns on a five day delivery cycle and provides 700 summermembers with their fish.

Tousignant says, "We pay the boats a higher price than they

would receive at auction, on average about 50% more."Fishermen are encouraged to diversify their catch according tothe conditions of the ecosystem, which promotes sustainability.Cape Ann handles about seven to eight kinds of fish from theGulf of Maine; haddock, cod, pollack, ocean perch, also knownas red fish, monkfish and flat fish such as yellow tail.

The Cape Ann metric which makes the business 'economicallyviable' requires forty subscribers for bi-weekly deliveries of atleast two pounds of fish and an additional eighty members forweekly drop-offs.Meredith Lubking, Social Enterprise and Local Foods Initiative

Manager for Community Servings, in Jamaica Plain, a part ofBoston, is heavily involved with Cape Ann. She organizes one ofthe nineteen subscriber pick-up sites. This week she is distribut-ing pollack for Cape Ann and at the same time, she is handlingthe extensive produce that is delivered by CSA farmers from out-lying communities for their members, some of which overlap asCape Ann subscribers. She calls Cape Ann, "absolutely consis-tent and reliable." She says that perhaps "three of four times ayear the boats can't go out because of weather and they will calland cancel ahead of time". She smiles thinking of the emailsshe gets from subscribers asking for the "name of the boat thefish came in on.

Meredith distributes the fish which has come off the day-boatwithin the previous 24 hours, from 3-6 p.m. on Tuesdays at hersite. If the subscriber does not arrive, that order is donated byCape Ann to Community Servings which distributes 750 meals aday to the critically ill, their families and/or caregivers within ahundred mile radius. Steve Tousignant says that one week inearly August, (a time when many people vacation) for example,twenty five pounds of their fish were donated to one of three foodpantries.

Cape Ann operates on a twelve week share-purchasing sched-ule. In addition to the various white fish, they also offer Gulf ofMaine shrimp and mussels. Beginning with the winter cycle,Cape Ann will offer a Saturday pickup once a month at thePawtucket RI farmers' market at which subscribers will be able toreceive five pounds of peeled, uncooked Maine shrimp, whichwill be vacuum sealed and frozen in one pound bags. During thefive-month subscription period, they will get 20 pounds of shrimp,and each share will be priced at $150.

When questioned about Cape Ann's growth plan, Tousignantresponded, "We'd love to bring fresh seafood to as many places aswe can. We are in preliminary conversations with the western part ofthe state. But we are interested in controlled growth. Undoubtedly wecan create more jobs, and strengthen the local economy".

Cape Cod CSFMeri Rapzel is one of four proprietors involved in Cape Cod CSF,which differs from Cape Ann in that it's a for-profit model. She is aself-described "food activist" who once worked for MarineFisheries. She comes from a CSA market garden background,on a farm in New Hampshire. "I am now working with the fisher-men and local food groups trying to bring everyone together".

Meri speaks of Shannon Eldredge and her daughter who comefrom a historic fishing family in Chatham, one of the few remain-ing trap or weirs fisheries. Weir fishing is best described as a"whole empoundment set up on Nantucket Sound so that fish willswim right into nets and will continue to swim. When weir polescome down and nets are removed, those fish are back out." Sheis referring to fish, such as scup, mackerel, butterfish, and squid.Fishermen take a dory into the actual empoundment. They takewhat they need, within the quota regulated by the state. Thefishermen have dedicated a portion of the catch to the CSF.

The fourth proprieter is Linda Kelley of George's Fish Market.She is the person "who lands all the fish" because she is a deal-er and the fish are regulated through a dealer. Mary says, "Thefishermen get a better price, usually $1.00 over the auction price.Linda is landing 100 pounds a week."

In contrast to other CSF models, Meri says, "we have one loca-tion on the state harbor dock in Chatham. We are trying to pre-serve 'community fishing' which has existed on Cape Cod forhundreds of years. Ours is a large education piece for CSF sub-scribers. With a smaller subscriber number we are teaching peo-ple how to process the whole fish (we do not offer fillets) withinformation, videos, and demonstrations." An example that Meriuses is squid which "can be cooked for 60 seconds in a hot panor thrown into Portuguese stew for two hours. We are teachingpeople about species, how to handle them in the kitchen and dif-ferent options for cooking."

For summer season share holders who often don't understandthat fish is "terribly seasonal" says Meri, Cape Cod CSF is offer-ing White hake, pollock, haddock and some cod.

This is Cape Cod's second year as a CSF and the first year ofthree season shares. "We are picking up four members a weekthrough word of mouth," says Meri. In terms of cost, Cape Codprovides only whole fish for $150 per five- week cycle. There aretwo other available options. A subscriber can select two lob-sters and a half pound of scallops. That combination is a $150for five weeks. Another option is a five-week combination of finfish and scallops for $175.

Meri signs off, saying "We are trying to be fish mongers reac-quainting people with their food."

In conclusion, it is not surprising that community supported fish-eries are new to so many of us given the relatively short timethey have been in existence. Under the CSF umbrella theemphasis is on community, forming community and informingcommunity. Most of us know precious little about fish and thepeople who go out year-round and face the climate and oceanicchallenges to do what they love and to bring us fish that many ofus love. To see people picking up their weekly catch along withtheir fruits and vegetables from other local CSA farmers at theCommunity Servings distribution center was a celebratory occa-sion. The sights, sounds and smells together with the smilesmade this experience a 'ten.'

Martha Herbert Izzi is the owner of Bel Lana Farm in Chestnut,MA. She can be reached at 802-492-3346 or mhizzi@yahoo.com

COMMUNITY AND WORLD

Boat-to-Fork Community SupportedFisheries Riding a Wave

Kathy Cahill, Cape Ann Subscriber getting pollack fromMeredith Lubking Photo by Martha Izzi

Cod freshly caught and on its way to Cape Ann's CSF cus-tomers. Photo by Steve Tousignant

Cape Cod CSF member, Susan Dimm picks up her weekly fishshare from CSF coordinator Meri Ratzel and weir fishermanErnie Eldredge. Catch of the day; squid and scup.

Photo by Shareen Davis

We are pleased to introduce the communitysupported fisheries model in this edition and tofeature two of the producers and one distributorwho are creating the roadmap for direct consumer access to fresh, healthy fish fromlocal waters. In subsequent issues we will feature more 'boat to fork' stories. They areinspiring examples of innovation in a time ofdesperation that have the potential of turningthe small-scale fishing industry around.

Rt. 20, Sharon Springs, NY • (800) 887-1872 or (518) 284-23461175 Hoosick St. Troy, NY • (518) 279-9709

Page 12 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

By Kathleen Harris

The Northeast Livestock Processing Service (NELPSC) is acompany that was started by 5 farmers with a notion to helptheir fellow farmers with livestock processing problems. Now inbusiness for 6 years, NELPSC has evolved from a totally grantsupported notion to a self supporting viable LLC owned bythose same farmers who became partners. Starting with anuntested business model, it now boasts 123 farmer membersand working agreements with 11 processing plants. While itcontinues to assist small and large farmers alike with livestockprocessing, NELPSC also expanded their mission to assistfarmers with their marketing. But how did it all get started?Where is it now? And where is it headed?

About 10 years ago, Seymour Vander Veen, a dairy farmer fromSchenectady County was the sitting president of the HudsonMohawk RC&D (Resource, Conservation and Development)Council, the organization that led the charge in gathering live-stock farmers and processors together in order to solve a loom-ing problem-insufficient and unreliable USDA livestock process-ing. Vander Veen was known to illustrate the severity of theproblem by telling of his own experience in attempting to sched-ule slaughter of a veal calf. When his processor scheduled him6 months out, his response was, "are you kidding, man--by thenit won't even be veal anymore!" With new found determination,VanderVeen and 2 other RC&D Council members, EdArmstrong and John Walston joined with 2 other prominent live-stock farmers, Jim Hayes and Jim Sullivan to steer the project.Walston secured the initial funding from the David RockefellerFoundation and that was matched by New York State Ag &Markets to do the feasibility study and business plan. Uponcompletion of the feasibility study, these 5 farmers formed theNortheast Livestock Processing Service Company, LLC (NELP-SC) and became incorporated on June 1, 2005.

Soon after incorporation, they hired a Processing Coordinator,Kathleen Harris, a USDA trained livestock grader and long timemeat marketer. She was charged by the Board of Directors totake the recommendations of the feasibility study and develop alivestock processing Service Company that would help farmersnavigate the nuances of the USDA custom processing business.Initially selling the concept of the untested business model tofarmers wasn't easy. Most had a "wait and see" attitude.However, by April of 2006 the first NELPSC farmer member wassigned on and (8) USDA and New York State Custom proces-sors had working agreements with NELPSC to provide process-ing for their members. NELPSC then positioned themselvesbetween the farmers and processors to ease the developmentof the farmer/processor relationship and mitigate any problemsthat might occur there. This service is called ProcessingFacilitation and is performed on a fee-for-service basis.

Processing Facilitation includes 4 basic services: farmer/proces-sor matching, scheduling, taking and conveying cutting instruc-tions and in-plant oversight. First the NELPSC ProcessingCoordinator works one-on-one with the farmer member to deter-mine a best-fit processor for them. This is determined by match-ing the farmer's location, service needs and price point with theclosest, most affordable processor that has the capabilities tomatch. For instance, not all processors make beef patties. Somedon't put weights on the packages. And those that slaughterhogs may not be able to scald them, leaving the skin on (a pref-erence for many restaurants.)

After matching the farmer with a processor, NELPSC also willschedule for the farmers and assist with cutting instructions.Kathleen Harris, the Processing Coordinator says, "Most farm-ers new to direct marketing lack knowledge about the cuts ofmeat and are unfamiliar with the language of the processor.When I work with farmers to fill out a cut sheet I send them acopy of it for their records, in addition to sending it to theprocessor. After one or two times, and having the cut sheet as areference, the farmers quickly learn how to take their own cut-ting instructions. Most farmers take over their scheduling and

cutting instructions after the first couple of times. Our goal is forour farmer members to achieve processing independence. Weare here for as much or as little as they need us" NELPSC canalso provide in-plant oversight on a half day or full day basis tofurther allay a farmers trepidation about dealing with a newplant.

Debbie and Lee Millington from Indian Ladder farm in Little Fallsjoined NELPSC in 2008 and had this to say about the process-ing facilitation services: "We were just getting started in thebeef trade and to say we needed some direction would be anunderstatement. We had the basic concept-get the beef soldlocally...but when it came to pricing and helping customers withcutting choices, we were groping in the dark. Your advice, infor-mation and help were well worth the money. Thanks for yourpatience in answering our many questions during our frequentphone calls and for calming our fears about the processor-yourpresence on processing day was invaluable...It certainly movedour marketing to a professional level."

After a year of offering processing assistance, it became appar-ent that many farmers also needed help with marketing.Although some NELPSC farmers were savvy marketers andable to retail their products through farmers markets, restaurantsand farm stands, there still were those farmers who lacked thetime, skill or desire to market face-to-face. The NELPSC Boardof Directors recognized this and moved to assist those farmersby purchasing their grassfed and natural grainfed meats at aprice that compensated them for their efforts to produce a sus-tainable product. Michael Brunn from Schoharie County said,"I've been a farmer for 36 years and for the first time I feel like Iam finally getting an honest price for my product."

But before NELPSC could start buying the livestock, they had todevelop the outlets for such products. Because NELPSC has acore value not to compete with their farmers in the same mar-kets, they developed an outlet for those products by becomingan approved vendor with a major food service company thatsupplies colleges and institutions. The market entry require-ments were onerous and expensive and more than any one

farmer could do for themselves. And because the entire industrywas geared to purchasing inexpensive boxed meats from thelarge packing plants of the midwest, it took 2 years to overcomethe barriers before finally becoming an approved vendor.

Now as the orders come in, the livestock are sourced fromNELPSC farmers. Kathleen Harris travels to the farms to selectthe livestock and gather the farmer affidavits. She then coordi-nates slaughter and processing with the USDA and 3rd partyaudited plants, performs in-plant oversight when necessary andarranges delivery with the NELPSC refrigerated truck and thereceiving personnel. NELPSC meats are not branded. Insteadthe farm name and location is tracked with each order so thatthe purchasing institution knows exactly where their meat camefrom and where it was processed. NELPSC is presently prepar-ing orders for 15 schools (k-12), colleges and universitiesamounting to 13,000 lbs of meat from 27 head of livestock from10 different farmers. The NELPSC delivery truck signage cap-tures it all...Local Foods from Local Farms.

The NELPSC mission and values are arguably altruistic for afor-profit company. Despite that, the company continues to growsteadily with increased farmer membership, increased proces-sor agreements and increased sales each year. Grant supportwas integral to the development of NELPSC. The majority ofthose funds came from the New York Farm Viability Institute.They acknowledged that processing and marketing were prob-lems for our livestock farmers and chose to invest in NELPSCand other projects that helped to alter the course of livestockprocessing events. That investment helped to bridge the gap forlivestock farmers so they could get the processing they neededto keep their businesses sustained while the processing industrywas gearing up to take on the local food movement.

Now, there are more USDA plants, at least in this eastern regionof New York, and the future looks very bright for our livestockfarmers. Over the years, support for NELPSC was also received

from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service,Rensselaer County Economic Development Office, the HudsonMohawk RC&D Council and the New York State Senate MajorityLeader's Office. The last grant funding was received in May of2010. Since then the company has been self supporting.

To learn more about NELPSC visit www.nelpsc.com or contactKathleen Harris at (518) 258-4823.

Kathleen Harris is the Processing and Marketing Coordinator forthe Northeast Livestock Processing Service Company and canbe reached at (518) 258-4823

NON-DAIRY LIVESTOCK

Farmer Driven Company Evolves

The NELPSC team. Left to right: Seymour Vander Veen, JimSullivan, Hal Hermance, Kathleen Harris, Ed Armstrong(recently retired NELPSC owner), Jim Hayes (not pictured)

Eric Shelley, owner of Cowboy's Custom Cutting, cuts meat inhis mobile processing unit.

NELPSC refrigerated delivery truck.

Fox Hill Farm British White Cattle. Photo by Larry Lampman.

By Jim Ochterski

Many small farm operators and fruit enthusiastssee blueberries as Plan A. We all know thatblueberries are popular, tasty, and they practi-cally market themselves. But if you do not havevery well-drained, acidic soils, you have to gowith Plan B. It would be great if there was aproductive berry that very much looked andtasted like a blueberry, but was not so fickleabout soils. That's where juneberries come in.And it turns out, juneberries have severaladvantages over blueberries.

The juneberry (known commonly elsewhere asa "saskatoon berry") is a dark-colored fruit thatis grown on the Canadian prairies for wholesaleprocessing, with some fresh market and you-pick sales. The species of commercial interestis Amelanchier alnifolia, a close cousin of ourEastern serviceberry (Amelanchier canaden-sis), which is found as a tall shrub in our localforests. Juneberries are currently consideredan "uncommon" fruit with virtually no commer-cial cultivation in the Northeast US. In compari-son, juneberries are grown on almost 900 farmscovering more than 3,200 acres of production inCanada.

Juneberries are an early season fruit crop withself-pollinating, frost hardy flowers. Mature fruitis ready for harvest 45 to 60 days after the veryearly bloom; they ripen in mid-June to early Julyin most parts of New York State. This medium-sized shrub tolerates a wide range of soil pHconditions (4.8 - 8.0) and soil textures (coarsesand to silty clay). They will not tolerate soggyground or standing water, but will tolerate manyof the soil types unsuitable for blueberries.

The juneberry is native to North America, moreparticularly to the upper Midwest and northernprairie region of Canada - a bitterly cold and dryclimate with low-fertility soils. The Northeasternclimate appears to be favorable for juneberryproduction, although high humidity can lead toproblems with powdery mildew and fungal dis-eases on young plants.

The ripe juneberry fruit is dark purple, with sev-eral tiny soft seeds, and very closely resemblesa highbush blueberry. The fruit is best eatenfresh, but even after prolonged freezing, itretains its firmness and overall shape withoutbecoming mushy. Juneberries have a flavorreminiscent of dark cherries or raisins, and isgenerally milder than blueberries.

Nutritionally, juneberries seem to be naturallydesigned for athletes more than anything else:

* A typical juneberry is 18 percent sugar, andabout 80 percent water. Juneberries have alower moisture content than blueberries, sothey have relatively higher amounts of calci-um, natural fiber, proteins, carbohydratesand lipids in them.

* Juneberries are an excellent source of iron

- each serving provides about 23% RDA foriron (almost twice as much iron as blueber-ries). They contain high levels of phenoliccompounds, particularly anthocyanins, and,they provide healthy amounts of potassium,magnesium and phosphorous.

* Juneberries have about as much vitamin C,thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, vitaminB-6, folate, vitamin A and vitamin E as blue-berries, and also trace amounts of biotin.

The key to successful establishment of ajuneberry orchard is thorough weed control.Having evolved in a fire-oriented ecosystem,juneberries need two or three years of zerocompetition from other plants while theybecome established. There are many ways tomaintain this "barren soil" environment, andblack fabric mulch appears to be best (youknow - so it looks as though a prairie wildfirehad swept through).

With all these great features, juneberries areprimed to grow from a minor berry to a morecommon high-value fruit crop in the comingyears. Consumers are ready for a new fruit,especially one with a familiar and appealingtaste. During a juneberry tasting session, wereceived many positive responses from morethan 1,500 samples.

If you want to get juneberries in the ground,start by developing your rows well in advance ofordering or delivery. Rows should be spaced10 - 12 feet apart, planning for about 4 feetbetween bushes. The first crop will be readythree years after planting, and bushes will yield4 - 6 pounds of berries annually.

Plant material for small-scale commercial plant-ings can be hard to find, since it is a new crop.Most plants are currently purchased fromCanadian nurseries, but several Michigan-based operations are increasing their inventoryof juneberry plants.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of OntarioCounty is leading a detailed project to givesmall-scale fruit growers a realistic sense of theagronomic suitability of juneberries and howwell this crop might or might not go over withconsumers. The project has been made possi-ble by the Northeast Sustainable AgricultureResearch and Education program (NESARE).Four farms signed on to provide testing groundsfor more than 400 juneberry plants of four differ-ent varieties. We will post all new information atour website at www.juneberries.org.

Jim Ochterski is the project leader to introducejuneberries in the Northeast. He is based atthe Cornell Cooperative Extension office inCanandaigua, NY (Ontario County) and has anongoing interest in sustainable, native cropswith significant commercial potential. Jim canbe reached at 585-394-3977 x402 orjao14@cornell.edu.

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 13

Juneberries - They Go WhereBlueberries Can't

HORTICULTURE

Commercial juneberries are very productive andappealing Photos by Jim Ochterski

Juneberries will be a good fit for you-pick fruitfarms

Page 14 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

By Crystal Stewart

It is rare to see a group of all women circled in a farm field,kicking at the dirt and talking about the weather. But acrossthe northeast for the last two years, women have been gettingtogether to do just that, and to gain all the benefits that comefrom having a group to talk farming with. A total of 180 ofthese women across the Northeast have come togetherthrough a program organized by Holistic ManagementInternational, an organization which advocates balancing thesocial, environmental and economic aspects of farming toincrease quality of life. Funding was provided by a USDA/NIFAgrant, which has allowed all participants to attend ten days oftraining free of charge.

The program launched in the Winter of 2010, when womengathered at farms and community centers in New York, NewHampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maineintent on learning to be better farmers. Some were fresh outof school or internships and were thinking of starting their ownfarm; some were looking to use their land for agriculture duringretirement. Many had already begun farming, and were espe-cially eager to learn how to do a better job of everything frommarketing products to purchasing the right equipment. Amongthe eager faces in each room were two women farmer men-tors, ready to meet with each beginning farmer individuallyover the course of the season and help with specific issuesduring on-farm meetings.

The ten week program began not with discussions of crop oranimal specific issues, but with a bigger picture question: Whatis your whole farm plan? Who has a say in decisions on thefarm, and what do those people want their lives to be like bothnow and in the future? How does the farm work to enhancethat goal? All other decisions would be made with this wholefarm plan in mind, from choosing enterprises to adjusting man-agement practices.

After articulating a goal for the farm and its decision makers,weeks were spent hashing out the details. First, participantstackled finances. This was a tough couple of weeks for manypeople, particularly those who had not previously spent timedetermining if their enterprises or potential enterprises wereprofitable. Quite a few were not. Fortunately, everyone hadtime to carefully look at their expenses and their income.Groups helped each other brainstorm ways to cut mainte-nance costs while protecting wealth generating expenses andlater helped each other develop better marketing plans toincrease revenue. If an enterprise simply couldn't be profitable,groups brainstormed other enterprises that could be and still fitinto the farmer's whole farm plan. In looking back on the classrecently, Mary Beth Welsh, a farmer from the 2011 class saidof the financial planning sessions, "[this] portion of the classmade it very clear that to be successful, understanding thefinancial issues and catching errors early is essential to keepmoving forward ..." When asked immediately after the ses-sions about attitude change, 95% of participants said they hadgained confidence about writing a business plan. Five monthsafter the course was finished, 43% of survey respondents indi-cated that they had actually developed a financial plan. Onefarmer survey respondent wrote the following about financialplanning's effect five months later: "The budget planning that

we did at the beginning of the season set me and my husbandon a solid path for our first season of farming: we exceededour planned profit, in part thanks to the decision making andbudgeting tools I learned from HMI."

As the weather warmed, sessions moved outdoors, andfocused more on "nuts and bolts" aspects of farming includingsoil health, biological monitoring and management of animalsto improve the land and increase productivity/profitability, andinfrastructure planning. Many of these sessions took place onparticipants' farms, where the group was able to first assessthe situation and then brainstorm improvements. Lunchtimesduring these summer sessions were filled with talk of animalbreeds, cultivation equipment, and countless tips and tricks.Tours of each farm were a highpoint for many participants,many of whom had not been able to spend so much time onanother person's farm. The diversity of farms was seen as apositive, even if the enterprises were not exactly in line withwhat each participant was doing. Tricia Park, 2010 class par-ticipant, noted," It was interesting to see the age differencesand different types of farms- but we all had a common goal:Doing what we love and making it successful."

Another highpoint for some participants came during biologicalmonitoring sessions, when lawn darts were used to take adetailed inventory of what was happening in pastures ratherthan making "windshield assessments." Participants quicklylearned how to identify signs of biological activity, healthy nutri-ent and water cycling, and efficient energy flow, all of whichcontribute to the productivity of the land. They learned to be

thorough, and to look for positive change from year to year ina given field. Many participants have indicated in surveys thattheir productivity and animal health has improved after learn-ing to better manage pastures.

The benefits of the last two years' programs will continue onbased on the relationships formed by participants in the pro-gram. A listserve has been created for participants to keep intouch and ask questions, and some states have decided tokeep meeting, often combining participants from years oneand two. One of my favorite thoughts from my conversationwith Mary Beth was on this very topic: "Being part of thisgroup has opened up an entire network which also includeswomen from previous and future classes - women I haven'teven met yet." This is a very true statement-the grant has onemore year of funding, so another twenty women will be accept-ed from the pool of applicants in each state. Anyone with lessthan ten years of farming is welcome to apply.

Crystal Stewart is the Regional Agriculture Specialist with theCapital District Vegetable and Small Fruit program. She taughtfinancial planning, animal impact, soils and marketing for thisprogram. She can be reached at (518) 775-0018 orcls263@cornell.edu. See the resource spotlight for more infor-mation on the Beginning Women Farmer program and con-tacts for your state.

WOMEN FARMERS

Beginning Women Farmer ProgramProvides Tools for Personal andProfessional Growth

Beginning Women Farmers and their mentors planning infra-structure at Hawthorne Valley Farm

A Beginning Woman Farmer who worked at Hawthorne Valleyshowing other BWF's how to secure floating row cover

Photos by Crystal Stewart

Hawthorne Valley Farm's Vegetable Farmer talking about theiroperation.

Empowering Beginning WomenFarmers CoordinatorsRegional CoordinatorLauren LinesCentral NY RC&D Project, Inc.99 North Broad Street, Norwich, NY 13815607-334-3231, ext. 4llrlines@aol.com,

Local Coordinators Bill Duesing / Deb Legge - CTConnecticut NOFABox 164, Stevenson, CT 06491-0164203-888-5146bduesing@mac.com / deb@ctnofa.org

Devon Whitney-Deal - MACommunity Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)1 Sugarloaf Street, South Deerfield, MA 01373413-665-7100 x22devon@buylocalfood.org

Gail Chase - MEWAgN Maine314 Clark Road, Unity, ME 04988207-568-7599gchase@kvcog.org

Kate Kerman - NHSmall and, Beginner Farmers of New HampshirePhoenix Farm Learning Center350 Troy Road, Marlborough, NH 03455603-876-4562leader@sbfnh.org

Lauren Lines - NYCentral New York RC&D99 North Broad Street, Norwich, NY 13815607-334-3231llrlines@aol.com,

Jessie Schmidt - VTUVM Extension 617 Comstock Road, Suite 5, Berlin, VT 05602-9194 802-223-2389 extension 203 or toll free: 866-860-1382 extension 203jessica.a.schmidt@uvm.edu

By Lindsey Lusher-Shute

With farmers retiring faster than they're being replaced, a lot ofpeople are worried about who will be feeding America in fiftyyears. There is growing interest among young people in farmingcareers, but they are experiencing significant barriers that arekeeping them from realizing their potential in agriculture-andpreventing the nation from renewing its farming population.In June, eleven beginning farmers, representing ten key states,traveled to the nation's capital to talk to their elected officialsabout what they need to succeed and how the federal govern-ment can help. A diverse group, including the NationalSustainable Agriculture Coalition, Center for Rural Affairs, LandStewardship Project, Maine Organic Farmers and GardenersAssociation, Practical Farmers of Iowa, The Land Connection,California Farm Link and the National Young Farmers' Coalition,organized the trip.

The primary focus of the meetings was the "Beginning Farmersand Ranchers Opportunity Act of 2011". This soon-to-be-intro-duced bill, sponsored by Representative Waltz of Minnesota andSenator Harkin of Iowa, contains a set of provisions to fix, fundand add to existing USDA programs for young and beginningfarmers in the US. The hope is that the bill will be rolled into theeventual Farm Bill legislation.

The Farm Bill first recognized beginning farmers in 1990, defin-ing farmers of any age in their first ten years. The 2008 bill wentfurther by expanding programs and adding new grant money fortraining. The Opportunity Act seeks to build on the 2008 bill.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), over-seen by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),is one of the programs that would go further to help beginners.This program shares in the cost of conservation-minded farmimprovements, such as cover crop planting and hoop houses.One of the current challenges with EQIP is that farmers mustpay for these projects up front and then be reimbursed byUSDA, which can pose a significant challenge for limitedresource beginners. The existing program allows beginningfarmers a 30% advance on the cost of the project, and the Actwould up that advance payment to 50% of the project cost. Theresulting payment from the USDA would be the same, butbeginners would need to come up with less cash to get theirprojects started. The program would also give additional prefer-ence to beginning farmers, at least 10% of program funds.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan rules would also be revampedunder the Opportunity Act. FSA's direct farm ownership loans,an important tool for farmers looking to buy land, are nowcapped at $300,000--which doesn't go far in the many realestate markets. The Opportunity Act would give FSA the discre-tionary authority to adjust the current loan limit upwards inregions with exceptionally high real estate prices, making theseloans more applicable in the Northeast.

The Opportunity Act would also help more beginners qualify forFSA farm ownership loans by reducing the requirement for farmmanagerial experience. At present, growers must have threeyears of farm ownership or managerial experience to qualify fora loan. The Opportunity Act reduces that requirement to twoyears and directs FSA to consider a broader range of farmexperience, including apprenticeships, on-farm employment andmentorships as relevant experience in meeting the requirement.

Access to capital being one of the most significant barriers togetting a farm business started, one of the most exciting ele-ments of the Opportunity Act is a newly proposed microloanprogram. The Act would enable FSA to serve young growersmore effectively by creating a new category of microloans loans.As written, the microloan program offers growers ages 20-35 upto $35,000 in assistance. The loans would be marketed toyoung people, with simplified paperwork and loan requirements.

Another way to get capital into the hands of beginners isthrough Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) or a matchedsavings account. This model, now employed by non-profit organ-izations in California, Iowa and Michigan, helps growers savemoney in their first years by matching up to a specific amount ofmoney for farm investments. During the saving period, programparticipants are typically required to attend business develop-ment classes and they may be matched with a mentor. A pilotIDA program was authorized for 15 states in the 2008 Farm Bill,but despite advocacy efforts, it yet to receive funding fromCongress. The Opportunity Act proposes that IDAs receivemandatory funding.

The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program(BFRDP), a competitive grant program that supports universitiesand non-profits in the training of beginning farmers, would alsobe reauthorized and given more funding in the Opportunity Act.Two recipients in New York State include Cornell University and

the NY Organic Farming Association. Cornell's funds were usedto start a Beginning Farmer Learning Network among hundredsof service providers in the Northeast, as well as an educationalwebsite and video series. With help from BFRDP, NOFA-NYhired a beginning farmer specialist and offered new classes tar-geted at new and aspiring growers.

There is much more to the Beginning Farmer and RanchersOpportunity Act, and help is needed to win bill sponsors andlocal support. To read the full set of proposals and engage yourlocal member of Congress on the issue of beginning farmers,visit the National Young Farmers' Coalition at youngfarmers.org.

For more information on the National Young Farmer Coalition orbeginning farmer issues pertaining to the upcoming Farm Bill,contact Lindsey Lusher-Shute at Lindsey@youngfarmers.org or917.318.1488.

By Patricia Brhel

Cheese unexpectedly became controversial atfarmers markets across New York State in thesummer of 2011. One duty of the New YorkState Department of Agriculture is inspectingand enforcing New York state law regardingsafe distribution of farm products. In late June,they stepped into New York City's GreenMarket and shut down several artisanal cheesevendors who had been cutting cheese on siteand selling it to their customers. New YorkState Agriculture and Markets Law, Article 20C,states that anyone cutting cheese for sale musthave a processing license and do so in anapproved facility.

This means that farmers markets without elec-tricity, running water or refrigeration on site cannot allow an artisanal cheese producer to cuttheir product to order at the market. To sell at amarket without modern amenities, cheese ven-dors can legally cut the cheese at their farm, ina room approved and licensed for that pur-pose, and pre-wrap it in plastic so that it isproperly sealed. They can then use an icechest to keep the product at the proper temper-ature, only displaying a small amount of prod-uct at a time.

Cheese producers and many of their cus-tomers, used to having their cheese custom cutwhile they waited, were not happy and let it beknown. As a result, the law was temporarilyrescinded on July 1. If the cheese is cut in asanitary manner, it does not have to cut in alicensed processing facility. This temporarysolution regarding enforcement of the law isgood through September 28, 2011. During thisperiod, the determination currently exemptsanyone cutting cheese at a farmer's market

from the need to obtain a processing license.

"While the degree of enforcement has varied,the law has been in place for years and it'salways required a processing license for thepremises or pre-packaging of items like sand-wiches and cheese that require sanitary condi-tions. It's not because we're trying to interferewith the farmers business, it makes sense froma health standpoint. Some people will willinglyfollow sanitary guidelines and some marketshave a clean space. Others do not know therules or are careless. Some markets, becauseof their location, have rodent or insect prob-lems. Even though Article 20C has been tem-porarily rescinded, anyone cutting cheese at a

market still needs to follow basic sanitaryguidelines. They need to keep the product cold,wear gloves and restrain their hair. They needto sanitize the cutting surface and the knifethey use, or change the knife frequently toensure that it's sanitary. Hand washing is veryimportant. Soft cheeses should still be prepack-aged, but hard cheeses such as cheddar andprovolone can be cut on site. Retail rules alsoapply. "The type of cheese needs to be identi-fied with a label, the price per pound promi-nently displayed and the cut pieces labeledwith the identity of the wheel of cheese fromwhich the slice was obtained," according toMichael Moran, press officer, New York StateDepartment of Agriculture and Markets.

"While we're doing OK, as we can precut ourcheese and sell it at the Central New YorkRegional market in Syracuse, it's certainly cutinto the profits of many of our vendors. We sellabout 60 kinds of cheese at the RegionalMarket, so most of what we stock is precutanyhow, but we also sell wholesale to many ofthe farm markets in the area. Until this latestpush on enforcement they had been able tobuy a 10 lb. block of cheddar and other cheeseeach week and cut it to order for their cus-tomers. Now many of them can't do that. Forinstance, one of our customers buys about tenpounds of cheese a week. She used to buy awheel and cut it to order for her customers.Now we must deliver the cheese pre-wrappedand she's not making as much of a profit, bothbecause the pre-wrapped cheese is moreexpensive. In order to cut the cheese on site,she'd have to install a three bay sink and doother remodeling, but the difference in earningswouldn't justify that," according to MollyBuchanen of Buttercup Cheese from CentralSquare, NY. "We've never had anyone get sickfrom our cheese, but I suppose not everyone isas careful about cleanliness as we are.Nowadays, too, there are a lot more peoplewilling to sue, looking for an easy out, so itmakes sense that Ag and Market is requiringthis. It's just a shame that after all these years

in business -- we've been selling cheese since1969 -- that we have to make these changes."The Governor's office is considering makingthe current determination, which rescinds theneed for a processing license at the marketlocation, permanent. The regulations can befound at http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/regis-ter/2011/jul20/pdfs/rules.pdf. Text of the rulesand analysis can be obtained from StephenStich, Director, Food Safety and Inspection. Forinformation or to comment contact,Stephen.stich@agmkt.state.ny.us, or call 518-457-4492. Check at the New York State regis-ter, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/register.htm,in October for the state's final decision.

Pat Brhel is a community volunteer and free-lance writer who lives in Caroline, N.Y. She canbe reached at lsparrow@hotmail.com or 607-539-9928.

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 15

Aaron Snow holding a piece of prewrappedcheese Photos by Patricia Brhel

New York Cheese Wrapped UpLOCAL FOODS AND MARKETING

Cheese wheels

NEW FARMERS

Young Farmers Take Their Message toWashington

Young farmers take their message to Washington DCPhoto by: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Page 16 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

By Ulf Kintzel

If you are raising animals and are looking for anadditional option to sell your product, consider sell-ing it through a buying club. I do. While this methodis the most involved and also the most nerve-wrack-ing, it is also one of the least vulnerable options ofall my sales, only second to my direct sales off thefarm. Half way through reading this article you mightstart thinking that the local sales barn is not such abad option after all, and I agree. Running a buyingclub is anything but easy. Yet, in the end it is reward-ing and I don't want to be without mine. So, here itgoes:

When I left New Jersey and moved to upstate NewYork, one customer from near "the city" (in NewJersey that refers to New York City) asked me todeliver her lamb order to her. I asked her to get menine additional orders to make it worth my while andshe did. Fast forward, it is 4 years later and the lambsales have grown from ten lambs once a year to atotal of 50 lambs split into two annual deliveries offrozen, custom-harvested whole and half lamborders. Each time I plan a delivery, I have to set amaximum number of orders, dictated by what I canload in my car in the summer and in my truck in thefall, and I always sell out within two days ofannouncing the delivery. The economic downturn putabsolutely no dent into these sales. The customer base isextremely broad and represents a complete cross section ofthe population (although it all more or less started with achapter group of the Weston A. Price foundation that passedthe info around). My competition in that region is "WholeFoods", also referred to as "Whole Paycheck" due to itsextremely high prices. My prices are lower and my lamb isbetter.

My initial e-mail to all potential customers lays out the termsand conditions - as far as pickup location and time is con-cerned. It stresses that I will be at that location for the hourspecified. It also offers cutting instructions to choose from. Itgives a price list for whole and half lamb orders. The pricesare the same as the ones picked up at the farm and I chargea $20 delivery fee per order no matter what the size of theorder is. It encourages people to put in larger orders. Halflamb orders are the most work but cost the same delivery fee.The delivery fee covers the travelling cost well, even at highgas prices. Does it also pay for my time? No, it does not.However, the drop-off location is near Clifton, NJ which isbasically Polish. So is my wife which means we use the trip togo shopping in an authentic Polish store and eat lunch at areal Polish restaurant. The kids are always with us. Yet anotherexample of making farming a lifestyle, don't you think?

I do all communication by e-mail and I save all correspon-dence. My initial e-mail states that all correspondence will beby e-mail and that one should not order if he or she does notcheck e-mail frequently enough...just don't be surprised if youget a call or two anyway from folks wanting to order by phone.I do everything by e-mail for my own sake, so that I am able to

keep track If I discuss things over the phone I will have for-gotten half of what was said by the time I have hung up.Having everything in e-mails helps me to remember. Secondly,I do so to avoid arguments. A customer might say, "I had noground meat in my order. Where is my ground meat?". I cango back in my e-mails, re-send their cutting instructions andsimply say "Sorry, you didn't order any, you ordered stew meatinstead. Do you want ground meat with your next order?". Thatstops an argument before it begins and the customer won'tget mad. Here and there I do indeed make a mistake. The vol-ume of information is at times too big to process. The bestway of dealing with it is admitting it without excuses and offer-ing something to make up for it. In one instance the mistakewas big enough that I waived the delivery fee. The customer isstill ordering, so it must have worked.

As far as the customers are concerned, buying clubs are notfor everyone. In a society where people are used to gettingwhatever they want whenever they want it, it is not easy toconvey the message that they have to be at a certain hour ata certain location and that the product cannot be left at thelocation. They MUST be there to pick it up. Most get it. Somedo not. Some also just do not have the organizational skills toplan ahead, leave early enough from home, and be on time.These few make it at times difficult and nerve-wracking, evenaggravating at times. What to do with those few? I am sorry tosay but you just drop them as customers. The whole buyingclub will not work otherwise and will suffer because of a few.

Initially, I had read about buying clubs in an article by JoelSalatin. He stressed how rigorous he is about pre-paymentand pickup time. I agree that without such rigid rules it won'twork. Some people do get upset with you over this. Some alsoget upset that the lamb needs to be paid for well in advance,

even well before harvest. I believe the great majority under-stands and is grateful to get lamb delivered that would other-wise not be accessible to them or only accessible at fargreater effort and cost. And the orders and the feedback ofthese folks reflect just that. The orders come in like clockworkand the feedback is always great.

New customers need to be educated a lot. It isentirely possible that there is an e-mail exchange of10 e-mails going back and forth just to agree onhow the lamb should be cut. That is understandablesince most of these folks initially know absolutelynothing. Here is one example: "I want all four legscut in half and boneless". Sorry, there are only twolegs. The front legs are the shoulders and aren'tcalled leg of lamb. Once educated, the e-mailexchange is reduced by ninety percent. So, take thetime and educate. The better of a job you do, thefewer questions there will be later on.

The harvesting process has its own challenges. Idon't control what the butcher is doing and it is inthe nature of his business that cuts are at times notas ordered or that my instructions weren't as pre-cise as I had thought. My butcher works with meand at times we try to accommodate unusual wish-es but at the end of the day mistakes happen,unforeseen things happen. What the customer hadin mind and what we understood is not always oneand the same. That's' why I have a nice disclaimerin my e-mail to customers that cutting mistakes mayhappen, that I have no control or leverage over it,and that I shall not be held liable.

Four years into it, I hope to have worked out most of the kinks.The buying club remains one of the most involved ways ofmarketing my lambs. And yes, it is at times the most aggravat-ing but what I say to the computer stays in the office andhelps to blow off steam. The profit margin is as high as directsales and I don't depend on distributors to sell them. Thesales account for about 20 percent of my total market lambsales and are just as high as my off-farm sales. When theeconomy went sour in 2008 the buying club kept working likethe recession never happened. You also meet a number ofinteresting people with various backgrounds. And you can feela little good about yourself, restoring some connectionbetween city-dwellers and farmer by educating them through-out the year with a farm newsletter via e-mail. Needless tosay, I don't want to be without this buying club as an option ofselling my market lambs. If you can bear it, it's a win-win situa-tion for everyone.

Ulf Kintzel owns and manages White Clover Sheep Farm(www.whitecloversheepfarm.com) in Rushville, NY where hebreeds grass-fed White Dorper sheep. He offers breedingstock and freezer lambs. He can be reached at 585-554-3313or by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com.

Copyright 2010 Ulf Kintzel. For permission to use either text orphotographs please contact the author at ulf@whiteclover-sheepfarm.com.

NON-DAIRY LIVESTOCK

Managing a Buying Club for FreezerLambs

The entire freezer lamb fits snug in a 12 by 12 by 12 box, 18 of those fit into our SUV'scargo space. Photo by Ulf Kintzel

We Want To Hear From YouWe welcome letters to the editor -Please write to us! Or send aquestion and we’ll do our best toanswer it. We’re also looking forbeautiful, interesting and/or funnysmall farm photos to print.

Write or email Violet Stone,Cornell Small Farms Program,15CA Plant Science Building,Cornell University,Ithaca, NY 14853vws7@cornell.edu

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legislation on behalf of our Northeast

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Need Info?Subscribe to the Cornell SmallFarms Update, a monthly newsletter with announcements,upcoming events, resources,funding and farming opportunities and more.Visit the Cornell Small FarmsProgram online at www.small-farms.cornell.edu.

By Christen Trewer

"Change brings opportunity. ~ Nido Qubein"

This can be said for the transition made by R HRhodes & Son Inc, of Penn Yan, NY, when theystopped farming vegetable cash crops in 2003and explored the venture of becoming blackcurrant producers. Most people are not familiarwith the small black berry that is so popular inEurope and in the culinary world. ManyEuropean countries utilize the berries as a sub-stitute for the nutrient rich citrus fruits that areat times hard to obtain. Black currants wereonce widely grown in the United States untilthe early 1900s when they were banned as avector of white pine blister rust. In the late1960s, the federal government transferred thejurisdiction of the ban to the state governmentsand in 2003, New York lifted the ban. Decadesafter the plant was banned, the average personwould find little use for the obscure, sharp tast-ing berry.

Black currants grow on a bush similar to ablueberry bush. Once they are planted it takes2-3 years to produce fruit. The shrubs arehardy in harsh climates and drought resistant.The weather in the Finger Lakes Region ofNew York can be a gamble when growingcrops, making the black currant a lower riskwager. The nutritional benefits of the black cur-rant are most likely as little known as the berryitself. It is extremely high in Vitamin C, contain-ing 3 times the daily value of the vitamin. It ishigh in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants andalso contains unsaturated fatty acids, making itsomewhat of a "super fruit".

In 2003, Curt Rhodes of R H Rhodes & SonInc, a family farming corporation, read an arti-cle about black currants and the idea piquedthe family's interest. Switching from a laborintensive vegetable farm to such a unique com-modity would take a large investment of familyparticipation and everyone rose to the chal-lenge. According to Carolyn Sullivan, Curt's sis-ter, one of the most important steps in the deci-sion was to take a good look at what their farmhad to offer. The area offers optimum soils, thefamily has a deep well of farming knowledgeand some of the equipment necessary wasalready part of the farming operation, includinga cold storage building. With the ability and theinterest present, the next step would be to seeif there was a market for the little known crop.Cathy Fritz, another Rhodes family sister, sentout a survey to gauge the interest in black cur-rant use in wine as the farm is located in theheart of the Finger Lakes wine region. Theresponse from the wineries was that the prod-uct had a market. The Rhodes family now hadthe opportunity to make a successful transitionto a new crop. The first acre was planted thatyear based on the availability of plants; today,the farm has a total of 25 acres dedicated tocurrents.

In the summer of 2007, the Rhodes familycomplete with brothers, sisters, in-law, sons,daughters, nieces and nephews, harvested thefirst acre by hand. Carolyn credits the CornellUniversity Geneva Experimental Research

Station as a valuable resource for crop andmarket information. Two of the first customersthat made the difference for the farm wereMontezuma Winery and Bellwether Hard Cider.After some extensive research and numbercrunching, the corporation made the decisionto purchase a mechanical harvester fromOregon. This would make the long hot harvest-ing days a bit easier on the family as well asmaking it feasible for them to farm a full 25acres of black currant bushes. Over the years

R H Rhodes & Son Inc. has expanded theirjuice market to include other wineries and cidermills. Wineries as far away as South Dakotaare interested in what the Rhodes family cur-rants have to offer their wines. With the help ofan off-farm co-packer, jams and jellies aremade and sold at local farm markets.R H Rhodes & Son Inc. saw the opportunity inproducing black currants and seized it. Harvesttime is the first few weeks in July. They are cur-rently producing an average of 1 1/2 tons ofberries per acre and have their entire harvest

sold almost before it is grown. This is much dif-ferent than the vegetable crops that weregrown on the farm before. Approximately 25%of the sales are from jams and jellies with therest of the harvest being sold as juice.Challenges facing the operation are similar toany farmer producing a crop; they cannot con-trol the weather. Overall, Carolyn feels thecooperation, dedication and knowledge base ofthe family has kept the farm successful sincethe transition. The best recognition is that theircustomers keep coming back year after year.

Looking ahead, the Rhodes' plan to plant 3more acres of currants and perhaps invest in alarge cold storage unit. At the end of the day,the satisfaction of taking a unique transitioningopportunity and making it a successful ventureis the best reward.

Christen Trewer is a loan officer trainee withthe USDA-Farm Service Agency in Bath, NY.She can be reached at Christen.Trewer@ny.usda.gov or (607) 776-7378.

HORTICULTURE

Black Currents BringOpportunity

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 17

Black Currants grown @ R.H. Rhodes & Son, Inc.Photos by Christen Trewer

Resource SpotlightThe Art of Silvopasturing: A Regional Conference

by Nancy Glazier

The practice of Silvopasturing is causingquite a buzz these days. It was a fairlynew concept to me until a year and a halfago, a concept that brings togetherforestry management and grazing man-agement into one single system of sus-tainable woodland grazing. It can diversifyincome by tapping into products of trees,tree products, forage, and livestock. Treescan be introduced to the pasture or pas-ture introduced to the trees. Managementis the key to reduce the likelihood of soil compaction, debarking of trees, and tramplingand browsing of regeneration.

But in the modern world of invasive plants, high land ownership costs, and other chal-lenges to healthy and sustainable woodlands, it is worth taking another look at livestockgrazing as an acceptable and valuable tool for the management of some woodlots. Thepurposeful and managed grazing of livestock in the woods, known as silvopasturing, dif-fers from woodlot grazing of the past in that the frequency and intensity of the grazing iscontrolled to achieve the desired objectives. New fencing systems, a better understandingof animal behavior and the evolution of "management intensive grazing" have enabled usto gain the necessary level of control over livestock to achieve positive impacts fromwoodland grazing.

Silvopasturing isn't for every woodland owner or every woodlot as it requires a commit-ment to caring for animals and enclosing portions of the woods with a secure fence tokeep your animals in and predators out. Wooded areas on poor growing sites, rough ter-rain, or with difficult access would obviously have fewer advantages for successful sil-vopasturing than the converse. But the most important key for success is skilled manage-ment of the system. This requires considerable knowledge of both silviculture and grazing.If grazing and silviculture are the "artful application of science", then combining the twosystems in certainly a fine art! But this shouldn't discourage the novice from exploring thepotential of silvopasturing on their property, even though results are likely to improve withincreased skill and experience.

Cornell Cooperative Extension is looking to assist in providing an educational opportunityto learn more about the art of silvopasturing. The 2-day conference will be November 7and 8, 2011 at the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel, 16 North Franklin Street, Watkins Glen,Schuyler County. The goals of the conference are to broaden a collective understanding ofsilvopasturing and its applications in the Northeastern US across multiple professions andstakeholders, identify opportunities and challenges to its implementation, and develop net-works for collaborative research, learning and promotion of silvopasturing activities. It isopen to the public, with land use and conservation professionals, foresters, graziers,woodland owners and members of the academic community are especially encouraged toattend.

The multistate list of presenters represents areas of in the East where the practice is inplace. Highlights, though not all the speakers include John Hopkins, Consulting Foresterfrom Bloomsburg, PA will discuss restoration and revitalization of an Appalachian farm.Charles Feldrake with USDA Agricultural Research Service's Appalachian FarmingSystems Research Centerin Beaver, West Virginia, will talk about their applied researchthere. Mike Jacobson with Penn State University will cover great opportunities and chal-lenges in the Northeast. Three of our speakers are coming from University of MissouriCenter for Agroforestry. Dusty Walters, Larry Godsey, and Gene Garrett will at lengthfocus on silvopasture design, implementation and impacts. Doug Wallace is the NRCSLead Agroforester at the USDA National Agroforestry Center in Lincoln, Nebraska will pro-vide an overview of current resources and assistance available for practitioners andresearchers. Brett Chedzoy, CCE, is a forester and practitioner of the silvopasturing. Heand his wife, Maria, will host the field tour/discussion portion and conclusion of the confer-ence. We will see first-hand their system in place. This is by no means a completeoverview of the conference!

Every attempt is being made to keep the cost of the conference as reasonable as possi-ble with support coming from National Agroforestry Center, Upper SusquehannaCoalition, Cornell's Department of Natural Resources, as well as others in the works. Anagenda and registration for the event can be foundonline athttp://nesilvopasture.eventbrite.com. A block of rooms are reserved at the hotel; contactthem on the web at www.watkinsglenharborhotel.com or 607-535-6116.

For more information on the event, contact Brett at 607-742-3657 or bjc226@cornell.edu.

Nancy Glazier is Small Farms Support Specialist for the Northwest New York Dairy,Livestock and Field Crops Team of Cornell Cooperative Extension/PRO-DAIRY. You canreach her at585-315-7746 or nig3@cornell.edu.

Photo by Brett Chedzoy

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The black currant harvester hard at work inthe field

Watching the currants travel along the har-vester

Page 18 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

By Margaret Fowle

This article is the first in a two-part series. In the winterarticle I will highlight some real-life success stories ofworking with landowners in partnership with NRCS andAudubon Vermont.

Audubon Vermont is working with the Natural ResourceConservation Service (NRCS) on two exciting programs, calledthe Forest Bird Initiative (FBI) and Champlain Valley BirdInitiative (CVBI). Both programs engage landowners in man-aging their land to protect a number of priority bird species inthe region. Through these programs, forest, shrubland, andgrass landowners are given the tools they need to make deci-sions about land management that benefit both the land andnesting birds.

Breeding bird surveys have shown that the forests and earlysuccessional grasslands and shrublands of Vermont andNorthern New England are a globally important resource forbirds throughout the hemisphere. However, many relativelycommon birds in Vermont are still declining throughout theirrange. Rather than waiting for species such as the CanadaWarbler, Eastern Towhee, or Bobolink to become vulnerableand end up on a threatened or endangered species list, it isimportant to take action to proactively conserve birds in thecore of their range. The advantage to this approach is that low-cost management activities, education, and monitoring canhelp maintain or increase the populations of these birds.

Audubon Vermont's programs provide technical assistance toindividual forest and early successional habitat (grassland andshrubland) landowners at no charge. The key to both initiativesis providing landowners with the information they need tomake positive conservation decisions and then working withthem to make those decisions happen on the ground. Audubonworks in partnership with NRCS and informs and helps

landowners enroll in cost-sharing programs that maintain andenhance bird habitat on their land.

Some of the management recommendations that Audubon VTbiologists recommend to landowners are: altering hayland cut-ting schedules to accommodate nesting birds, maintaining andenhancing shrubland habitat, and creating small openings inforests that enhance the overall diversity and vertical structureof the forest. NRCS will share the costs of many of thesepractices through its Wildlife Habitat and Environmental QualityIncentive Programs.

This article is the first in a two-part series. Stay tuned to thewinter issue for some real-life success stories of working withlandowners in partnership with NRCS and Audubon Vermont.Margaret Fowle is a Conservation Biologist for AudubonVermont. She can be reached at mfowle@audubon.org

The Golden Winged Warbler is losing habitat, in partbecause of reforestation. Photo by John Hannan

October 3, 2011 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY Page 19

STEWARDSHIP & NATURE

Farmscapes forBirds

The Bobolink is a distinctive bird of open grasslandsPhoto by Allan Strong

More information on protecting and cre-ating bird habitat can be found at:http://www.audubon.org, or you can findthe chapter for your area by going to:http://www.audubon.org/search-by-zip

For more on the NRCS Wildlife Habitatand Environmental Quality IncentivePrograms please visit:http://www.vt.nrcs.usda.gov/programs(or substitute your states abbreviation)or http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.

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CT: UConn Cooperative Extension • 860-486-9228

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Page 20 SMALL FARM QUARTERLY October 3, 2011

By Kristie Schmitt

Starting a new business in any industry comes with challenges,but new businesses in agriculture are presented with an additionalslate of obstacles. Many startup farms don't have the capital need-ed for upfront expenses, such as land, equipment, seed, etc. Newfarms often lack the credit history, repayment ability and/or collat-eral, so investors and lending institutions are often hesitant toinvest in their startup business. Furthermore, any new businesslacks sufficient business knowledge, time management skills, con-fidence and marketing resources to efficiently launch and run anew business.

Farm Credit has a long-term commitment of helping young individu-als get started in farming. As a result, five years ago, Farm CreditEast initiated a program to support talented, hardworking individu-als entering agriculture. This program is today known as FarmStart,LLP. Now celebrating its fifth year, FarmStart has invested morethan $3 million to 75 participants, some of whom have graduatedand moved on to traditional Farm Credit East loans.

The first initiative of its kind in the United States, FarmStart helpsto fulfill Farm Credit East's vision of a vibrant, entrepreneurial agri-cultural community by giving strong, new entrants a healthy start.Through FarmStart, LLP, Farm Credit East recognizes the need toinvest in the future of farming and agriculture in the Northeast.

"Our farm is in an area where we will probably never be able toown the land we farm, so we have no land for collateral," explainsIan Calder-Piedmonte of Balsam Farms, LLC in Amagansett, N.Y."Without collateral, we couldn't obtain the financing we needed tobuild our business. That's where

FarmStart came in and helped us as new growers."FarmStart invests working capital in northeast agriculture venturesthat show promise of success. This investment functions the sameas an operating line of credit. It is intended to provide the critical lastdollar of funding to overcome the timing mismatch that makes it diffi-cult for true startup farming operations to generate working capital.

"When I got started with FarmStart, I was already a year into mybusiness," says Terri Lawton of Oake Knoll Ayrshires (OKA) inFoxboro, Mass. "My business was expanding due to demand, but Ineeded money to buy hay for the winter. I didn't have enough ofthe quality hay I needed in order to expand the business, so Icalled Farm Credit." FarmStart funds allowed Terri to increase herherd to 20 milk cows and purchase quality western hay and glassmilk bottles.

FarmStart's working capital investment is limited to $50,000 with aminimum interest only for five years and principal due in full in fiveyears. This investment helps recipients learn the discipline andskills of effective cash flow management as they develop a suc-cessful track record of credit use.

A FarmStart advisor works with each recipient. This advisor pro-vides substantial consulting and financial planning to help youngfarmers stay on track toward achieving their business objectivesand establishing a positive business and credit history.

"Working with someone who understands my business and myfinancials were important to me; and that's just the quality serviceFarmStart provided" says Zachary Heiken of Heiken Farms inPerkintown, N.J. "FarmStart provided the additional money I need-ed to allow my business to grow during the early years."

The final component of FarmStart is the required business plan.All FarmStart applicants are required to submit a business planalong with their application. This plan will help organize the newentrepreneur's mission and business goals as well as define howto distribute their FarmStart funds. The business plan will serve asa roadmap for the first few years of their startup business.

"FarmStart allowed us the financial flexibility to learn about cashflow and sales fluxes during our first few years in business. Thanksto FarmStart we are now in a better position to project expensesand balance our budget" Bruce Schader of Wake Robin Farms inJordan, NY explains of the required business plan.

Any beginning farmer, fisherman, forestry producer, farm relatedbusiness owners and/or cooperative with great promise for suc-cess, but a minimal track record to date and limited financialresources is eligible to apply to FarmStart. Candidates are eithertransitioning into agriculture from another occupation or pursuingnontraditional agricultural businesses, many with a creative agri-cultural idea or niche. Candidates have at least two years of rele-vant experience and are in the early startup phase of operation ormaking major changes in the first several years. The applicantmust be an independent enterprise and cannot be affiliated withan established operation.

FarmStart allows new producers to get their business off theground. "Knowing there are funds available through the FarmStartprogram has helped me to stay calm in financial situations" pro-claims FarmStart participant Marcy O'Connell of Holland Farm,

LLC in Milford, NH. "The staff at Farm Credit East are extremelyknowledgeable in farming, and knowing they are just a phone callaway has allowed me to stay focused on my true passion, farming."

To apply to FarmStart, an applicant must submit a FarmStart appli-cation, current balance sheet, income statement, monthly cashflow budget and a business plan, along with two personal refer-ences. For more information on the program and how to apply,please visit FarmCreditEast.com.

Kristie Schmitt is Knowledge Exchange & CommunicationsSpecialist at Farm Credit East, ACA in Enfield, CT. She canbe reached at Kristie.Schmitt@FarmCreditEast.com or (800)562-2235.

NEW FARMERS

FarmStart: Continuing the Tradition ofAgriculture in the Northeast

Terri Lawton, Oake Knoll Ayrshires, Foxboro, Mass.Photo by Custis Drown

Zachary Heiken, Heiken Farms, Perkintown, NPhoto by Craig Muhlbaier, Farm Credit East

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