Winter 2017

The
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FACTOR
Raising the Grade:
Market glut, out-of-state
regulations, adding stress
to maple production. Quarterly Supplement to
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AGRICULTURAL NEWS & VIEWS FROM THE GLOW REGION

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2 • Thursday, December 28, 2017 Tractor Factor

Raising a glass, and a plan, for NY wine

By JIM KRENCIK
jkrencik@batavianews.com
BATAVIA — New York’s
grape and wine industry has
earned a level of prestige, but
the branding behind it hasn’t
aged as well as the state’s
reds and whites.
Wine tourism in the Finger
Lakes, along Lake Ontario
and on Long Island, remains
strong; and wine enthusi-
asts have recognized a “New
York” wine as a signature of
quality, New York Wine &
Grape Foundation Executive
Director Sam Filler said.
“New York State is well
respected,” Filler said. “Our
market share is increasing in
New York City, we’re winning
awards and publicity ... but
we need to refresh our brand,
to make it more contempo-
rary and relevant to the wine
market.”
Look for the “Uncork New
York” pitch to make way for
new concepts and logos in
the coming years. The Foun-
dation announced in De-
cember that it will work with
Farm Credit East consultants
Nathan Rudgers in Batavia
and Gregg McConnell in Ge-
neva to complete a compre-
hensive strategic planning
process for the NYW&GF,
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
which is tasked by the state
with investments into pro- Barnard Cannac, the winemaker at Serenity Vineyards in Dresden, pours a glass for Hannah Sheehan of Hamburg at Cricket’s Coffee
motion and research to raise Company during the August Wine Stroll in Geneseo.
the quality and profile of director of business devel- demand has declined, but “The results of this effort tions will arrive in time for
wine and grape production. opment. “With new leader- he believes better marketing will position us to best serve the Foundation’s request-
Rudgers and McCon- ship in place, the board has can help. He also sees out- New York State’s growing ed 2019 state support. That
nell are setting out to meet wisely chosen to renew the side ideas about enhancing wine and grape industry,” year’s budget may produce
with producers from across Foundation’s commitment destination tasting tours and Filler said in announcing the one of the most memorable
the state to understand the branding practices bringing partnership. vintages for the industry if it
to the state’s grape growing
strengths, weaknesses, op- more tourism to wineries. The final recommenda- grows consumer interest.
and wine producing industry
portunities and threats pro-
by engaging in this strategic
ducers face in their industry.
Filler, who succeeded found- planning effort.”
ing President Jim Trezise in According to the Wine and
2017, said the sessions will Grape Foundation, New York
be held from January to Feb- wineries and grape growers
ruary. The new plan set to be produce nearly $6 billion in
compiled by Memorial Day. direct fiscal impact to the
“For more than 30 years,
the New York Wine & Grape
state — stretching from sup-
pliers of farm equipment and
Salutes Agriculture
Foundation has done an
effective job of promoting
packaging materials to trans-
portation companies, graph-
The #1 Industry in Genesee County!
the interests of grape grow- ic designers and hotels.
ers and wine production to Filler said some of the op-
drive growth in the state’s portunities and challenges
farm winery industry,” said New York faces are already
Rudgers, Farm Credit East apparent. Concord grape 8276 Park Rd., Batavia NY 14020 • (585) 343-7440 • www.GeneseeNY.com • www.VisitGeneseeNY.com
 Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 3

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4 • Thursday, December 28, 2017 Tractor Factor

High-speed Internet plan would benefit farmers

By BEN BEAGLE
ben@livingstonnews.com
Howlett Farms in Avon
helps some 1,100 farmers
across the Northeast connect
their grains and crops to mar-
kets all over the world.
To get the greatest returns,
the enterprise must be able to
respond quickly to changes in
the market.
And to do that, it absolute-
ly must have reliable Internet
service, said Michael Howl-
ett, the farm’s grain merchan-
diser.
“Reliability is our number
one need. We can’t have the
Internet dropping,” Howlett
said.
But until two years ago,
Howlett Farms didn’t have a
stable Internet connect at its
East River Road grain facili-
ty. Despite being high-speed
Internet, the business experi-
enced frequent connectivity
issues.
To fix that, Howlett Farms
entered a long-term contract
with Time Warner Cable that
extended that cable compa-
ny’s high-speed fiber network
from a neighboring business
to Howlett Farms.
“If we were an individu-
al, that wouldn’t have been
feasible or plausible to do,”
Howlett said. “Because we
could negotiate as a business,
we were able to do this.”
Since making that change,
Howlett said the farm has
been able to grow its business
and expand our markets.
“High-speed Internet has
provided so many opportuni-
ties,” Howlett said.
OPPOSE FCC PLAN
Sen. Charles E. “Chuck”
Schumer, D-N.Y., is pitch-
ing a $40 billion plan to bring
similar opportunities to rural
America through investment
Roundtable talk. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks
with Livingston County officials and other local leaders about
broadband Internet access during a visit to Avon.
hurt people in terms of life-
style. We must start a cam-
paign to stop it.”
And for counties such as
Genesee, Orleans and Steu-
ben that are further away
from cities such as Rochester
the outcome “would be even
worse,” he said.
The FCC in August pro-
posed changing the defi-
nition of what qualifies as
high-speed Internet from the
current minimum download
speed of 25 Mbsp to a new
minimum of 10 Mbps.
The change would mean
that significantly more U.S.
households would then be
considered by the FCC to
have a broadband Internet
connect.
Schumer called this move
a “broadband mirage” that
would allow the government
and Internet service provid-
ers to avoid their responsibil-
ity to bring high-speed Inter-
net access to rural America.
“Broad band is like electric-
ity,” Schumer said. “Every ru-
ral home is entitled to broad-
band at the same speed and
levels as every urban home. In
Michael Howlett says high-
speed Internet has allowed
BEN BEAGLE/LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS Howlett Farms to expand.
Livingston County, but it’s
not economically feasible for
companies to extend that to
federal program of the 1930s rural homes, so there would
that sought to expand access be a small subsidy for that,”
to reliable and affordable he said.
electricity in rural areas. Schumer said he would
“Companies want to locate seek to have funding for his
where there is access to good proposal included in the 2018
broadband,” he said. “Broad- budget.
band in the home has become “I think it will have real
a necessity because so many broad bipartisan support and
employees work from home. it will be a shot in the arm for
A lot of kids do school work rural America,” he said. “We
on their computers. They all can not have two classes of
need good broadband.” Internet. We cannot have
The senator’s plan would
large parts of American with-
provide funding to close the
out broadband.”
“last mile gap” and connect
users to existing high speed
networks. Need for speed
“We have good trunk Schumer led a roundtable
routes for broadband here in discussion with elected of-
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ficials and business leaders
from Livingston County in re-
gards to the quality or acces-
sibility of high-speed Internet
in the rural county.
“For the last 10 years broad-
band has been a topic. Is it
any better? I’m not sure,” said
Laura Lane, president and
CEO of the Livingston County
Area Chamber of Commerce.
“And for business taking the
extra step to make sure they
have a reliable, high-speed
Internet, they do so at the ex-
pense of what else.”
County Administrator Ian
Coyle that maps showing
broadband access in Living-
ston County are inaccurate
and have hurt the county’s
efforts to get grants and other
funding.
“Broadband has ham-
strung growth,” Coyle said.
“It’s needed simply to exist,
but in order to grow it also
most be affordable.”
And, that Schumer said, is
where his plan would make a
difference. Once the national
broadband map is updated,
his plan would provide for
grants to complete those last-
mile gaps.
“It would mean subsidies,”
he said. “But a small subsidy
would have a great benefit
to it. And if it’s done for eco-
nomic development, even
better.”
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in rural broadband service.
But to do so, he must first
get the Federal Communica-
tions Commission to reject
a plan that would lower the
definition of what constitutes
broadband service.
“The FCC is making a re-
al mistake,” Schumer said
during a visit to Avon last
week. “This would hurt Liv-
ingston County, it would hurt
economic development and
fact, it’s not just rural homes,
but a lot of suburban homes
that are left behind.”
SCHUMER’S ‘BETTER DEAL’
Schumer is also proposing
a plan to invest more than
$40 billion in federal funds in
high-speed Internet.
Schumer likened his plan,
called “A Better Deal: Univer-
sal High-Speed Internet,” to a
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Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 5
6 • Thursday, December 28, 2017 Tractor Factor

2017 Agriculture Census gets underway

WASHINGTON – The U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s
National Agricultural Sta-
tistics Service has started
mailing the 2017 Census of
Agriculture to the nation’s
producers.
Conducted once every five
years, the census aims to get
a complete and accurate pic-
ture of American agriculture.
The resulting data are used
by farmers, ranchers, trade
associations, researchers,
policymakers, and many oth-
ers to help make decisions in
community planning, farm
assistance programs, tech-
nology development, farm
advocacy, agribusiness set-
up, rural development, and
more.
“The Census of Agricul-
ture is USDA’s largest data
collection endeavor, pro-
viding some of the most
widely used statistics in the
industry,” said U.S. Secre-
tary of Agriculture Sonny
Perdue. “Collected in ser-
vice to American agriculture
since 1840, the census gives
every producer the oppor-
tunity to be represented so
that informed decisions can
support their efforts to pro-
vide the world with food, fu-
el, feed, and fiber. Every re-
sponse matters.”
The census will be mailed
in several phases through
December. Farm operations
of all sizes which produced
and sold, or normally would
have sold, $1,000 or more of
agricultural product in 2017
are included in the census.
The census is the only source
of uniform, comprehensive
and impartial agriculture da-
ta for every state and county
in the nation.
NASS revised the census
forms in an attempt to doc-
ument changes and emerg-
ing trends in the industry.
Changes include a new ques-
tion about military veteran
status, expanded questions
about food marketing prac-
tices and questions about
on-farm decision-making to
help better capture the roles
See CENSUS T7
By the numbers: 2012 Agriculture Census
Number of Farms:
Genesee, 549 farms.
Livingston, 661 farms.
Orleans, 487 farms.
Wyoming, 713 farms.
Average size of farm:
Genesee, 341 acres.
Livingston, 295 acres.
Orleans, 277 acres.
Wyoming, 317 acres.
Estimated market value of land and buildings
(average per farm):
Genesee, $898,004.
Livingston, $854,527.
Orleans, $720,725.
Wyoming, $828,938.
Estimated market value of all machinery and
equipment (average per farm):
Genesee, $213,682.
Livingston, $176,087.
Orleans, $232,291.
Wyoming, $216,228.
Total Cropland (farms, acres):
Genesee, 453 farms; 143,305 acres.
Livingston, 543 farms; 149,591 acres.
Orleans, 412 farms; 109,537 acres.
Wyoming, 557 farms; 159,507 acres.
Harvested Cropland (farms, acres):
Genesee, 389 farms; 134,610 acres.
Livingston, 469 farms; 138,110 acres.
Orleans, 355 farms; 101,275 acres.
Wyoming, 517 farms; 151,690 acres.
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Market value of agricultural products sold (in Corn, for silage or greenchop:
thousands): Genesee, 24,371 acres.
Genesee, $236,952. Livingston, 16,329 acres.
Livingston, $186,808. Orleans, 2,129 acres.
Orleans, $150,323. Wyoming, 42,929 acres.
Wyoming, $318,505.
Wheat for grain, all:
Market value of crops, including nursery and
Genesee, 8,476 acres.
greenhouse crops (in thousands):
Livingston, 11,046 acres.
Genesee, $85,189.
Orleans, 5,514 acres.
Livingston, $80,742.
Wyoming, 3,289 acres.
Orleans, $138,467.
Wyoming, $77,920.
Vegetables, harvested for sale:
Genesee, 20,500 acres.
Market value of livestock, poultry and their
Livingston, 3,971 acres.
products (in thousands):
Orleans, 16,898 acres.
Genesee, $151,763.
Wyoming, 11,702 acres.
Livingston, $106,067.
Orleans, $11,856.
Wyoming, $240,584. Soybeans for beans:
Genesee, 13,327 acres.
Livingston, 24,092 acres.
Government payments (in thousands)
Orleans, 19,067 acres.
Genesee, $2,111.
Livingston, $2,425. Wyoming, 4,297 acres.
Orleans, $1,883.
Wyoming, $3,057.
Forage (land uses for all hay and all haylage,
grass silage and greenchop):
Number of milk cows: Genesee, 35,356 acres.
Genesee, 28,938.
Livingston, 31,773 acres.
Livingston, 21,776.
Orleans, 17,893 acres.
Orleans, 2,279.
Wyoming, 46,483. Wyoming, 63,490 acres.
Corn, harvested for grain: Land in orchards (farms/acres):
Genesee, 30,855 acres Genesee, 6 farms; 11 acres.
Livingston, 45,227 acres. Livingston, 21 farms; 123 acres.
Orleans, 43,610 acres. Orleans, 78 farms, 5,869 acres.
Wyoming, 20,972 acres. Wyoming, 9 farms, 63 acres.
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 Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 7

and desktop devices.”

Census
From T6
and contributions of begin-
ning farmers, women farm-
ers, and others involved in
running a farm enterprise.
“Producers can respond
to the census online or by
mail. We highly recom-
mend the updated online
questionnaire. We heard
what people wanted and
we made responding to the
census easier than ever,”
said NASS Administrator
Hubert Hamer. “The on-
line questionnaire now has
timesaving features, such
as automatic calculations,
and the convenience of be-
BEN BEAGLE/LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS
ing accessible on mobile
The 55-cow herd at Cavetta Farms in Sparta features Jersey cows, front and back, and holsteins.
The census response
deadline is Feb. 5, 2018.
Responding to the Cen-
sus of Agriculture is re-
quired by law under Title
7 USC 2204(g) Public Law
105-113. The same law re-
quires NASS to keep all in-
formation confidential, to
use the data only for sta-
tistical purposes, and only
publish in aggregate form
to prevent disclosing the
identity of any individual
producer or farm opera-
tion. NASS will release the
results of the census in Feb-
ruary 2019.
For more information
about the 2017 Census of
Agriculture, visit www.
agcensus.usda.gov or call
(800) 727-9540.

Ag Census a plethora GREAT TRUCK

By SCOTT DESMIT
of fun facts
sdesmit@batavianews.com
If nothing else, the Census
of Agriculture is interesting.
Just look at the results of the
last census in 2012.
Genesee County? Of the 549
farms in the county 82 were
operated by women. The rest?
All men and all white, except
for 12 American Indians and
four Hispanic operators.
The numbers are similar for
Orleans and Wyoming.
Does Wyoming County truly
have more cows than people?
Of course it does. According
to the 2012 census, the county
had 100,970 head of cattle.
That’s more than double the
number of people, which was
41,013 at last count.
For that matter, Genesee
County also had more cows
than people: 63,949 vs. 58,937.
Orleans? Nope. People,
41,582, far outnumbered cat-
tle, which numbered a mere
7,153 in 2012.
Those are just a few of the
hundreds, if not thousands, of
details found in the once-ev-
ery-five-year census, a man-
datory counting of all things
agriculture.
Why should farmers fill it
out?
“It gives producers the op-
portunity to be represented so
that informed decisions can
support their efforts to provide
the world with food, fuel feed
and fiber,” said Blair Smith,
state statistician for USDA/
National Agricultural Statistics
Service. “Every response mat-
ters.”
Every response.
The census aims to get a
complete and accurate picture
of American agriculture, Smith
says. The uses are many.
“The results are used by
many organizations to sup-
port agriculture and advocate
for farm programs,” he said.
“Trade associations, research-
ers, policy-makers, extension
educators, agribusinesses and
many others use it to develop
policies, programs and re-
search.”
The data, he said, plays
“a vital role in community
planning, farm assistance
programs, technology devel-
opment, farm advocacy, agri-
business setup and rural de-
velopment.”
It takes about a year to com-
pile the statistics, with the US-
DA/NASS expected to release
the results in February 2019.
Mailings were sent out in
December and the final re-
sponses are due Feb. 5, 2018.
The easiest method is online
by going to https://www.ag-
census.usda.gov/ and clicking
on the “Respond Now” link.
Now, back to the interest-
ing part and some of the data
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culled from the 2012 census:
- Orleans County ranked #1 The 2017 Toyota
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vegetables, melons, potatoes
and sweet potatoes. It ranked
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77th in the nation. It also
ranked #1 in New York and 8th
in the nation for production of
snap beans.
- Genesee County ranked
#1 in the state for producing
vegetables and 40th in the na-
tion. It also ranked #2 for pro-
duction of pheasants and bee
colonies.
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8 • Thursday, December 28, 2017 Tractor Factor
Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 9
10 • Thursday, December 28, 2017
Ag tour explores riches of Livingston County
By BEN BEAGLE and ANNA TAILLEUR
ben@livingstonnews.com
Agriculture is Livingston
County’s leading industry, but
no two farms are alike.
Livingston County has
more than 650 farms and each
brings its own history, story,
pool of resources and needs,
said Dave Bojanowski, farm-
land protection director of the
Genesee Valley Conservancy,
which organizes an annual
tour that highlights the coun-
ty’s agricultural industry.
“No two farms have the
same resources or the same
set of circumstances,” he said.
“There are many different
viewpoints and perspectives.”
The day-long Livingston
County Decision Makers Agri-
cultural Tour takes place each
fall and visits a half dozen loca-
tions to show local leaders the
diversity of the county’s top
industry. The tour is organized
by the Conservancy, a not-
for-profit organization with a
mission to protect the habitat,
open space and farmland in
the Genesee Valley.
“We don’t want to be an-
ti-development, but we don’t
want to lose good farmland, ei-
ther,” Bojanowski said.
EDUCATING LOCAL LEADERS
This year’s tour, the ninth,
was Sept. 29. Five farms, in-
cluding a party barn, were
selected to represent the
county’s diverse agricultur-
al community. The locations
were also chosen to provide
a look at the next generation
of farming, whether through
operations, processes or the
farmers’ themselves.
“Oftentimes, public offi-
cials in Livingston County …
are not familiar with how their
local farms operate, and more
importantly, what their needs
are,” Bojanowski said.
The tour’s 54 participants
included about three dozen
town planning and zoning
board members, supervisors
and assessors. State Sen. Cath-
erine Young, R-Olean, whose
district includes a portion of
Livingston County, and Sa-
mantha Levy, policy manager
for the American Farmland
Craig Phelps of Edgewood Farms in Groveland talks about the
farms diverse operations during the 2017 Livingston County
Decision Makers Agricultural Tour.
Trust, were also part of the
tour.
Town planning and zon-
ing boards influence how and
where development happens
by passing zoning and subdi-
vision laws – or allowing vari-
ances – that determine how
land will be used at the local
level. By visiting the tour’s
farm operations and speaking
with the owners about their
practices and challenges, pub-
lic officials are able to plan and
act informatively at the town
level to ensure the county’s
productive farmland remains
productive for generations to
come, Bojanowski said.
“Farming is the best use
for good, productive land,”
said Bojanowski, “but we’re
at a point where we are seeing
fewer and fewer farms come
about.”
Town of York Zoning Board
member Harold Wilcott II took
the day off from his regular job
to participate in the tour for
the first time. “I can smell the
fresh dairy air,” he joked.
EDGEWOOD FARMS: ‘LOOK FOR
OPPORTUNITIES’
The tour began in Grove-
land at Edgewood Farms, 5064
Wilson Rd., which is owned
and operated by three gen-
erations of the Phelps fam-
ily – Bob, his son Craig, and
Craig’s son Clayton. The farm
has been in the family since
the 1890s, when it started with
sheep, wheat and other crops.
Tractor Factor
BEN BEAGLE/LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS BEN BEAGLE/LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS
A trio of Jersey cows graze in one of the field paddocks at Kevatta
Farms in Sparta. The presence of the cows on the pastures has
improved the soils through the addition of fresh maure and the
action of the herd’s feet.
“That was all my grandfa-
ther would think about. We’ve
progressed a lot since then,”
said Bob Phelps.
The nearly 3,000-acre farm Thank you to the dedicated
yields a variety of crops, in-
cluding organic corn, hay
and black turtle beans; and
men and women of
non-organic wheat, soybeans,
straw, alfalfa and dry edible agriculture for all that
beans.
Much of Edgewood’s pro- they bring to the table.
duce goes toward feeding live-
stock around New York State.
The farm also provides cus-
tom services to others farms
in need of bailing, chopping,
seed cleaning and treatment.
Recently, Edgewood began
growing crops for Black Button
Distillery in Rochester and test TH A N K
plots for Cornell Cooperative
Extension’s low tetrahydro- YOU !
cannabinol level hemp trials.
“If you sit still in this busi-
ness, eventually you’ll be out
of business,” Craig Phelps
said. “So we look for opportu-
nities.”
One of those opportuni-
ties came in 2012 when Black
Button Distillery approached
Edgewood asking the farm op-
erators about providing grain
for brewing. The Distillery
would then return grain left
of LeRoy
over from the brewing pro-
cess – a high-quality product
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could be recycled as feed for • Medical Transportation • Daily Activities
dairy cows and other animals.
The Distillery’s Dick Barnett One West Avenue LeRoy,NY • 585-768-2740
said he had called a lot of farm-
greensofleroy.com
See TOUR T12

Prospective buyers browse the many different displays at the 32nd Annual Farm Toy Show at
Geneseo High School.
Scouts’ 32nd annual farm, toy
show draws hundreds to Geneseo
By BEN BEAGLE
ben@livingstonnews.com
GENESEO — An auction
that opened the 32nd annual
Farm and Toy Show helped
raise a little more than $8,000
for Boy Scout Troop 4070.
“The auction had a lot of
fine pieces, about 300 pieces,”
said show manager Doug Har-
ke. “That makes for a pretty
big crowd.”
Around 1,200 people were
expected to attend the auc-
tion and show, which was
Dec. 1 and 2, respectively, at
Geneseo Central School. All
but the first show, which Har-
ke helped start in 1986, have
been at the school.
This year’s show included
“a bunch of new vendors,”
Harke said.
“There was a little bit of
turnover as some vendors
aged out and we got new ones
in,” Harke said.
Among the most high-
ly-sought pieces were toys
and models representing
1/64th scale items, which are
among the most detailed.
“People are interested in
the highly-detailed and less
interested in some of the old-
er classic toys,” Harke said.
“There’s been more interest
in some of the smaller, 1/64th
scale toys.”
Jimmy Rosenberger of Mini
Chrome Shop in Fayetteville,
Pa., had many die-cast mod-
els of 1/64th scale. He pointed
out the details on a semi-truck
model that included rubber
wheels, steering wheels, a
hood that opens and springs
for the rear wheels on one die-
cast semi-truck model.
“And inside there’s a dash,”
he said. “There’s lots of every-
thing on these limited edition
runs.”
The show featured an auc-
tion on Dec. 1 and opened to
Tractor Factor
NICK SERRATA/FOR THE LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS
the general public on Dec. 2.
The show is hosted by Boy
Scouts of America Troop 4070
of Geneseo. The Scouts help
set up, serve concessions, as-
sist at the auction and do any-
thing else that may be needed.
The Geneseo Farm Toy
Show and Auction is the larg-
est farm toy show east of Ohio.
The show attracts vendors
and collectors from New York,
Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Maine, North Carolina, North
Dakota, New Hampshire and
Ontario and Quebec.
Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 11
New policy director for
NY Corn and Soybean
Growers Association
By MALLORY DIEFENBACH
mdiefenbach@batavianews.com
SILVER SPRINGS — After
serving as president of the
New York Farm Bureau for
eight years, Dean Norton will
continue his work in the public
sphere as the New York Corn
and Soybean Growers Associ-
ation’s new director of public
policy.
Up until last December,
Norton was the president of
the New York Farm Bureau
where he had a working rela-
tionship with the New York
Corn and Soybean Growers
Association. Norton
“We just had conversations
for the last couple months
about some of their needs
so to speak, so it would be fun
to get back in the arena — the
public policy arena,” Norton
and what they’re trying to do,”
he said. “We just come to an
agreement that I would assist
said.
While this will be slightly dif-
them with their public policy.” ferent from his past job at the
Adding he isn’t joining the Farm Bureau, he said, there is
staff at New York Corn and a lot of similarities as well and
Soybean Growers Association he’s looking forward to it.
as an employee nor working “We are thrilled to begin
for it, Norton said he will be working with Dean,” said Col-
helping with public policy in leen Klein, NYCSGA execu-
both Albany and Washington tive director in a press release.
D.C. His first order of business “His experience, respected
is to figure out what the associ- connections and the valuable
ation’s policy needs are to see relationships he’s fostered
what — if anything — needs to throughout the years will help
be fixed. position our growing organi-
“Since last December, I’ve zation at the forefront of agri-
been kind of out of the arena cultural policy.”
Lamb Farms,, Inc
585-948-5777
lambfarmsinc.net
lambfarms@hotmail.com
A New York leader in quality
milk production and ag innovation
12 • Thursday, December 28, 2017
Tour
From
FromT10
T12
ers to help, but found no suc-
cess in Monroe County. With
such a small volume, he said,
there was no interest.
The Phelps farm had a dif-
ferent take.
“They were just starting
up and it sounded like fun,”
Craig Phelps said, noting that
the family liked to find diverse
markets to serve.
At the beginning of the
family’s farming journey, a
small truck would go out once
a day with bags of corn and
wheat. Now, the farm dries
1,000 bushels each of corn and
wheat per hour and the fin-
ished product is delivered in
tractor-trailer trucks.
“It’s always good to try,”
Craig Phelps said. “What we do
now, probably is not going to
work in 100 years. So it’s good
to keep trying.”
KAVETTA FARMS: ALL ABOUT
COMFORT
The tour visited three other
farms and stopped at M&M
Schuster Party Barn, 6464 Lib-
erty Pole Rd., Dansville, where
tour participants listened to
speakers and ate grilled cheese
sandwiches prepared from lo-
cal ingredients by Cheesed and
Confused, a Geneseo-based
gourmet grilled cheese food
truck that serves Rochester
and the surrounding Genesee
Valley areas.
Kevetta Farms, 6286 Swartz
Rd., Sparta is a 65-acre dairy
Dave Bojanowski, farmland protection director of the Genesee
Valley Conservancy, welcomes participants to the ninth anual
Livingston County Decision Makers Agricultural Tour on Sept. 29.
Tractor Factor
farm in the hills outside Dans-
ville. Owners Kevin and Annet-
ta Herrington began grazing
cows and selling milk in 2005.
Kevin Herrington was a
heavy equipment operator
when he gave that up to raise
heifers. His father, he said,
“thought I was crazy, but we
had different ideas.”
The Herringtons have cho-
sen to graze their cattle, about
55 jersey and Holstein cows
that live in a free range man-
ner. The fields around the
farm are divided into 26 pad-
docks, each 1.5 acre. Cows ro-
tate through the paddocks six
times a year.
“If I was cutting (hay), I BEN BEAGLE/LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS
wouldn’t get six cuts on the Kevin Herrington left a job as a heavy equipment operator to own a small dairy farm in the hills
fields,” Kevin Herrington said. around Dansville.
He also discovered an add-
ed benefit to grazing: it has
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 Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 13

Tour
From T12

“Everything here is de-

signed for animal comfort,”
Herrington said. “If the cow is
comfortable, she’ll make more
milk and the milk will be better
quality.”
While the holsteins produce
more milk, they also cost more
to farm as they need to eat
more. The jerseys are prized
for producing milk that has
higher butter fat and protein
content.
Kevetta Farms has been
rewarded many times with
awards for the quality of their
milk. The Dairy Farmers of
America have cited the farms
“Super” Milk from 11 consec-
utive years, going back to 2006.
“To keep a small farm I’ve
got to produce the best milk,”
Kevin Herrington said. “I have
to make the hauler want to
come get my milk.”
Kevin and Annetta Her-
BEN BEAGLE/LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS
rington are up about 1 a.m. to
beginning milking. Annetta Jessica Herrington, who works as herd manager for Walker Farms, also helps her family milk cows at their Kevetta Farms in Sparta.
Jessica has degrees from SUNY Morrisivlle and Penn State University.
Herrington leaves by 6 a.m. to
her full-time job as a medical They also sell flowers and Walker said. janowski. He said the Walkers ture, Bojanowski said.
device testing facility. Their donate all proceeds to the mu- Their barns are cleaned have found a balance between “We need to be aware of
daughter Jessica, who works sic department at Livonia High multiple times a day. The pro- high yields and quality pro- the value of farms and farm-
as herd manager for Walker School. cess involved underground
Farms, stops to help finish up. duction – a financially sustain- land,” Levy, of the American
The tour concluded with vents that gravity flow manure able business model. Farmland Trust , said. “There
Their son Tyler works as a me- a stop at Walker Dairy Farm, into a 6-million-gallon lagoon
chanic and assists with main- 7600 Walker Rd., Springwater. until it’s eventually applied It is farms such as Walker is power in your hands as pub-
taining the farm’s equipment. The 1,000-cow operation is onto farmland. Diary Farm that are going to lic officials to zone and protect
“We all pitch in and it seems owned and operated by Don Walker Farm is what ma- feed communities in the fu- these farms.”
to work pretty good,” Kev- Walker and his son Doug. The ny diary agriculture farms in
in Herrington said. The farm
does not have any outside la-
farm yields an average of 8,000
gallons of milk per day, Don
the United States are geared
toward becoming, said Bo-
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14 • Thursday, December 28, 2017
WNY Energy celebrates 10 years
By MALLORY DIEFENBACH
mdiefenbach@batavianews.com
MEDINA — At the beginning
of the month, Western New
York Energy (WNYE) celebrat-
ed its 10th anniversary operat-
ing in Medina.
On Dec. 1, 2007, WNYE com-
pleted construction on their
$90 million facility and be-
gan producing clean burning,
homegrown ethanol. Origi-
nally designed to produce 50
million gallons of fuel grade
ethanol per year, WNYE in the
10 years since has added addi-
tional capacity.
“A lot of the (expansion)
projects has been new technol-
ogies. Upgrades, little things
here and there,” said Timothy
Winters, president and CEO
of WNYE. “We’ve added corn
storage — that’s the large silver
bin. That’s 800,000 bushels of
additional storage, so we have
1.8 million of corn storage to-
day. Back in April we brought
on an additional fementer, as
well as some additional cool-
ing capacity. All of those things
have allowed us to gain a little
bit in terms of additional gal-
lons, but more importantly be-
ing more efficient.”
WNYE contracts with up-
wards of 350 growers in West-
ern New York, depending on
the year and how much crop
the farmers have grown.
To make ethanol, Winters
said about a third of corn is
starch. WNYE takes the starch
out, breaks it down through
enzymes to sugars — which
the yeast eat, and as part of
that process, release carbon
dioxide and produce alcohol.
From there, the alcohol is dis-
tilled to 100 percent ethanol,
capture the carbon dioxide
and take the rest of the compo-
nents from the corn — fat, fiber
and protein — and turn it into
the plant’s co-products: either
dried distillers grains which go
out to farms and feed mills or
extract the fat as a feed-grade
corn oil that can be used for an-
imal feed or biodiesel produc-
Tractor Factor
Timothy D. Winters President and CEO of Western New York
Energy in front of the ethanol plant in Medina.
tion.
“Nothing goes to waste,” he
said. “It’s a zero waste process.”
The process from fermenta-
tion to producing alcohol in the
tank, it takes 72 hours. All the
ethanol produced is fuel-grade
ethanol and the finished prod-
uct stays between Buffalo and
Rochester. Winters said most of
the gasoline in the area is prob-
ably 10 percent blend of etha-
ROCCO LAURIENZO/THE DAILY NEWS
nol which is probably originat-
ing from the plant.
“When we first started, we
did load a few rail cars of etha-
nol, but today we haven’t load-
ed a rail car in eight, nine years
of ethanol,” he said. “It all goes
out via truck, so it all stays in
this area.”
Winters said to celebrate
their 10th anniversary, they
had an annual corn grower
event in the summer where
they feed the farmers barbeque
and have a few speakers. Ear-
lier in December, WNYE had
something for the drivers and
the employees as well.
There are some additional
expansion projects on the hori-
zon, but WNYE is still on the
evaluation phase. Winters said
a challenge over the 10 years is
learning the plant inside and
out and continuing to optimize
it.
Today there is over 200 etha-
nol plants running in the Unit-
ed States, but WNYE was the
first facility in the northeast.
“We’re very proud over the
10 years what we are able to
accomplish — not only proud
of our employes, but happy for
the faith and dedication of our
managements as well as our
ownership and members to
bring this facility to Medina,”
Winters said. “We look forward
to continuing to work with the
local farmers as well as work
with the local community.”

Batavia Turf named Business of the Year
By BRIAN QUINN
bquinn@batavianews.com
BUFFALO — An Elba land-
scaping business serving
Western New York for 57 years
was honored this fall as the
2017 PLANT WNY Foundation
Business of the Year.
Batavia Turf received the
award in November, mainly
for its support of PLANT WNY
activities, the organization
said. Batavia Turf has been a
major sponsor of the Trade
Show & Education Conference
for five years, sponsoring and
participating in golf outings,
volunteering at Plantasia, sup-
porting the membership di-
rectory and attending numer-
ous PLANT WNY events.
“Batavia Turf also never
hesitates to generously offer
product to Plantasia as well
as other community groups,”
PLANT WNY said.
Chuck Hoover, who works
in sales and marketing at Bat-
avia Turf, said the award the
company earned at Raclettes
Your Metal Roofing, Siding, Snow Removel & Window Specialist
Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 15
restaurant in Buffalo was its
first from PLANT WNY.
“Obviously, we’re very
pleased. We’re a very large
landscaping group,” he said.
Batavia Turf has sister com-
panies, CY Farms and CY Heif-
er Farms.
“They presented a slide-
show of the business and gave
a little info on the diversity of
Batavia Turf and its sister com-
panies,” Hoover said. “That
was for the people who were
there to learn a little bit more
about what we do.”
When the award was pre-
sented in Buffalo at PLANT
WNY’s annual Harvest Din-
ner, Hoover and Craig Yunker, BATAVIATURF.COM
managing partner at Batavia Batavia Turf has served Western New York for 57 years.
Turf, were there to accept it.
“CY Farms, our sister com- and commercial. We also dis- We provide sod of all of West- staff puts in every day.”
pany, and Batavia Turf stress tribute infield dirt for all AAA ern New York and Pennsylva- PLANT WNY’s 2017 Person
education all the time. At our professional clubs, in New nia,” he said. of the Year Award went to Rog-
three businesses, we have York state and hundreds of Christian Yunker, Batavia er Restorff, owner of Restoff’s
about 40 employees,” he said. college and high schools (ath- Turf managing partner, said, Landscape Service in Buffalo.
“We produce sod, we provide letic fields). “Of course its absolutely a He is treasurer of the PLANT
sod for homeowners, land- “We’ve been growing turf in great honor. It’s nice to be rec- WNY Foundation and a past
scapers, schools, residential Genesee County since 1960. ognized for the hard work our president of PLANT WNY.
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16 • Thursday, December 28, 2017
Market forces add pressure to maple season
By JIM KRENCIK
jkrencik@batavianews.com
ATTICA — Outside forces
always weigh into the produc-
tion of maple sap, which re-
lies on the push-pull of tem-
peratures that jolt flows right
out of trees that predominate
in Western New York.
But as another sugar season
nears, other forces far beyond
the control of local producers
could prove as challenging
as an unseasonal warm spell.
California regulators, a glut
of product and the whims
of commercial packers and
Quebec’s maple behemoth
will all make their mark as sap
drips into buckets and tubing
strung across the region.
Huddling in Attica in early
December, the maple tappers
that made Wyoming County
the state’s largest syrup-pro-
ducer were not worried about
their product, or its value
within the community. The
question was what will hap-
pen when they try to send it
into the commercial market,
which purchases syrup in
drums much larger than the
decorative bottles sold at Ma-
ple Weekend.
Maple production has in-
creased over 10 percent per
year, Doug Wolcott of Dale
said as he spoke to the West-
ern New York Maple School.
While a vast majority of the
product comes from Quebec
and the American northeast,
it’s not reaching the larger
market with enough speed
and consumers to keep up
with supply.
“The marketing isn’t keep-
ing up with production,” said
Wolcott, a distributor of ma-
ple products who also taps
around 8,000 maple trees at
his family’s operation. “We
need to better market our syr-
up, each and every one of us. I
know a lot of us just bulk their
syrup out, or sell it in the fall
… right now the packers are
full; they don’t care to take
anymore.”
He said Bascom, a packer
he contracts with, is increas-
ing the limitations on the syr-
up it buys. They want every
drum tested before sending
— not just sample bottles;
and for product to be shipped
in 30-gallon drums, nothing
smaller.
“They are tightening the
flavor, if you are making late
season syrup, and it doesn’t
taste as good to you (as your
best maple syrup) ...,” Wol-
cott said. “Stop, because there
may not be a home for it.”
The experienced produc-
ers in Wyoming County and
around the region have seen
the volatility in their chosen
agricultural field. There’s bad
years, where the season is
short and the weather poor;
and years where the trees
gush out sap so fast that their
sugaring shacks run for days
on end.
Producers don’t know what
2018 will bring, but if this con-
tinues to have another good
year, Wolcott said there may
be quotas — where if a pack-
ager that has accepted 1,000
gallons a year is only willing to
buy 900 gallons. Some of the
packers are talking about cut-
ting everything by 10 percent.
“There’s a lot of rumors
around,” Wolcott said.
A HEALTHIER PRODUCT
For consumers, the chal-
lenges faced by producers
could be beneficial. Having
only the best product make it
to the mass market is good for
the syrup sold at the super-
Tractor Factor
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
Eric Randall of Alexander, pictured explaining the sugaring
process to visitors during a Maple Weekend tour, told producers
in Wyoming County that they will be tasked with improving syrup
quality to meet the demands of regulators and packagers.
market, and may push down removing even microscopic
prices. levels of lead from food prod-
It’s hard to argue against ucts. The maple meeting was
Mark J. Dewey
Kim B. Dewey
Nathan M. Dewey
585-548-7407
fax: 585-548-2743
e-mail: dew99@juno.com
5966 Griswold Road, Byron, NY 14422
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
Jugs of New York State maple
syrup are sold at retail, but a
glut in supply and high growth
in production are limiting
options for industry-level
sales.
ringed by suppliers with mod-
ern equipment and indus-
try leaders hoping that their
product doesn’t lose its status
as a family breakfast staple.
For maple syrup, lead has
been measured by the state
and federal governments on a
standard of 250 parts per mil-
lion, but an industry change is
raising the standard. The lead
issue came out of Proposition
65 in California, which in 1986
was approved as a means of
requiring more information
See MAPLE T17

Maple
From T16
to be provided on the materi-
als in a consumer product.
Eric Randall of Alexander
said at the meeting that the
major producers reached
a Prop 65 agreement with
California that is now being
pushed down to the thou-
sands of smaller producers.
It largely self-regulated, but
Randall told his colleagues it’s
not difficult to find lead-con-
tributing products in old
equipment.
“If you’ve got a brass fit-
ting anywhere in your system,
you’ve got lead in the system,”
said Randall. “Or the old
white-painted wood buckets
(that are now antiques), that’s
not paint, that’s white lead …
the major buyers are not go-
ing to buy syrup where there
is known lead in the system,
where there are galvanized
drums.”
He joked that the only lead
that should be found in a sug-
ar bush are spent 12-gauge
slugs, but was dead serious is
saying that lead can not be in
any syrup produced, as both a
commercial and moral policy.
“It’s your conscience,”
Randall said. “The import-
ant thing … how many of us
have grandchildren running
around? Do you want that in
their mouths? (We should
have) no lead. It does not oc-
The syrup industry has moved beyond simple buckets nailed
into maple trees, but the trees themselves continue to produce a
healthy product.
Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 17
corn syrup and water dolled glut, and the cost of improv-
cur naturally, it’s not trans-
ported in the sap system. It’s
from sap sitting in a galva-
up with caramel coloring.
He then pointed to a maple
ing the quality of equipment,
is right there for us to take,
in Vermont and New York,”
he said, noting that a maple
syrup booth at the Pike fair
nized tank that was lead sol- operation near Silver Lake. Randall said. It’s selling ma- sells to a market that already
dered and begins to warm They need to keep using their ple made here with the same makes its own syrup. “The in-
up.” location and market to their level of market penetration sularity of maple producers
advantage, and continue to that has made the region’s is that we only make syrup
MARKET READY put out a quality, food-grade dairy products, fruit and on- to sell in the (north east). We
Randall’s appeal to his fel- product. ions travel. should be in North Carolina
low maple producers near A solution to the supply “We have to stop marketing (and beyond).”
end of this term as president
of the North American Ma-
ple Syrup Council, an indus-
try group. The meeting held
many of minds that birthed
the now-statewide Maple
Weekend program, and who
have weaved syrup into can-
dy, drinks and flavoring for an
endless supply of foods.
But local-level innovation
isn’t enough. As “the titu-
lar head of maple producers
worldwide,” Randall said the
maple industry has to expand
its outlook.
“We know how to make syr-
up, we know how to tap trees,
the technology is working
for us. What we don’t know
is how to market it,” Randall
said. “There’s a big difference
between selling and market-
ing. (But the industry) doesn’t
want to hear it. The little peo-
ple like us marketing it retail,
we have to keep doing that. I
hope this glut of new people
coming in do the same thing.”
Talking with producers
afterwards, he grabbed a
container of “Aunt Maple’s
Syrup,” a product available
nationwide. It’s a mixture
of corn-syrup, high fructose
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
18 • Thursday, December 28, 2017 Tractor Factor

Canadian maple distributor opens in Attica

By JESSICA DILLON one who has 30 to 40,000.” through Easter, he said.
JDillon@BataviaNews.com And Burnison tries to keep And after this upcoming ma-
ATTICA — A more-than- a full line of equipment — ev- ple run, Burnison and his fam-
decade-old business venture erything from reverse osmosis ily, and many others, too, will
specializing in the distribution systems to a wide array of taps, be making the move to produc-
of maple sugaring equipment available for purchase at the tion of certified organic syrup.
and accessories has opened its new site. “Right now we’re at about
doors in Attica. “It’s one of the reasons why 7,000 taps, soon to be organic
One of more than 20 branch- we moved out of Fillmore,” certified,” Burnison explained.
es of Canadian-based Do- Burnison said of local demand. “There’s more demand for
minion and Grimm, a maple “Wyoming County is the sec- it, a lot of the younger gener-
equipment manufacturer and ond largest, unless they’ve ation is trying to eat healthier
dealer, opened Nov. 1 at its surpassed Lewis County, the and we’ve seen it in the public
new 2065 Clinton St. location. second-largest maple syrup market. A fair amount of peo-
It had been housed in Fill- producer in the state.” ple inquire about it.”
more for the previous 12 years, And, currently, New York In the meantime, though,
but when Attica native Brian state is the nation’s sec- MARK GUTMAN/DAILY NEWS Burnison is just trying to get in
Burnison acquired the busi- ond-largest maple syrup. Brian Burnison with wife Mandie and daughter Riley age 2. the swing of things.
ness in June, he said he wanted That’s big. “Business so far, it’s start-
to bring things back to Wyo- “The industry has grown ant now than ever before, he a big role in the changing land- ing to pick up,” he said. “The
ming County. tremendously, not only in the said, because the bulk price scape, too. weather has changed, deer sea-
“We moved it basically for number of taps but in tech- of maple syrup is decreasing. “Years ago we used to go by son is over, people are getting
the simple fact that we live in nology,” Burnison explained. “Guys are a little more frugal the date,” Burnison said. “We back into the woods...We’re
Attica and it used to be in Fill- “Technology has grown in buying new equipment, never tapped ‘til the first of glad to bring it back to Wyo-
more,” Burnison said. “Our through the roof, it’s changed they’re just trying to maintain March and we were done by ming County.”
sugar house is about three this industry drastically in the what they already have,” Bur- the end of April. Now we play Dominion & Grimm is open
miles down the road.” last ten years ... Being able to nison said. “And with the in- it by weather because it’s so from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
Burnison, his wife, his two cut manpower and tap more dustry growing, we have to find up and down — last year a lot through Friday, and Burni-
children and his parents help taps, you really see it in pro- different ways to market and to started tapping on Jan. 1.” son’s phone is on “seven days a
to run the family operation, duction costs.” try and grow the national con- When all is said and done — week, 24 hours a day” if anyone
begun when Burnison’s father And any means of saving sumption.” with early thaws and late freez- has questions or needs assis-
tapped his first tree way back costs may be more import- tance, he said.
He said climate change plays es — the typical season is Feb. 1
in 1963. In the time since, the
venture has grown on a monu-
mental scale.
What began as a one-man
operation that dealt with about
500 taps has grown to a full-
fledged maple operation split
into three separate and distinct
parts — Dominion and Grimm,
the corporate warehouse; MB
Maple, which deals in the fab-
rication and installation of cus-
tom tubes; and Valley Maple
Products, the syrup, candy and
other maple products sold by
the Burnison family.
Those products, includ-
ing bourbon syrup, produced
when syrup is taken straight
from the evaporator, poured
into freshly dumped bourbon
barrels and then aged for any-
where from six months to a
year and a half, are available for
purchase at D and G, but that’s
not what the warehouse is all
about.
“We carry a full line of con-
tainers, from glass and plastic
to honey — we deal in honey,
too,” Burnison said. “We take
care of the small guy who has
50 trees all the way up to some-
 Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 19

FFA: Students land jobs from crop Brakes class scheduled

consultants to technicians
MT. MORRIS — Agriculture
Education and FFA is alive
and well in Livingston Coun-
ty.
There are three programs
at the Genesee Valley BOCES
in Mt. Morris.
They consists of Animal
Science/Vet Assisting, Ag-
riculture Production and
Science, and Conservation/
Heavy Equipment.
Within these programs
there are over 20 acres of
land, two greenhouses, three
barns, dog grooming and
small animal facilities, dog
kennels, a sawmill, 12 species
of animals, and over 20 pieces
of agriculture and conserva-
tion equipment.
Students in the programs
operate equipment and care
for animals and plants on a
daily basis.
Throughout the year they
saw lumber to build sheds
Christian Hill, Hannah Wyatt, Kayla McCauley, and Spencer
DiSalvo at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind.
and furniture, groom dogs,
and produce hay and grain for
livestock.
The Charles G May FFA is
very active in the state and lo-
cal area.
Students have the opportu-
nity to be chapter officers, at-
tend leadership conferences
and participate in speaking
and skill Career Development
Events.
Students in the program
travel as short a distance as
the Livingston County Farm
Fest to as far away as the Na-
tional FFa Convention in In-
dianapolis.
Students graduating from
these programs go on to work
as herdsmen, crop consul-
tants, veterinary technicians,
dog groomers, and for high-
way department and parks.
for farm drivers
GAINESVILLE — Cornell
Cooperative Extension, in
collaboration with Marquart
Repair, will present a brakes
component ID class on Jan.
20.
The session is designed for
information and education
of farm and fleet owners, op-
erators and drivers.
The workshop will include
a hands-on brake display;
detailed brake component
identification and function;
a question-and-answer ses-
sion; and a facilities tour of
the repair buildings featuring
outside sales and customer
support representative Ron
Hotis, and service manager
Chad Potter.
Information on the DOT
enforcement class set for
February will also be avail-
able. Those interested are
also encouraged to watch for
the New York state farm in-
spection information work-
shop for farm vehicles to be
held in March at the Warsaw
DOT facility.
The workshop will start 10
a.m. at the Marquart repair
facility on 5195 Route 19.
Cost of the workshop is $10
and includes refreshments
and handouts.
For questions and infor-
mation, contact Debra Welch
at (585) 786-2251 or e-mail
djw275@cornell.edu
To register, contact Lisa
at (585) 786-2251 or e-mail
lma96@cornell.edu.

Sen. Gallivan attends hearing

on NY agriculture
State Sen. Patrick Gallivan,
R-Elma, a member of the New
York State Senate Agriculture
Committee, heard testimo-
ny recently from agriculture
leaders on how the state can
support the growth of its
leading industry. Agriculture
Committee Chair Senator Pat-
ty Ritchie hosted the Albany
hearing.
During the hearing, sen-
ators heard testimony from
key stakeholders from nearly
two dozen agricultural orga-
nizations and businesses. The
Senate Agriculture Committee
will use the information to cre-
ate new policies to help grow-
ers across the state.
“As we prepare for a new
Legislative session, it’s im-
portant that we hear from
farmers and others in the ag-
riculture industry about the
challenges they face and how
the state can best support
them,” Gallivan said in a state-
ment. “New York’s economy
depends on a strong agricul-
tural industry and I appreciate
the input we received from
those who testified at Tues-
day’s hearing.
“Agriculture remains New
York State’s leading industry,
and if we want it to remain as
such, we need to make sure we
are tapping into the insights
and ideas that those on the
front line have for helping it to
grow,” said Ritchie. “I would
like to thank those who partic-
ipated in this hearing and look
forward to putting the ideas
they shared for supporting
farmers and strengthening ag-
riculture into motion.”
Those delivering testimony
included representatives of
the New York Farm Bureau,
Cornell College of Agricul-
ture and Life Sciences, FFA,
NY Maple Producers, Cornell
Center for Dairy Excellence
and the New York Farm Via-
bility Institute, among oth-
ers. They shared details on
challenges faced by those
in the industry and ideas for
supporting its future success.
Several of the challenges dis-
cussed were low milk prices,
adapting to changing weather
and attracting new people to
the profession, among others.
In addition, those testify-
ing also thanked the Senate
Agriculture Committee for its
efforts in recent years to re-
store and increase funding for
vitally important programs.
In 2017, for the third straight
year, the state budget includ-
ed record funding for agricul-
ture.
Included in the spending
plan was $51 million—which
included $10 million in re-
stored cuts made in the Exec-
utive Budget proposal—that is
helping to support dozens of
programs farmers depend on,
as well as to launch new initia-
tives designed to strengthen 125 Prospect St. Attica, NY 14011 • (585) 591-0678
the connection between con-
sumers and local foods. www.UpstateDCJ.com
20 • Thursday, December 28, 2017
SBA loans available across GLOW region
Special to The LCN
Federal Economic Injury
Disaster Loans are available
in New York as a result of ex-
cess rain that began April 1.
The loans are available to
small businesses, small agri-
cultural cooperatives, small
businesses engaged in aqua-
culture and most private
non-profit organizations in
30 New York counties, in-
cluding Livingston, Genesee,
Wyoming, Steuben, Monroe,
Ontario and Orleans coun-
ties.
Completed loan applica-
tions must be returned to
SBA no later than Aug. 13,
2018.
Under this declaration,
the SBA’s Economic Inju-
ry Disaster Loan program is
available to eligible farm-re-
lated and nonfarm-related
entities that suffered finan-
cial losses as a direct result of
this disaster. With the excep-
tion of aquaculture enter-
prises, SBA cannot provide
Livingston Farm Bureau
wins state award
Special to The LCN
The Livingston County
Farm Bureau was presented
with nine Silver Key Awards at
the New York Farm Bureau’s
State Annual Meeting in Alba-
ny.
The Silver Key Awards are
presented to county Farm
Bureaus that have exhibited
excellence in a variety of cat-
egories relating to effective-
ness in policy implementa-
tion, promoting agriculture
amongst the public and in
classrooms, leadership de-
velopment and membership
building.
Membership is a crucial
part of Farm Bureau and
many individuals took an
active role in the campaign
to increase numbers, offi-
cials said. Many individuals
worked tirelessly to recruit
new members and 48 farmers
were awarded for their efforts.
Livingston County Farm
Bureau received the coveted
Tractor Factor
disaster loans to agricultural Disaster loan information hard-of-hearing) or by send- plications should be mailed
producers, farmers or ranch- and application forms may ing an email to disastercus- to: U.S. Small Business Ad-
ers. also be obtained by calling tomerservice@sba.gov. ministration, Processing and
The loan amount can be the SBA’s Customer Service Loan applications can be Disbursement Center, 14925
up to $2 million with inter- Center at 800-659-2955 (800- downloaded from www.sba. Kingsport Road, Fort Worth,
est rates of 2.50 percent for 877-8339 for the deaf and gov/disaster. Completed ap- TX 76155.
private non-profit organiza-
tions and 3.150 percent for
small businesses, with terms
up to 30 years. The SBA de-
termines eligibility based on
the size of the applicant, type
of activity and its financial
resources. Loan amounts
and terms are set by the SBA
and are based on each appli-
cant’s financial condition.
These working capital loans
may be used to pay fixed
debts, payroll, accounts
payable, and other bills that
could have been paid had the
disaster not occurred. The
loans are not intended to re-
place lost sales or profits.
Applicants may apply on-
line using the Electronic
Loan Application via SBA’s
secure website at https://di-
sasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
“New York Farm Bureau Tro-
phy for Membership Excel-
lence.” It goes to the county
Farm Bureau that ranks the
highest in six membership
categories.
While at the State Annu-
al Meeting, which was Dec.
5 and 6, farmer members al-
so took part in the grassroots
process of laying the ground-
work for the year ahead.
More than 150 delegates from
across New York proposed,
discussed and voted on reso-
lutions that will guide NYFB’s
public policy agenda for 2018.
Livingston County Farm
Bureau is dedicated to solving
the economic and public poli-
cy issues challenging the agri-
cultural community, officials
said. The county farm bureau
is part of New York Farm Bu-
reau, the largest agricultural
advocacy group in New York
State, known to members and
the public as “The Voice of
New York Agriculture.”

$1.5M grant to spur $5M facility in Avon
By MATT LEADER and BEN BEAGLE
news@livingstonnews.com
Michael Howlett has spent
the past two years working
with consultants, coordinat-
ing surveys and exploring
every possible angle to deter-
mine how best to serve the
craft beverage producers of
New York.
The work paid off last week
as Howlett Farms in Avon,
where Howlett works as a grain
merchandiser, was awarded
$1.5 million in the latest round
of New York’s Regional Eco-
nomic Development Council
grant program.
Howlett Farms will use the
funding to construct a soy-
bean-extruding facility to pro-
duce soymeal and oil and a
malting barley clearinghouse
and storage facility. The two-
pronged facility will be the
first of its kind in Western New
York.
State funding will be made
available April 1, said Howl-
ett, who’s working to firm up
a construction timeline and
other details. The project’s
overall cost is expected to be
around $5 million.
A LITTLE HISTORY
Over the past several years,
Livingston County commis-
sioned planning and feasibil-
ity studies that took a closer
look at whether an agri-busi-
ness centric industrial park
was generally viable for an ar-
ea of vacant land in Lakeville
sandwiched between Bronson
Hill Road and Rochester Road
(Route 15).
The results of those studies
indicated that a grain distri-
bution hub would make sense
for the area, said Livingston
County Administrator Ian
Coyle in a 2016 interview with
the County News.
“It would almost be a hub
and distribution center for
grains in the area,” said Coyle.
“An outfit that would work
with farmers, almost like a co-
op in nature.”
Howlett approached the
county as it was conducting
its studies and eventually took
up a real interest in making the
proposal a reality.
Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 21
“We didn’t have an opera-
tor, we were just looking to see
if it was a feasible type project
to go after,” said Bill Bacon,
executive director of the coun-
ty’s Economic Development
Office. “So he got right into it,
kind of climbed into the busi-
ness plan phase and put to-
gether numbers and pro forma
and kind of did almost the sec-
ond phase of the plan for the
(grant funding) application.”
While the studies showed
there would be a niche market
for such a facility, the county
was concerned about up front
costs associated with getting it
off the ground.
Those concerns have largely PROVIDED PHOTO
been assuaged since Howlett Hefty investment. Howlett Farms in Avon will be the site of a new soybean extrusion and malting
came into the picture, said Ba- barley processing and storage facility.
con.
“He’s definitely a risk miti- MALTING BARLEY FACILITY
Trucks For
gant to the whole thing,” said The new malting barley fa-
Bacon. cility will clean, process, segre-
While the county had origi- gate and store malting barley
nally envisioned the grain hub
in Livonia, Bacon said Howlett
Farms was a better fit.
– and perhaps some artisan
grains - purchased from farm-
ers who grow relatively small
Every Job
“It makes more sense, quantities of the stuff.
there’s more efficiencies and
it’s a more cost effective proj-
“You wouldn’t grow 400
acres of these types of grains -
HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS
ect kind of on his farm as it ex- you’d probably grow more like
ists,” said Bacon. “It fits in the
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22 • Thursday, December 28, 2017
Facility
From T21
said Bacon. “The craft brewers
– they don’t need large grain
bins, they need a tote or a bag
– they don’t need tremendous
volume.”
Howlett’s existing relation-
ship with more than 500 area
producers is a big mark in the
plus column, said Bacon, as is
his ability to accept product
that may not meet the strict
quality controls placed on
grains intended for human
consumption.
“Some of these farms and
producers, they’re taking
these grains to a clearing-
house or a storage facility or
even a malt house sometimes
(and) if it doesn’t have the
right protein content, they’re
saying ‘no, sorry, take it back,’
and the truck is just kind of
refused,” said Bacon. “Mike,
with his access and what he’s
got at his disposal, he can say
‘Look, I’ll still take the truck
from you, it’s going to be pet
feed or cow feed or whatever,
but you’re going to get some-
thing out of it.’”
There’s also onerous re-
porting requirements that
come with processing and
storing grains intended for
human consumption. With a
large operation already up and
running, Bacon said Howlett
Farms is uniquely positioned
to handle that workload.
“You have to know what
field it comes from, you almost
have to know right down to the
acre where it s coming from,”
Bacon said. “If a brewer brews
something, they’re going to
want to know where that came
from so they can brew consis-
tently… when you open one
Coors light, you want it to taste
like the second one and the
third one.”
Bacon also likes the long-
term prospects of the malt-
ing barley industry, largely
because of a 2013 state law
intended to make it easier for
brewers to make a living sell-
ing beer.
Under New York’s Farm
Brewery Law, brewers are
allowed to serve beer by the
glass without a separate per-
mit, can sell their products at
Tractor Factor
ett. “There’s no need for us to
farmers markets and up to five
branch offices.
In return, brewers who op-
be doing that.”
Once the soybean facility’s
in our state for soybeans,” he
said. “There is very little de-
mand now in part because
with the soy extrusion facility
provides a local option for ma-
ny farmers who are traveling
erate under a farm brewery up and running, Howlett ex- processing facilities are so far several hundreds of miles to
license have to use a certain pects local farmers to benefit away.” get their soybeans crushed,”
percentage of state-grown in- but also producers from other Bacon agreed, saying the Bacon said. “To not have to do
gredients in their beers. parts of the state and country facility would “have a huge that - I think the projections
Currently, only 20 percent who won’t have to ship their impact” on the area’s “entire could show a tremendous cost
of a beer’s ingredients have product as far away. agricultural economy.” savings, which is just money
to be grown in-state. In 2019, “It will increase demand “I think what he’s proposing back in (farmers’) pockets.”
that percentage jumps to 60
percent and again in 2024 to
90 percent.
Passage of the law, which
also decreased licensing fees
and simplified the permit-
ting process, has correspond-
ed with serious gains in the
state’s craft brewing.
Between 2012 and 2016,
the number of New York State
breweries grew from 95 to 320.
With the in-state ingredient
requirements, Bacon said he
sees steady growth potential.
“The first three years might
be a little slow getting started,
but beyond that and especial-
ly as these thresholds change
under the farm brewing bill
– they just go up and up,” he
said. “So I see a good, long-
term stretch of this being a
positive trend.”
SOYBEAN FACILITY
The soybean extrusion fa-
cility came later to Howlett’s
plan after a need was identi-
fied for a local processing fa-
cility.
Currently, the two closest
commercial facilities for soy-
beans are located 136 miles
away in Hamilton Ontario and
311 miles away in Bellevue,
OH.
“We are shipping out a very
valuable commodity and
farmers are bearing the ex-
pense as freight,” said Howl-
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True Farms employee honored by Sen. Gallivan
By JESSICA DILLON
JDillon@BataviaNews.com
PERRY — Sen. Patrick Galli-
van made rounds at local dairy
farms earlier this month, tour-
ing robotic milking parlors,
presenting proclamations
and honoring one very special
employee, Charlie Schmidt,
for his accomplishments as a
“Works for Me” employee.
Schmidt came to work for
True Farms, Inc. a few years
back, just after brothers Jeff
and Brian True, seventh-gen-
eration dairy farmers and
owners of the 40-year-old fam-
ily farm, decided to participate
in a new program offered by
the New York State Office for
People With Developmental
Disabilities.
Since then, those who work
with Schmidt say he’s really
come out of his shell.
“He was pretty introvert-
ed — he kind of kept to him-
self when he first came to the
farm,” said Jeff’s wife, Sarah
True. “Now he does a really
great job and appears to take a
lot of pride in his work.”
Schmidt helps out wherever
he’s needed at the 1,100-acre
farm, home to over a thousand
cows, but he works primarily
in the calf barn, built just a few
years ago.
“He started out doing a lot of
odds and ends from landscap-
ing to fixing bunkers, cleaning
the milk parlor,” said Rachel
Hatfield, integrated employ-
ment services coordinator at
the Finger Lakes DDSO. “And
then he tried the calf barn and
that was where he decided that
he wanted to work and where
the farm thought he was the
most valuable asset to their
team.”
Schmidt works at the farm
for about 10 hours weekly per-
forming various duties. He
puts straw and shavings down
in the calf pens; works in the
calf day-care center; and will
do what is necessary to make
sure that his coworker, Olivia,
is not injured when she’s giv-
ing calves their vaccinations.
He also helps the calves to re-
locate once they’ve graduated
from the calf barn.
“I think the program has
helped him a lot,” Sarah said.
Tractor Factor Thursday, December 28, 2017 • 23
the workers and goes out of milk to produce cheese and
his way to make sure Schmidt, sour cream in the Upstate New
and everyone else, has what York area, was a recipient of
they need. the OPWDD “Works for Me”
“He likes to make sure peo- Small Business of the Year.
ple are fed well,” she said. “He Works for Me awards are
thinks having group meals are given to businesses across
an important part of working the state committed to work-
on the farm.” force diversity and hiring in-
And Schmidt thinks so, too. dividuals with developmental
In his three years at the farm, disabilities. The businesses
he’s grown more independent recognize the “significant con-
in his roles and has shown sig- tributions that individuals can
nificant improvement, in all make in the workplace and
aspects, along the way. that hiring workers with devel-
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“The work and social as- opmental disabilities makes
Charlie Schmidt looks on as Sen. Gallivan reads a proclamation pects — I think both have been good business sense,” accord-
recognizing Schmidt’s achievements as an OPWDD “Works for equally beneficial,” Sarah said. ing to OPWDD officials.
Me” employee and True Farms, Inc. as OPWDD’s Small Business of
And Schmidt, well, “he was “I can say this – they abso-
the Year.
super happy about it, he’s ex- lutely deserve this award,” said
“Charlie was one of our That’s thanks, in part, to the cited about all of it,” Hatfield Alton Rudgers, a local dairy
young clients and he really efforts of Jeff and Brian True, said. farmer who knows the Trues
took to it...Now he’s on our who serve as ambassadors for The farm, which sells its “very well.”
payroll.” the program and have helped
According to Hatfield, that’s to ensure that seven different
become an increasingly com- farm operations in the Finger
mon phenomenon. Lakes region now participate
“We just started this pro- in the program.
gram five years ago, so we have The Trues say that’s be-
a fairly small group of individ- cause working with people
uals that we serve — about 30 like Schmidt has been an over-
in this area,” Hatfield said. whelmingly positive experi-
Now, at least four or five ence. Jeff described Schmidt
New York’s Leading Auctioneer
people involved in the inte- as someone who is “never Appraiser & Real Estate Broker
grated employment program frustrated,” and “always has a
are on the payroll at local pizza
shops and area farms.
good attitude.”
On Tuesday, Schmidt was P.O. Box 58, Stafford
“It’s hard for us to get in the all smiles once again. He said
door sometimes, so that’s been
a barrier,” Hatfield said. “But
this way, you know, agricultur-
he likes the way his boss spoils
him.
Sarah explained what
585-343-5449
ally, we’ve seen an increase in
people getting hired.”
Schmidt meant by that — Jeff
often puts on group meals for
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Specializing in General Facility Repairs • Hard Surfacing
Contact Nate Bennet At 716-353-8579 Aluminum/Stainless Steel • Cast Steel & Iron
24 • Thursday, December 28, 2017 Tractor Factor