Posts Tagged ‘agriculture’

Monday, February 20, 2023

Support Local Small Farm Agriculture, Join a CSA Farm 

Tangleroot Farm

Small farms. The name says it all. Modest. Practical. Connected to the earth and the local population. Small farms were once the backbone of this country.

Small-scale farmers grow a diversity of fresh produce; often using very few or no chemicals. They raise livestock avoiding added hormones and antibiotics. They sell their goods at local markets and directly to neighbors, friends, and other members of their community.

They’re a self-reliant lot; sometimes stubbornly independent. They love the outdoors. They’re not afraid to work 80 hours a week. And they’re content to reap fair and honest compensation for fair and honest work. They’re creative, resourceful, resilient agricultural entrepreneurs who love their land and the food they grow on it; food that’s the finest, the freshest, and the best that money can buy.

As consumers, we have a choice. We can buy our food from small, local, independent growers who sell their own home-grown produce and meat direct to the public and enjoy the freshest, highest-quality food possible, or we can buy food produced on industrial, corporate, factory farms; and support stockholders, middlemen, and a soulless, faceless, global, industrialized-food-system.

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Monday, October 10, 2022

Agriculture and solar

shaw pond

The leaves are changing color quickly in the Adirondacks and were quite beautiful on Friday when the Explorer team met in Long Lake for a birding walk. Larry Master, one of our board members and a talented wildlife photographer, helped us spot wood ducks, great blue herons, song sparrows and belted kingfishers on our trip to Shaw Pond.

In case you missed it, last week state and local agricultural leaders attended a conference in Saratoga Springs. I stopped by and asked New York State Agricultural Commissioner Richard Ball and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack some questions including what their thoughts were about solar development on farmland. Read the story here.

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Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Adirondack Council weighs in on NYSERDA’s draft Climate Scoping Plan, importance of wild forests and farms

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. – As owners of the largest intact temperate deciduous forest on Earth, New Yorkers have an awesome responsibility to save the Adirondack Park from the ravages of climate change. But that “forever wild” forest is also New York’s greatest weapon in the fight to prevent global overheating, the Adirondack Council told the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority recently.

The Adirondack Park’s largest environmental organization was commenting on NYSERDA’s draft Climate Scoping Plan, which will spell out how the state intends to combat climate change and comply with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.  The Act requires New York to stop emitting all greenhouse gases by 2050.

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Monday, May 2, 2022

Cornell Cooperative Extension – Providing Technical and Educational Information and Resources for Agriculture 

Did you know that New York is one of the nation’s leading agricultural states? Or that New York State agriculture generates well over $5-billion in revenue annually? Or that, according to the latest data available, when you figure in all sectors of agriculture, including processing and support businesses that provide feed, supplies, machinery, and services, the industry provides work for nearly 200,000 New Yorkers?
Our farmers are world-class producers of dairy products. We rank first in the nation in yogurt, cottage cheese, and sour cream production, third in milk and Italian cheese production, and fourth in total cheese production. We’re the second-largest producer of maple syrup, apples, cabbage, and snap peas; third in grapes (and recognized around the world for great, often distinguished and celebrated wines and wineries); and fifth in production of tart cherries and squash. Honey and other fruits and vegetables (e.g. potatoes, sweet corn) are of significant economic importance, as well.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Farms invited to apply for Adirondack Council mini-grants

Full and By farmFor the first time, the Adirondack Council’s Essex Farm Institute’s Micro-Grants for Adirondack Farms and Value-Added Producers will offer grants of up to $8,000 for the implementation of environmentally-beneficial and sustainable projects led by Adirondack farms and value-added producers. Prior grants had not exceeded $5,000, with most awarded in the $1,500 range.  The grant application was updated for the 2022 cycle to provide more resources for larger operations or those projects led by a team of applicants.

The 2022 guidelines have also been updated to provide clarity with respect to eligibility criteria and gives preference for historically-underserved or socially-disadvantaged groups. As the Adirondack Park’s largest environmental advocacy organization, the Adirondack Council recognizes the huge role agriculture plays in meeting climate goals, sustaining the health of natural resources and fostering economically vibrant communities.  It adopted the Essex Farm Institute to ensure that local farmers would have assistance in reducing costs (fuel, fertilizer, electric power, waste removal) and increasing profitability/sustainability by adopting sustainable, environmentally friendly methods.

“Curbing climate change will require new investments in those parts of the economy that can help us conserve energy and reduce fuel use,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.  “That also reduces pollution, creates more local jobs and make the Adirondacks less dependent on easily-disrupted supply chains that reach halfway around the world.”

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Saturday, December 4, 2021

Solar Grazing: A Ewe-nique Idea 

Harvesting the Sun 

    According to the United States Energy Information Administration, there are approximately 2,500 commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) energy gathering and generating stations currently serving the nation’s electric grid. Most produce one- to five-megawatts (MW) of power. A five-MW facility requires roughly 40 acres of land. Some analysts maintain that, depending on how quickly the nation moves from non-renewable to renewable electricity, an additional 10-million acres of land could be needed by 2050. That’s an area greater than the land-mass of Massachusetts and New Jersey, combined. Although commercial solar arrays are frequently built on low-quality, low-impact sites, such as landfills, brownfields, abandoned mining land, and former industrial locations, they’re often placed on agricultural land, as well.

    A couple of years ago, I wrote an article addressing solar development on agricultural land in the North Country. At the time, several large-scale PV energy generating projects were being considered in northern Franklin County, including a massive 150-MW power generating project on roughly 950-acres of land in the town and village of Malone, proposed by Minnesota-based Geronimo Energy. After the initial proposal encountered unwavering opposition from local residents, the application was scaled back to 50-MW, but resistance remained high and the project was eventually scrapped.

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Thursday, December 2, 2021

Funding provided to help farmers address water quality challenges

lake champlain bridge

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced nearly $14 million has been awarded to protect clean water across the state. This funding will support agricultural water quality conservation projects across the state, benefiting 91 farms, and is provided through the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control program, which supports projects that address water quality challenges in priority watersheds and protect the environment.

“New York continues to take decisive action to protect access to clean water across the state,” Governor Hochul said. “This money will go towards fulfilling both those goals by encouraging the implementation of cost-effective waterway protection and reducing our carbon footprint.”

The projects have been awarded to 25 County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, on behalf of the farms, who will support on-farm environmental planning and the implementation of best management practice (BMP) systems to keep nutrients and other potential pollutants from entering waterways. BMPs include a variety of measures, including vegetative buffers along streams, cover crops, nutrient management through manure storage, and other conservation measures.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, April 20, 2020

7th annual Invasive Species Awareness Week planned for June

invasive species awareness weekNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Agriculture and Markets have announced  that the seventh annual Invasive Species Awareness Week (ISAW) will be held June 7-13.

ISAW is an annual statewide campaign with the purpose of building an awareness of the threat invasive species pose to New York States ecosystem. This year, considering the COVID-19 public health crises, organizations taking part in ISAW are encouraged to plan and incorporate virtual experiences and events that adhere to social distancing guidelines. This would allow New Yorkers to participate in ISAW from the safety of their homes.

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Monday, February 17, 2020

Warren Co Soil & Water Gets Urban Ag Grant

Warrensburg Community Garden taken by Nick Rowell from Warren County Soil and Water Conservation DistrictThe Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (Soil & Water) has announced it has been awarded an urban agriculture conservation grant through a partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to boost technical capacity nationwide. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Support Local Agriculture When Giving Gifts

Allison Jack New World Agriculture and Ecology Group at CornellGift giving during the holiday season can be a wonderful thing. It can be even more wonderful when what you give is not only appreciated by the recipient, but also supports a local farm business.

It is a well-established fact that money spent at local farm businesses has a huge multiplier effect. Instead of your money leaving the area to support a large business and employment elsewhere, the local producer you pay, will, in all probability spend the money right here to employ people, buy supplies, make more community investments, and pay local taxes. It is a win win situation for everyone involved.

So, now you may be asking yourself what exactly are your options for locally produced gifts? Many times, an unconventional, “think outside the box” gift can be the best gift, so let’s think outside the box. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, December 8, 2019

Chazy Student Earns Recognition For Water Quality Research

Leanna Thalmann collecting water samples at a farm in northeastern NYLeanna Thalmann of Chazy, NY, earned nationally-recognized First Place honors for her poster presentation of the water quality research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) at the joint annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America in November 2019 in San Antonio, TX.

Thalmann, a University of Vermont soil science graduate student, has been involved with data collection and analysis as part of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute team conducting the NNYADP-funded water quality research. This work plays a role in building the data-driven science needed to accurately guide water quality conservation. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, October 17, 2019

New Research Evaluating Nutrient Runoff From Farms

monitoring station courtesy Leanna Thalmann Miner InstituteField-level research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is responding to the need to better understand how tile drainage influences nutrient efficiency, water quality, crop production, farm economics, and environmental stewardship.

Results from the most recent data collection from tiles installed at the Lake Alice Wildlife Management Area in Chazy, and on a working farm in Clinton County are adding to a database designed to quantify surface and underground movement of nutrients beyond field boundaries. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, August 18, 2019

Adirondack Harvest Festival Set For Sept 21

Adirondack Harvest Festival horse carriage rideThe 4th Annual Adirondack Harvest Festival has been scheduled for Saturday, September 21 at the Essex County Fairgrounds in Westport, from noon to 6 pm, with a pre-festival hike at 10 am.

The Harvest Festival is a regional event celebrating agriculture and the harvest in the Adirondacks and Champlain Valley. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, August 4, 2019

Managing Fruit Trees Class Planned

cornell university logoCornell Cooperative Extension has announced a class on managing Fruit Trees has been set for Thursday, August 22nd, from 4 to 6 pm.

Market growers as well as the general public are invited. The class will be led by Michael Basedow, Cornell Cooperative Extension Tree Fruit Specialist with the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program. » Continue Reading.


Friday, July 5, 2019

Specialty Fruit Trials On Research Farm Tour

Juneberrry trial at the research farm in WillsboroThe Cornell University Willsboro Research Farm Open House has been set for Wednesday, July 10 from 1:30 to 4 pm.

Young specialty fruit trials funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) will be among the many crop plots available for touring during the open house. The tour of the farm facilities and research fields is free and open to the public. It will leave the main office at 48 Sayward Lane, Willsboro, at 2 pm. » Continue Reading.



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