07/06/2021
Your July Monthly Harvest is here from NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
Get the Latest Agriculture News From Across New York: https://agriculture.ny.gov/
In This Issue:
Statewide News
Taste NY Updates
NYS Grown & Certified Updates
Funding Opportunities
Spotlight: Food Safety Staff
New York’s agricultural community has remained resilient throughout the many challenges we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. While challenges continue, we have reached an exciting milestone – Governor Cuomo has announced that 70% of the adult population in New York State has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, which means we can now begin to return to normalcy, with some new adjustments, just in time for the summer.
July brings with it beautiful weather and more time to spend outdoors—either working or having fun. As we get into the summer months before us, many of you are busy on your farms, as I am, working to maintain your crops and care for your animals. I am happy to say that here at the Department, we are pleased to once again be traveling the state, reconnecting with all of you. In fact, the Department just wrapped up a busy month with its Dairy Month celebrations, which included tours, special promotions, and events you can read more about below.
This month, we’ll continue to honor our dairy industry with National Ice Cream Month. We are looking forward to highlighting our dairy processors making some of the best ice cream in the country and encourage you to support your favorite ice cream processor.
July also means visits to your local farms for pick-your-own opportunities and to your favorite craft beverage producers. The kick-off of county fair season begins this month, so I encourage everyone to enjoy their local fair. Plus, the annual Great New York State Fair is back next month with great performances and events – learn more below, and mark your calendars.
I hope to see you there to celebrate the best of New York ag!
Commissioner Richard Ball
2021 New York State Fair to Reopen at 100% Capacity
The 2021 New York State Fair, an end-of-summer celebration at the New York State Fairgrounds from August 20 to September 6 in Syracuse, will increase its capacity to 100 percent and reopen many popular buildings with additional vendors, given the significant progress New Yorkers have made against COVID-19. In accordance with the State’s evolving health guidelines, indoor spaces will be subject to capacity limits to allow attendees to be socially distanced within each building.
The Fair’s reopening means that more New Yorkers will be able to learn about New York agriculture, in addition to enjoying the State’s best live music and entertainment, Midway amusement rides, and food and drink, like the Pizze Fritte, 25-cent New York milk, sausage sandwiches, and wine slushies. The Fair will run for 18 days, which is the longest duration ever for this annual event, while the admission price is lower than it has been in years. Learn more about the 2021 New York State Fair.
Nourish New York Update
The Nourish New York program is continuing to build partnerships between local farmers and food banks across the state to provide nutritious foods to families in need. As of the end of June, food banks across New York have purchased more than 30.6 million pounds of agricultural products from New York farmers and processors who have lost revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts have been successful in providing approximately 20.5 million meals to New York households. Since the launch of the Nourish New York program in May 2020, a total of $85 million has been dedicated to this critical initiative.
Food banks across New York continue to reach milestones within the program. For example, FeedMore WNY has now purchased more than 1.6 million pounds of surplus food from New York farmers, a nearly 33% growth over the previous year. FeedMore WNY supplies locally grown foods to people in need at nearly 300 community partner organizations and programs throughout Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties.
To learn more about Nourish New York and the latest news from the program, please visit https://agriculture.ny.gov/NourishNY.
Dairy Month Wrap Up
Celebrated each June, Dairy Month provides us all an opportunity to recognize our tremendous dairy farmers and dairy manufacturers who are producing and processing some of the very best dairy products in the world. Last month, we were able to travel across New York State to celebrate Dairy Month and promote this critical sector of our agricultural industry. Check out some highlights, below!
Tours of Argyle Cheese Farmer and Ideal Dairy Farms
Commissioner Ball kicked off Dairy Month and celebrated National Cheese Day on June 4 with visits to Ideal Dairy Farms and Argyle Cheese Farmer in Hudson Falls, New York! These farms are two excellent examples of why we have so much to be proud of when it comes to New York dairy.
Argyle Cheese Farmer purchased and opened a new processing plant and retail store in partnership with Ideal Dairy in 2020. The new 11,000 square foot facility is located in the former Lewis Supermarket building in the Hudson Falls community.
On a weekly basis, the Argyle Cheese Farmer facility processes 100 pounds of milk, 900 pounds of cheese, 1,700 pounds of whole milk yogurt, 900 pounds of Greek yogurt, and 1,000 pounds of buttermilk – all using milk sourced exclusively from Ideal Dairy.
Ideal Dairy is a 6th generation, state-of-the-art dairy farm, which, despite facing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded its operations in 2020 by partnering with Argyle Cheese Farmer. As of January 2021, Ideal Dairy Farms resumed processing and is, for the first time in 34 years, offering dairy products made with Just A2 milk directly to the local community.
Learn more about the visits.
Groundbreaking at Agri-Mark
On June 18, Commissioner Ball visited Chateaugay, New York to help break ground on a $16 million expansion of the Agri-Mark plant located there. New York State is supporting the dairy cooperative’s expansion project with $6 million in funding from Empire State Development, including $4 million in Economic Transformation Program funds, to retain 106 full-time jobs, support hundreds of additional jobs in the region, and modernize operations.
This is exciting news for both Agri-Mark and the hundreds of New York dairy farmers who supply milk to Agri-Mark’s world-class cheese manufacturing facility, and it couldn’t come at a better time than during Dairy Month when we celebrate New York’s dairy industry. Learn more about Agri-Mark’s expansion.
Promoting the Dairy Industry
In June, the Department’s social media pages highlighted New York dairy all month long, including fun facts, spotlights of our field staff who work to promote public and animal health across the state, and a special highlight of goat dairy farms for National Dairy Goat Awareness Week. The Department also held the 2021 Dairy Scavenger Hunt to help New Yorkers learn a little more about NY dairy — and some of our NYS Grown & Certified dairy farms and processors — and offer them a chance to win a $50 gift card for their favorite Taste NY store! Visit the Department’s Facebook page to check out all of the posts and learn about what makes our dairy industry so great.
Upcoming Events
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Stay up-to-date with these exciting virtual and live events about agriculture happening throughout New York this month:
Central New York Dairy Women’s Peer Group Meeting: This peer group brings dairy women together to build camaraderie, share ideas and experiences, and learn from one another. All women involved in any aspect of the dairy industry are welcome to attend. The meeting will be held on Friday, July 16 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at Bob’s BBQ in Homer, NY. Learn more.
NOFA-NY 2021 Field Day Season-Discussing Hemp: At SUNY Morrisville, individuals will be able to learn about organic certification requirements for hemp, in-season management, and analyzing the differences between fiber and extract hemp. The event will be held on Friday, July 23 from 9 am to 12:00 pm. Learn more and register here.
Saratoga County Fair: The 2021 Saratoga County Fair will be held for three days at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds from July 23 to 25. The event organizers will be taking it back to their roots as an agricultural fair featuring scheduled animal shows; truck, tractor, and lawnmower pulls; demonstrations; and favorite fair foods. Learn more.
Calf Barn Ventilation Program: Join Cornell Cooperative Extension for a free on-farm demonstration and discussion about the importance of adequate calf barn ventilation and the impacts of ventilation on calf health and performance. This program is available to any sized dairy farm, with any type of barn ventilation system. The in-person event will be held on July 27 to July 28 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. Learn more.
Celebrate Summer With Taste NY
Taste NY at the Great New York State Fair!
Taste NY is back at the Great New York State Fair! This summer, Taste NY vendors will have the opportunity to sample and sell their products in the Fair’s Horticulture Building. Taste NY will showcase New York’s vast array of food and beverage producers and/or processors, giving food, wine, cider, and spirits vendors the opportunity to sample and sell their products to fairgoers. The hours of sampling and selling are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with Labor Day hours from 10 a.m.to 9 p.m.
If you would like to participate in Taste NY at the Great New York State Fair, contact Joseph Ganley at joseph.ganley@agriculture.ny.gov. Taste NY looks forward to seeing you at the Fair this summer!
Taste NY Markets Feature New York Ice Cream
July means one thing: ice cream! It’s Ice Cream Month and Taste NY Markets across New York State are raising a cone to celebrate National Ice Cream Day on July 18. Visit your favorite Taste NY location to check out regional flavors and delicious toppings to make the best sundaes at home this summer.
Enjoy NYS Grown & Certified Ice Cream
Celebrate Ice Cream Month this July with some #NYSCertified ice cream! Did you know that a single cow can produce enough milk to make 9,000 gallons of ice cream? By selecting NYS Grown & Certified ice cream, you are enjoying yummy ice cream that is verified for following food safety and environmentally sustainable standards. There are several NYS Grown & Certified processors in New York State, featuring some of your favorite ice cream flavors – during Ice Cream Month, and all year round! They include:
Adirondack Creamery
Eat Me Ice Cream
Hidden Pastures Dairy
King Brother’s Dairy
Mercer’s Dairy
Perry’s Ice Cream
Ronnybrook Farm Dairy
Stewart’s Shops