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Madison County Agriculture’s Weekly E-Newsletter

July 28, 2010

Newsletter Includes:

Upcoming Events

o 2010 Energy Field Days

o Emancipation Day

o Mohawk Valley Toastmaster Club Meeting

In The News

o Late Blight Found in Norwich, NY

o NY Appeals Court Agrees that “Farm Winery” Not Considered “Agricultural Use” under Town Zoning Code

o USDA Grants Assistance to U.S. Asparagus Producers Under Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers Program

UPCOMING EVENTS

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2010 Energy Field Days

As a farmer, chances are you know how to produce food and fiber. But do you know how to produce energy? Come out to small farms across New York to hear directly from farmers about how they produce energy to power their operations at the 2010 Farm Energy Field Days. From energy efficiency strategies to renewable power, farmers will walk you through the details of how they installed systems that save dollars, reduce fossil fuel use, and even add a marketing edge.

The farms featured in the 2010 Energy Field Days range from small-scale dairy, livestock, and fruit/vegetable operations and include examples of both grid-connected and off-the-grid systems. Farmers will detail the cost of installation, any grants or incentives available, amount of energy saved or produced, and where to go for further information.

The 2010 Energy Field Days are sponsored by the Small Farms Energy Work Team, a project of the Cornell Small Farms Program. The field days are free and open to the public. For details, see below. To register for a field day, contact Violet Stone at 607-255-9227 or e-mail vws7@cornell.edu.

Region: Central NY: Cortland County

August 24, 2010. Solar Electric at Twin Oaks Dairy! 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Twin Oaks Organic Dairy, 3185 NYS Rt. 13. Truxton, NY 13158 (Cortland County). Bob, Rick and Kathie Arnold worked with Triangle Electrical Systems of Plattsburgh, NY to install their 27.6-kilowatt PV (solar electric) system. The system was sized to produce 107% of the annual electrical energy needs at Twin Oaks’ main farmstead. Assistance from The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the USDA helped to reduce the cost of the four large arrays that are on two axis trackers. For those times when the energy produced by the panels is greater than the needs of the farm, the excess flows into the utility grid. Co-sponsored by the Cornell Small Farms Energy Work Team and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York. Free. Refreshments will be provided. To register, contact Violet Stone at 607-255-9227 or vws7@cornell.edu.

Region: Eastern NY: Sullivan County

August 25, 2010. Wind, Solar & More at Apple Pond Farm! 10am – noon. Apple Pond Farm and Renewable Energy Education Center. 80 Hahn Road. Callicoon Center, NY 12724 (Sullivan County). This unique horse-powered, organic farm seeks to be as independent of fossil fuels as possbile. Dick Riseling and Sonja Hedlund will offer a tour of their 2 story straw bale house which uses less than $25 of energy per year. The farm also features a 10kw wind turbine (intalled in 2003), and a solar thermal system (installed in 2004). A recently installed furnace will burn used vegetable oil over the winter. Cost of installation, production of energy, assistance from NSERDA and other funding and tax credit assistance will be identified for each system. Sponsored by the Cornell Small Farms Energy Work Team. To register, contact Violet Stone at 607-255-9227 or vws7@cornell.edu.

Region: Central NY, Steuben County

September 9, 2010. Solar/Wind Pumping System at Barter Farm! 10:00am – Noon. Barter Farm, 8319 Ford Rd., Branchport, NY 14418 (Steuben County). Jonathan and Juanita operate a 210 acre livestock farm (40 Angus cattle and 130 Cheviot and Dorset sheep). The Barters have recently installed a combination wind and solar pumping system which supplies water to 58 acres of pasture. The pumping system consists of a 350 watt turbine, 160 watt solar panels, back up batteries and a deep well pump. Partial funding for this project was provided by USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Innovative Grants program. Co-sponsored by the Finger Lakes Resource Conservation & Development Council and the Cornell Small Farms Energy Work Team. To register, contact Violet Stone at 607-255-9227 or VWS7@cornell.edu .

Region: Eastern NY, Schoharie County

October 20, 2010. Solar, Wind & More at Fox Creek Farm! 10am – Noon, Fox Creek Farm, 182 Fox Creek Farm Road, Schoharie, NY 12157 (Schoharie County). Fox Creek Farm not only grows vegetables for their CSA, the farm also harvests almost all of the electricity needed for the farm right on site. The farm operates a 200 member CSA off the grid (that is, without a connection to National Grid), and is probably the only CSA of this size in the country doing so. The farm produces its electricity with a farmer-installed 1.3 kW solar array with Evergreen panels (manufactured in Massachusetts), and harvests wind energy with a Bergey XL1 wind generator on a 100 foot tower. On a good day Fox Creek Farm harvests approximately 8 kW in electricity. The farm also features a site build energy efficient walk-in cooler run with an air-conditioner unit in combination with a CoolBot regulator, and a farm house incorporating passive solar design elements. Sponsored by the Cornell Small Farms Energy Work Team. To register, contact Violet Stone at 607-255-9227 or vws7@cornell.edu.

To learn more about the small farms energy resources, visit http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/resources/production/energy.cfm

For more information on a variety of small farm topics visit www.smallfarms.cornell.edu

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Emancipation Day

Saturday, August 7, 2010

10:00 am ~ 4:00 pm

Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark

4532 Peterboro Road

Peterboro, NY 13134-0006

Programs: Free

BBQ Picnic: $8 ($5 child) by July 30 to Smithfield Community Association

315-684-9491

laundry@gerritsmith.org

www.sca-peterboro.org

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Mohawk Valley Toastmaster Club Meeting

The Mohawk Valley Toastmaster Club meeting is going out to the country on Wednesday, August 11th 2010 at 6:30pm on the Wightman Family Farm, 6993 Norton Avenue in Clinton. N.Y. 13323 (up the road from the Skenandoa Golf Club—look for our signs at the pond)

Our theme for the meeting is “Bring a guest, eat some ice-cream and have fun”. We are pleased to welcome special guest, Nicole Head, Madison Co. Dairy Princess to the lectern for this countryside viewscape where the cows and calves will moooove you to greatness.

At Mohawk Valley Toastmasters, our mission is to help ordinary folks become great speakers and leaders in their community. Each meeting is an educational experience in teaching and practicing time-honored presentation skills to wow an audience or communicate your passions to others. Our no- pressure atmosphere allows all participants to learn and participate while finding inspiration to achieve their personal goals.

To sign-up for the meeting and see what all the excitement is about, contact Mohawk Valley Toastmasters President, Troy Bishopp at (315) 841-3336 or farmboytb@aol.com.

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IN THE NEWS

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Late Blight Found in Norwich, NY

Late Blight was confirmed on both tomatoes and potatoes on July 27, 2010. Grown in a home garden in the city, the sample was collected on July 25 after the entire crop of tomatoes died almost overnight. Nearby potatoes are also infected.

In an effort to avoid the catastrophe that happened last year, please monitor your tomatoes and potatoes in earnest. Look for dark watery lesions on the leaves, stems and fruit. Late blight spreads quickly. Cornell recommends “If late blight becomes severe, remove diseased plants by digging them up. Destroy these plants immediately by one of the following: burying them deeply in an area away from the garden, burning them, or by bagging them in a plastic bag and discarding the bag. These steps will help avoid production of a larger number of spores. Harvest all potato tubers in the garden. If late blight occurs when the tubers have already ‘sized up’, harvest the crop as soon as possible to avoid post-harvest tuber rot. Again, destroy diseased foliage and stems.”

There are fungicides that can be sprayed to prevent infection, but once severe infection has taken hold, chemical controls will not work. Commercial growers please check http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/recommends / for the latest pesticide recommendations. Home gardeners can follow these recommendations if diagnosis is confirmed: use azoxystrobin (not near apples), Bacillus subtilis, chlorothalonil, copper soap (copper octanoate), or copper sulfate. Protectant fungicides (chlorothalonil or copper products) should be used at first appearance of disease according to the label instructions.

The fungus that causes late blight has become a major threat to home gardens and commercial growers because of the migration of new strains (genotypes) into the United States. Verification of a late blight diagnosis and implementation of prompt control measures are highly recommended. The newly arrived strains are more aggressive than previous strains.

Current information about late blight and its management can be found at http://blogs.cornell.edu/lateblight/ and great webinars on late blight for home organic gardens and organic farms can be found at http://www.extension.org/article/24989. Details on submitting a sample to the Cornell Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic can be found at http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/.

Late blight devastated tomato and potato crops in Chenango County and across the Northeast in 2009.

Call 607-334-5841or go to http://www.cce.cornell.edu/chenango for more information.

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NY Appeals Court Agrees that “Farm Winery” Not Considered “Agricultural Use” under Town Zoning Code

Petitioners purchased two acres of property for the purpose of operating a “farm winery” which was originally located three miles away in a neighboring town. The Town building inspector denied the application for site plan approval, because part of the proposed operation was considered a “retail business,” which was not one of the allowed uses within the zoning district. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) agreed the proposed use did not qualify as an agricultural use under the Town of New Paltz Zoning Code which defines agriculture as “all agriculture operations and activities related to the growing or raising of crops, livestock or livestock products, and agricultural products, as such terms are defined in or governed by the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York on lands qualified under Ulster County and NYS law for an agricultural exemption by the Assessor of the Town of New Paltz.”

Petitioners alleged that the ZBA’s decision was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion. The trial court held the ZBA’s decision was neither irrational, unreasonable, nor inconsistent, the petitioner’s argument was “directly contradicted” by the statutory definitions, and the land which was to be used for retail and production would not qualify for agricultural exemption. On appeal, the Appellate Division, Third Department held the Supreme Court correctly determined the ZBA’s decision to apply the agricultural definition was proper. The Court pointed to the evidence that, at the time of the application for site approval, the property consisted of single family dwelling, no vines, grapes or other crops planted, and no plans to lease additional land for planting vines. In addition, petitioner’s proposal, which included “production, manufacturing, bottling, storage and distribution of wines, as well as the operation of a retail wine-tasting facility and picnic areas open to the general public” constituted as a retail use, barred by the zoning ordinance. The ZBA’s decision upholding the denial of petitioner’s application was not irrational arbitrary or capricious and judgment for respondent was affirmed without costs.

In the Matter of Rivendell Winery v. Linda Donovan, 2010 WL 2401706 (N.Y.A.D. 3 Dept. 7/17/10)

The decision can be accessed at: http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/decisions/2010/507867.pdf

For more information see: http://www.rivendellwine.com/lawsuittoc.htm

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USDA Grants Assistance to U.S. Asparagus Producers Under Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers Program

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2010—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) today announced that it has certified a petition for asparagus under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers Program. Beginning today, U.S. asparagus producers, nationwide, will have 90 days to apply for training and benefits. The TAA for Farmers Program provides technical training and cash benefits to eligible U.S. producers and fishermen of raw agricultural commodities whose crops or catch have been adversely affected by imports of like or directly competitive commodities. After reviewing a petition submitted in April 2010 by the National Asparagus Council, FAS determined that increased imports of asparagus during January-December 2009 contributed importantly to a greater than 15 percent decline in the quantity of production in 2009, compared to the average of the three preceding marketing years. This conforms to the eligibility requirements stipulated in Subtitle C of Title I of the Trade Act of 2002 (Pub. L.107-210). Individual asparagus producers, nationwide, interested in applying for technical training and cash benefits must complete and submit a written application to their local Farm Service Agency Service Center within 90 calendar days from today. Applications (form FSA 229-1) are available on the FAS Web site at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/taa/taaforms.asp. All TAA for Farmers Federal Register notices can be found on the FAS Web site at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/fr/notices.asp. Program benefits include cash payments and free technical training designed to help producers develop and implement business adjustment plans. Producers that develop an approved initial business plan will receive up to $4,000 as payment toward implementing the plan or developing a long-term business adjustment plan. Producers who subsequently develop approved long-term business adjustment plans are entitled to receive an additional cash payment of up to $8,000 to be applied toward implementing the plan. A producer may not receive more than $12,000 or benefit from any other TAA program during the 36-month period following certification of a group petition. Travel and subsistence expenses related to attending training sessions may also be reimbursable. General information about the TAA for Farmers Program can be found on the FAS Web site at www.fas.usda.gov/itp/taa or by contacting the TAA for Farmers Program staff in the Office of Trade Programs at telephone (202) 720-0638 or (202) 690-0633, or by e-mail at tradeadjustment@fas.usda.gov. Contact: Matt Herrick (202) 720-0551 # PR 0141-10

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