Upstate Agri-Economic Development Summit

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the 7th Annual Free Upstate Agri-Economic Development Summit. It was wonderful to see so many Cortland area farmers as they discussed ways to promote local foods and local products.

Jerry Cosgrove, Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, gave a great talk about how farmers can be a big part of the solution to climate change issues. They can be both local food providers (reducing the carbon footprint of food production and transport) and also use their property to provide localities with renewable energy (methane, biomass, solar, wind, etc.). He was very positive about the long-term future of farming in central New York, but did indicate that the next few years could be tough during the Country’s economic crisis. This to me indicates that we as Cortland residents need to be even more vigilant in buying local products to help keep our local food supply.

Mike McMahon, owner of E-Z Acres in Cortland County and board member of the Cortland County BDC/IDA made a presentation on the economic impact of agriculture in Cortland County. He shared some great statistics – such as the number of farms in the County – 567. He also shared information about how these farms and the support industries provide quite a bit of positive economic impact for the County, while using few tax supported services.

The most enthusiastic and interesting presentation for me, was when some members of the County Ag promotions committee (Kathie Arnold, Lisa Lickona, and Donn Hewes) each spoke about the ideas and progress of the second famer’s market that I wrote about in an earlier entry. Donn, co-owner of Northland Sheep Farm in Freetown, shared his dream of a Farmers' Store in the Cortland Foundations Building (the site of the new farmers' market) where Cortland County farmers could offer local foods, and local artisans could sell their products. The idea is for the consumers to get a great price for these locally grown and made products, and the famers and/or artists don’t have to spend a great deal of their time selling their products. The best news for the Cortland consumer is the “one-stop” local food shopping potential of the year-round farmer’s store. Lisa shared her dream of a Farmers' Market that is more of a destination/attraction where Cortland County residents gather to build community, chat with farmers and artisans about their products, connect with our neighbors, listen to great music and, and spend dollars locally. Keep in mind that each $1.00 spent on a local product will provide the community with $1.26 as it is re-spent in the area. All these ideas are exciting for Cortland County and again, I’d like to thank these individuals for all of their work to provide Cortland County residents with quality local products.

Local Goat Cheese

Last weekend my husband and I made a visit to the Side Hill Acres Dairy Goat Farm in Candor, NY over in Tioga County. For those who are geographically challenged, Tioga County is adjacent to Cortland to the southwest. Side Hill Acres raises goats and chickens and sell goat cheese, goat fudge, goat yogurt, goat milk, and goat milk lotions and soaps in their farm store. All of these products are made from the milk they get from their goat herd. Upon entering the store, we were greeted by the owner Rita Kellogg. She was extremely friendly and pulled out some goat cheese for us to try. Each was delicious, but I our favorite was the rosemary garlic. We purchased some of their reasonably priced cheese, fudge and soap to sample. 

As we were leaving, her granddaughter called out to us. She had just finished helping in the birth of twin baby goats (does) and asked if we’d like to see them. And so we went in to a small, warm utility room and there we saw two, surprisingly large, baby goats still wet from their birthing experience. Together she and her grandmother continued to dry them off and stimulate their blood circulation. Then she offered to show us the rest of the goats so we headed to the barn to be greeted by several very gentle goats. The young girl shared with us information about the herd and what she does around the farm. It was obvious that she enjoyed the farm and seemed, at age 11, to have already decided that she was going to be a goat farmer herself in a few years. This is great news for us to have such a bright, young person interested in being a farmer. 

I recommend that you give Side Hill goat cheese a try. In addition, the fudge is also highly recommended:)  You can go to the website to get directions and visit for yourself. To pick up some cheese a little closer to Cortland, you can find it at Ludgate Farms on the east side of Ithaca, and for those in southern Cortland County, you can find it at Giant in Binghamton. 

Garden season has begun!

This week marked the beginning of our own garden season. Yes, I know it is only February and that we live in Central New York. But it was already time to start our leeks. Leeks seem to take FOREVER to grow so you have to start them very early (unless you buy the sets from a supplier). We’ll be starting a few other kinds of plants in March and more in April. By then, the dining room and guest bedroom (rooms with the best sunlight) will look like a greenhouse. Hopefully by late April we can transport most of these started plants into our outdoor hobby-sized greenhouse. Then these plants will get a much better dose of sunlight and begin to get used to being outside.

I also planted some lettuce seeds a week or so ago in a planter in the windowsill. It is coming up nicely and we will be eating some of our own fresh lettuce in a few weeks for salads and on sandwiches. I will continue to supplement our lettuce desires with Finger Lakes Fresh which is available at the P & C and Tops grocery stores in Cortland. I like purchasing from them as they are a “social enterprise” based in nearby Ithaca that provides jobs for individuals with disabilities.

Good news about the Cortland farmers’ market

If you happened to read today’s Cortland Standard, you may have seen the article about a second farmers’ market. Kathie Arnold, organic farmer and County Legislator, has been chairing the Cortland County Local Agriculture Promotions Subcommittee. This committee was charged with looking into the issue of expanding the current Cortland farmers' market. It seems that they have located a great place for a second market (the first will, for the time being, remain on Main Street). This second market will be located, pending an agreement yet to be signed, in the parking lot of the Cortland Foundation building on East Court Street. This building has a lot of history as it was the former Cortland Corset Factory (as in "foundation garmets") and apparently prior to that was part of the wagon making industry in Cortland. This is even more exciting as there is the additional possibility of future expansion into the building for a year-round farmers market/co-op store and the building is even heated with waste vegetable oil.

This is great news for Cortland County residents, both those that produce local products, and those that need to purchase these products. I look forward to hearing more good news about this project and would like to thank Kathie, Lisa Lickona, Tammie Whitson, and the other individuals responsible for working on this project.