‘In some spots this is the worst damage I’ve ever seen’

Photos by Tom Rivers: These Honeycrisp apples grown by Jim and Adam Kirby were badly by hail last Sunday. The Kirbys lost about 100 of their 170 acres of apples from the hail. The apples have numerous bruises and cuts from the hail.

GAINES – It’s a word fruit farmers fear: hail.

Those fast-moving pellets from the sky can turn a crop, that has been months in making, into a largely worthless field of ruin.

Last Sunday hail hit in the afternoon and it left a swath of destruction for farmers, especially those near Route 104.

Jim Kirby and his son Adam grow 170 acres of apples, as well as other vegetable and grain crops. About 100 acres of their apples were pummeled by the hail, including their most valuable apples, the Honeycrisp. They were going to start picking some of those apples this week.

Instead they were reaching out to their insurance agent, and trying to calculate the losses.

“This is a heart-breaker for me,” Jim Kirby said looking at a block of apples along Lattin Road. “This is a bumper crop of Honeycrisp. But it five minutes it’s all over.”

Jim Kirby has been growing apples for 50 years and said the hail storm is one of the most devastating in his career. He is shown with Honeycrisp apples, the top variety, in an orchard on Lattin Road.

Kirby and a crew of 12 workers spent the previous three weeks hand-thinning Honeycrisp apples, removing some so the others would max out on size and color.

But the storm left apples with many bruises and cuts. Sometimes hail will leave one or two bruises on an apple. This time the apples have 20 or more bruises, showing they were hammered by the hail. They can’t be sold on the fresh market for top dollar. They could go for juice, but that market will now be saturated and it may not pay to have workers pick those apples and then haul them for processing, Kirby said.

The storm was especially brutal for many apple farms in Orleans County, but also damaged corn, soybeans and vegetables, said Larry Meyer, the Farm Service Agency director in Orleans County.

He has been working for the FSA for 41 years. The Sunday hail storm cut a wide path of damage, but also missed some fields and orchards as it moved from Niagara, through Orleans and further east.

“In some spots this is the worst damage I’ve ever seen,” he said. “There is a lot of loss in the county. The people who got hit got hit real bad.”

These apples were almost ready to be picked but now likely will be left on the tree and later left on the ground unless the low-price juice market makes it worthwhile to pick them.

Meyer expects a federal disaster declaration will be issued which will allow for emergency low-interest loans for farmers without crop insurance.

Many of the farms now have private insurance, which can cover up to 65 percent of the crop’s value. Meyer said the apple market has very tight profit margins this year. The crop insurance will help the farmers, but still leaves them in a difficult position, especially when they were so close to harvest.

Meyer said farmers are in a better position to recover from the losses, compared to previous years. He recalled the Labor Day wind storm of 1998 that decimated the local apple crop. At the time the federal government to assist apple farms with disaster aid and there wasn’t private insurance to help cover the loss of an apple crop.

About a quarter of the apple farms went out of business in Orleans County after that storm.

But this time most of the farms have their own crop insurance, and the federal government can provide some disaster aid for the others.

The FSA is working to try to determine the extent of the damage.

“This was a long storm,” he said. “It had a lot of energy and it kept going.”

Apples and other fruit totaled $59.0 million in revenue for Orleans County farmers in 2022, according to the U.S. Agricultural Census. Orleans County’s total ag revenue is $233.6 million.

More oxen statues could be added to landscape in 2025

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – An ox in the Trolley Building emerged as one of the stars of the Orleans County 4-H Fair last week. Stacey Kirby Steward, an Albion native, spent several days at the fair painting the all-white fiberglass ox into a realistic creature.

Steward gave one side of the ox an agricultural theme and is working on the other side with fair scenes.

The ox is expected to stay on the fairgrounds, perhaps by the sign along Route 31 or by the giant pie tin for the World’s Largest Apple Pie in 1977. The ox may also be featured in lighted parades later this year, including Medina’s Parade of Lights and other Christmas parades in Albion, Barre and Clarendon.

The agricultural side shows a farmer and a team of oxen plowing a field. Kirby also painted apples and corn.

She enjoyed the feedback from the public, with many people exclaiming when they walked into the Trolley Building and saw a giant ox statue being painted.

“People have had a very positive response,” Steward said on Friday.

Steward has been a featured artist before at the fair, including back in high school when she did face painting. She also painted two murals with a cow theme on the Farm Bureau’s both, where milkshake and ice cream is served during fair week.

Steward said painting a fiberglass statue presented a new challenge, and often was time-consuming. But she thinks the statue showed it provides a nice canvas to paint scenes celebrating parts of Orleans County.

The statue was transformed during the week. It started off all-white.

The painting of the ox also was intended to gauge public interest in whether several oxen statues could be painted as part of a bicentennial tribute in 2025 when Orleans County celebrates its 200^th anniversary.

Other communities have painted animal statues for civic pride, including horses in Rochester, buffalo in Buffalo, and squirrels in Olean. Saratoga Springs painted 5-foot-tall fiberglass statues of pointe shoes to celebrate dance. Saratoga is home to the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame.

The ox statue was made in Texas and shipped to the Fairgrounds last month by FedEx. The Orleans County Bicentennial Committee will see if there are enough sponsors to have more oxen painted around the county for the bicentennial next year.

Orleans County officially formed on April 15, 1825. The State Legislature recognized Orleans County that day, allowing it to splinter from Genesee County.

Oxen were critical in helping pioneers tame the wild land two centuries ago. The oxen pulled wagons across rough terrain and helped clear trees for the early Orleans residents. The animals also were put to work in building the Erie Canal.

The ox may be incorporated into the theme and logo for the county’s bicentennial.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that eligible farm employers may now apply to the Department of Agriculture and Markets for a certificate of advance payment so they can receive reimbursement from the Department of Taxation and Finance for eligible overtime paid to their employees since January 1, 2024.

(Editor’s Note: The threshold for overtime decreased for agricultural workers starting Jan. 1. The limit was 60 hours a week at straight pay before workers could earn overtime. That dropped to 56 hours this year. It is part of a phase-in reduction where the overtime threshold will be lowered by four hours every other year to 40 hours a week in 2032.)

This Farm Employer Overtime Credit is a part of Governor Hochul’s plan to support New York’s farmers through a series of new and increased tax credits and other initiatives and helps to ensure that farm employers can continue to support their workers while reducing their tax burden.

“Supporting New York’s farmers and farmworkers, who are essential to keeping New York State running, is a key priority for my administration – and our new Farm Employer Overtime Credit is one of many great initiatives that aim to help alleviate the challenge of rising costs,” Governor Hochul said. “I encourage all eligible farm businesses to learn more about this program and apply for reimbursement so that we can reduce their tax burden while helping them to continue supporting their hardworking staff.”

The Farm Employer Overtime Credit is a refundable tax credit available for eligible farm employers who paid overtime wages after January 1, 2024, based on the gradual phase-in of the overtime threshold in New York State.

As of now, farm employers who have registered in the new online portal at taxcredit.agriculture.ny.gov may enter eligible employee overtime information and submit their application to the Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) for a certificate of advance payment of eligible overtime paid between Jan. 1 to the date of their application.

Farmers may also wait until August to apply for reimbursement for the entire Jan. 1 through July 31 period, or they may choose to wait until they file their tax return to receive the credit. Between the advance payment and months claimed on their return, eligible farm employers will receive a full 12 months of the Farm Employer Overtime Credit.

A user guide to assist farmers in the application process is available at agriculture.ny.gov/user-guide-farm-employer-overtime-credit-advance.

Applications for a certificate of advance payment must be submitted to AGM by September 30. After eligibility review, AGM will issue a certificate to each approved farm employer. With a certificate of advance payment, the approved farm employer’s owner(s), partners or shareholders can then request their share of the advance payment from Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF).

Each of the farm’s owners, partners or shareholders who wants to receive their portion of the credit advance must apply individually. This request must be made no later than Nov. 1, using the online services account at DTF’s website.

Farmers may apply for this refundable credit if they (or their business): are an eligible farmer (click here); and employ eligible farm employees that were paid eligible overtime.

Earlier this year, the State encouraged farmers to prepare to apply by taking the following steps (click here):

• Ensuring that they are registered for a NY.gov ID through My.NY.gov.
• Taking the farm employer eligibility assessment to establish if they (the farm employer) expect to meet the eligible farmer income requirements for their tax filing type at the end of the tax year.
• Discussing the program with their tax and payroll advisors to ensure they kept necessary records during the January 1 – July 31 period this year.
• Registering their farm in the online portal at taxcredit.agriculture.ny.gov.
• Optionally, choosing to delegate authority to a representative (e.g., a tax preparer), who may complete and submit the application on the farm employer’s behalf later in the year.

Additional information and resources are available on the AGM’s website at agriculture.ny.gov/OTadvance and the DTF website at tax.ny.gov/pit/credits/farm-employer-overtime-credit.htm. Questions may be directed to farmOTadvance@agriculture.ny.gov or (518) 457-7076.

Provided photo: from left include Shelly Budziszewski, Ashley Childs and Susan McLaughlin.

Press Release, Roy-Hart Central School

MIDDLEPORT – Royalton-Hartland Central School District’s Agricultural Program has been racking up awards and recognitions over the last several years.

Recently elementary school teachers Shelly Budziszewski, Ashley Childs and middle school teacher Susan McLaughlin were invited to present at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. There were over 500 attendees at this premier professional development conference about teaching through the lens of food and agriculture.

The teachers gave a workshop on the Green Team, an after-school club centered on agriculture that has 37 actively participating students at the elementary school. It was entitled “Extracurricular Agriculture – Bridging the Classroom, Community and Club.”

“It was a great opportunity to not only be presenters, but be able to attend other workshops and take it back and share at the district level,” McLaughlin said.

The three teachers were awarded scholarships through Cornell University’s New York Agriculture in the Classroom program. Budziszewski said the presentation was inspired by her attendance at last year’s conference in Florida.

“Many of the presenters from New York State briefly mentioned their afterschool programs and I mentioned our Green Team Club and many of the attendees were interested in hearing more about it,” she said.

The response of their presentation at this year’s conference was overwhelming, according to the trio. Budziszewski said the room was at capacity.

“We had a full house, so clearly people across the country are interested in it,” she said. “We talked about our legacy projects and one of them was what we call our ‘Green Team Creed.’ It is kind of a pledge that the kids say at the beginning of every meeting. We showed a video of the kids saying the pledge and we got a spontaneous round of applause. Our hope is that the presentation encourages fellow educators to implement similar programs at their districts.”

The teachers say the program has been instrumental in starting students on the path of agricultural appreciation and knowledge starting at a young age. McLaughlin said their long-term goal as educators is to prepare their students to become members of the Roy-Hart FFA chapter.

“What we hope for in the future is to streamline the kids that are interested in agriculture from the elementary perspective, join Junior FFA in the Middle School and then when they enter into the High School join our award winning FFA program there,” she said.

Jill Heck, Royalton-Hartland district superintendent, is proud of the way the teachers represented the district.

“This was a great opportunity for our teachers to take our Green Team program into the national spotlight,” Heck said. “We were excited for them to have the opportunity to present the work they are doing with the students at Royalton-Hartland!”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Peach blossoms pop out in the fruit orchards at Watt Farms on Route 98 in Gaines.

Watt’s has a mix of many apple trees with their white flowers and peach trees with their pink blossoms.

This is one of the most striking times to take a drive around Orleans County, with the orchards in bloom.

I like the looks of the orchard at Watt’s, where there are still many of the older-style fruit trees with the limbs in wild angles. It is quite a sight when the trees are blooming.

Many of the local orchards are now high-density plantings with the trees in perfect alignment and the branches trimmed nice and short. The fruit growers can pack in the trees and maximum the output with the high-density plantings. It’s easier too on the farmworkers who didn’t need to get as high on ladders.

Orleans County should promote the blossom season. This is one of the best times of the year.

These geese hang out and enjoy the spring day at Watt’s on Sunday evening.

It’s going to chilly on Wednesday and Thursday nights. It could drop to 27 on Wednesday night and 32 on Thursday. The colder temperatures could hurt the blossoms, diminishing the fruit crop. Chris Watt, the orchard owner, admitted he is a bit anxious about the chill.

He would like it to be warmer at night and to see the bees buzzing in the orchard, pollinating the flowers.

Photo by Tom Rivers: A farmer plants seeds in May 2019 in Carlton on Waterport-Carlton Road. That sunny day gave farmers a chance to get their big equipment out in the fields during a soggy spring that year.

ALBION – The Orleans County Department of Planning and Development will have a session from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 15 where property owners can learn about the Orleans County Agricultural District No. 1.

The county has one consolidated agricultural district and property owners this year have their once-every-8-year chance to remove land from the district. Property owners every year have an opportunity to add land to the district.

County officials will be at Hoag Library on April 15 to answer questions about the ag district. There will be a map of the current district for people to look up their land to see if it’s in or out of the district.

The Orleans County Agricultural District No. 1 covers over 118,000 acres or approximately 48% of the land mass of the county. All currently included landowners will receive notification of the ag district review and the forms should be returned by March 31.

The recent Agricultural Census showed sales for farm products in 2022 totaled $233.6 million in Orleans County, up 50.4 percent from the $155.3 million in 2017, a growth of $78.3 million. That includes sales of fruit, vegetables, milk, livestock and other farm products.

A snapshot of Orleans County’s ag economy in 2022 includes:

• 444 farms (498 in 2017)
• 130,055 land in agriculture (129,573 in 2017)
• average size of farm – 293 acres (260 in 2017)
• estimated value of land and buildings – $1.416 billion
• 33 farms at more than 1,000 acres, but 140 are 10 to 49 acres, and 131 are 50 to 179 acres.
• 132 farms sold less than $2,500, while 126 sold $100,000 or more.

For more information about agricultural districts or the ongoing review of the Orleans County Agricultural District No. 1, contact Corey Winters (Planner, Orleans County Department of Planning & Development) at (585) 589-3197.

Provided photos: Assemblyman Steve Hawley is shown with Bessie the Cow and Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball.

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

ALBANY – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) attended the New York Farm Bureau’s Taste of New York Reception in Albany on Monday.

The event was hosted in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and attended by Farm Bureau members and public officials from around the state. During this time, Hawley met with local farmers and members of the Farm Bureau about the importance of New York agriculture.

New York is one of the leading states for agriculture, the fifth-largest producer of dairy in the nation and has roughly seven million acres of farmland. The industry has also created nearly 200,000 jobs, with the vast majority of farms in the state being family-owned. Hawley is proud to have been able to attend this event and hopes it will bring more awareness to one of the state’s largest industries.

“It was great to meet with so many New Yorkers yesterday who share a passion for local agriculture,” Hawley said. “As a farmer once myself, I have a special appreciation for this industry. From the grocery store to the food in your pantry, we all rely on local farms like the ones we have here in Western New York. Holding this event in Albany will  shine a light on this vital industry and bring more attention to our family-owned farms.”

In 5 years, NY down 364,000 acres of farmland and 2,800 farms

Photo by Tom Rivers: A farmer harvests soybeans on East Barre Road in Barre on Oct. 13, 2019.

Press Release, NY Farm Bureau

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 2022 Agriculture Census revealing a cause of concern for New York agriculture.

While 98-percent of farms remain family owned in the state, the overall number of farms declined by nearly 2,800. That is about a 9 percent drop from the previous 2017 Agriculture Census and the steepest decline in the past three decades. The state also lost 364,000 acres of farmland over the past five years.

A significant portion of the decline is in dairy farming, the largest commodity value in New York State. New York saw a decrease of nearly 1,900 dairy farms, though the total number of dairy cows slightly increased. This reflects the market consolidation that has been happening in the industry. Others that also saw losses include vegetable, berry and organic farms.

The census did reveal some bright spots, including an increase in the number of orchards as well as oyster producers. Market value also rose significantly, topping $8 billion. This is in large part due to temporary increases in major commodity prices during the pandemic, which have since fallen in the past year.

USDA predicts farm income to be down another 25% in 2024. There is also a significant climb in farms using conservation practices like no-till and cover crops with an increase of about 200,000 acres statewide.

Another significant increase is farm costs. Every production expense saw a rise, from fertilizer and fuel to seed and lease prices. The biggest increase in production expenses is labor, which saw an astounding 41 percent jump in five years. This is not surprising with the surge in wage rates and overtime expenses on farms in New York. Employment increased slightly with about 1,000 new farmworkers in the state totaling 56,678 employees.

“The numbers do not come as a surprise but should be a renewed wakeup call for the state,” said David Fisher, president of New York Farm Bureau. “As we continue to see the decline in the number of farm families, we must do all that we can to reduce regulatory costs and expand market opportunities. New York Fam Bureau has stressed that the costlier it is to do business in this state, the harder it is for farms to stay in business. The loss of farmland and food production has major impacts on the economy and quality of life for all New Yorkers. We must work together to reverse this trend, include passing a strong Farm Bill that supports New York’s diverse agriculture.”

Additional NYS numbers in the 2022 USDA Ag Census:

• 30,650 farms in New York, down from 33,438 in 2017.
• 6,502,286 acres in production, down from 6,866,171 in 2017.
• Average farm size is 212 acres, up from 205 acres in 2017.
• The average net farm income of $76,281 per farm is slightly below the national average.
• 21,894 female producers and 35,664 male producers
• The average producer age is 56.7 years old, up from 55.8.
• 6,335 farmers under the age of 35, a drop from 6,718 producers in 2017.

Editor’s Note: In Orleans County, sales for farm products totaled $233.6 million in 2022, up 50.4 percent from the $155.3 million in 2017, a growth of $78.3 million. That includes sales of fruit, vegetables, milk, livestock and other farm products.

A snapshot of Orleans County’s ag economy in 2022 includes:

• 444 farms (498 in 2017)
• 130,055 land in agriculture (129,573 in 2017)
• average size of farm – 293 acres (260 in 2017)
• estimated value of land and buildings – $1.416 billion
• 33 farms at more than 1,000 acres, but 140 are 10 to 49 acres, and 131 are 50 to 179 acres.
• 132 farms sold less than $2,500, while 126 sold $100,000 or more.

Cayuga dethrones Wyoming County as state’s top ag producer

Photo by Tom Rivers: Farm equipment heads down Route 31 in Ridgeway on Sept. 19, 2023. Agriculture is a huge economic driver in Orleans County.

Orleans County saw a big jump in farm revenue in the 2022 census, and the county’s $233.6 million puts it as the 15^th-leading county in the state for ag revenue.

The county’s revenue for farm products sold totaled $233.6 million, up 50.4 percent from the $155.3 million in 2017, a growth of $78.3 million

The county’s ag bounty is only about half of the state’s top county for agricultural revenue. Cayuga tops the 62 counties at $461.9 million. Cayuga also dethroned Wyoming as the state’s agricultural king.

The ag census is done every five years. During the previous census in 2017, Wyoming was the top ag producer at $307.5 million, followed by Cayuga at $287.9 million, Genesee in third at $234.9 million, Suffolk at fourth $225.6 million and Wayne in fifth at $221.3 million.

With the new ag census, Genesee drops from third to fifth, while Wayne jumps up two spots to third place.

Overall, statewide ag revenue was $8.04 billion in 2022, up by 49.7 percent from the $5.37 billion in 2017.

The 2022 Ag Census was released on Tuesday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Here are the ag revenues for the 62 counties in NYS:

• Albany – $47.9 million
• Allegany – $69.8 million
• Bronx – D (withheld)
• Broome – $54.1 million
• Cattaraugus – $144.8 million
• Cayuga – $461.9 million
• Chautauqua – $242.0 million
• Chemung – $34.5 million
• Chenango – $123.0 million
• Clinton – $325.8 million
• Columbia – $111.2 million
• Cortland – $108.1 million
• Delaware – $66.8 million
• Dutchess – $45.1 million
• Erie – $192.0 million
• Essex – $11.8 million
• Franklin – $149.0 million
• Fulton – $9.4 million
• Genesee – $359.7 million
• Greene – $25.0 million
• Hamilton – D (withheld)
• Herkimer – $93.1 million
• Jefferson – $238.9 million
• Kings (Brooklyn) – D (withheld)
• Lewis – $178.6 million
• Livingston – $288.1 million
• Madison – $190.7 million
• Monroe – $101.1 million
• Montgomery – $126.1 million
• Nassau – $8.8 million
• New York (Manhattan) – D (withheld)
• Niagara – $156.9 million
• Oneida – $190.1 million
• Onondaga – $271.5 million
• Ontario – $293.6 million
• Orange – $95.6 million
• Orleans – $233.6 million
• Oswego – $68.9 million
• Otsego – $62.6 million
• Putnam – $1.5 million
• Queens – $285,000
• Rensselaer – $61.9 million
• Richmond (Staten Island) – $79,000
• Rockland – $4.0 million
• St. Lawrence – $270.4 million
• Saratoga – $115.5 million
• Schenectady – $6.4 million
• Schoharie – $63.5 million
• Schuyler – $68.1 million
• Seneca – $110.4 million
• Steuben – $251.8 million
• Suffolk – $364.2 million
• Sullivan – $37.5 million
• Tioga – $67.0 million
• Tompkins – $89.8 million
• Ulster – $105.5 million
• Warren – $2.5 million
• Washington – $263.0 million
• Wayne – $381.5 million
• Westchester – $11.6 million
• Wyoming – $421.0 million
• Yates – $152.4 million

Note: “D” is used in the ag census for a county with few farms to avoid disclosing information on individual producers.

Orleans County sees 50% jump to $233 million; Statewide farm economy at $8 billion

File photo by Tom Rivers: The mucklands in Barre and Clarendon provide fertile soil for onions, one of many crop grown in a diversified agricultural economy in Orleans County.

The federal ag census, which track’s the farm economy every five years, came out today and the numbers for 2022 and much bigger than the previous census for 2017.

In Orleans County, receipts for farm products sold totaled $233.63 million, up 50.4 percent from the $155.28 million in 2017, a growth of $78.35 million. That includes sales of fruit, vegetables, milk, livestock and other farm products.

Statewide the ag revenue was $8.04 billion in 2022, up by 49.7 percent from the $5.369 billion in 2017.

The revenue went up dramatically, and so did farm expenses. In Orleans County, production costs went up about $60 million from $119.00 million in 2017 to $179.90 million in 2022, a 51.2 percent hike, according to the ag census.

Statewide production costs increased by $1.85 billion from $4.33 billion in 2017 to $6.18 billion in 2022, up by 42.7 percent.

A snapshot of Orleans County’s ag economy in 2022 includes:

• 444 farms (498 in 2017)
• 130,055 land in agriculture (129,573 in 2017)
• average size of farm – 293 acres (260 in 2017)
• estimated value of land and buildings – $1.416 billion
• 33 farms at more than 1,000 acres, but 140 are 10 to 49 acres, and 131 are 50 to 179 acres.
• 132 farms sell less than $2,500, while 126 sell $100,000 or more.