Press release, Farm Credit East

BATAVIA – Farm Credit East has merged with Farm Credit of Maine, effective Jan. 1.

The merger received final regulatory approval following stockholder votes of both organizations that overwhelmingly supported the merger. This merger is the culmination of strategic planning initiatives in both associations to sustain growth and customer value for Farm Credit.

Both ACAs are coming off of excellent years and are financially and operationally strong, making this the opportune time for a merger. This strategic opportunity will position Farm Credit in the Northeast for future change and maintain Northeast agriculture’s continued access to global money markets.

“With this merger comes new opportunities that include a tremendous team of Maine employees who will ‘deepen our bench’ in a variety of job areas,” said Bill Lipinski, Farm Credit East CEO. “We will work hard to ensure that significant financial benefits accrue to our expanded family of stockholders in the next several years.”

The merged association will create the opportunity for enhanced earnings, portfolio diversification and a stronger capital base. It will also offer enhanced member service through an expanded pool of talent and experience.

In 2014, the merged association plans to build on those goals as well as move forward on other positive initiatives that provide high-value customer service and expand diversity of stakeholder groups.

Farm Credit has been consolidating in recent years. The former Farm Credit of Western New York merged with First Pioneer Farm Credit in 2010. Farm Credit of WNY served 16 counties with offices in Batavia, Mayville, Hornell and Geneva.

Pioneer served the balance of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and eastern New Hampshire.

With the addition of Maine, Farm Credit East now represents all of the Northeast except for Vermont.

KENDALL – Kludt Brothers, a past state champ in an annual corn contest, was close to the title this year, but didn’t have enough bushels to top Henry Everman, a Dansville farmer.

The National Corn Growers Association earlier today announced the state and national winners in the 49^th annual corn contest.

Kludt won the state title in 2009 and 2010, and finished fourth in the country in 2009 with 295.9 bushel yield. The farm based in Kendall didn’t reach the leaderboard for 2013.

In the state contest, Henry Everman of Dansville won the New York title for non-irrigated land with a 293.98 bushel per acre yield. Everman was followed by JA-RY Properties of Pavilion at 293.48 bushels and Swede Farms of Pavilion at 289.59.

Kludt Brothers came in eighth out of 15 NY entrants with a yield of 261.86 bushels.

In the no-till/non-irrigated category, Gary Swede Farms of Pavilion took the top three spots with yields of 322.14, 295.93 and 286.27 bushels per acre.

Kludt came in seventh out of the 11 NY entries with a 261.19 yield in the category.

Kevin Kalb of Dubois, Ind., had the top yield in the country for non-irrigated land with a 374.62 yield. David Hula of Charles City, Va., had the biggest yield of all entries – 454.98 bushels per acre – in the no till/irrigated category.

That 454.98 yield is a new all-time record. The national average for corn in 2013 is projected to be 160.4 bushels per acre.

John Long has witnessed changes on the farm landscape

John Long holds the 18-pound horse weight that has been in his family for generations.

GAINES – For the many years John Long and his father Frank milked cows on Zig Zag Road, they used an old horse weight as a door stop in the milk house.

Frank Long started the farm in 1937 at Zig Zag Road. John Long sold the cows in 1988, when he turned the farm’s focus on crops. He also had a retail straw and hay business.

He kept the old horse weight, which weighs 18 pounds and has a ring. It is a relic from the horse and buggy era. Orleans Hub has posted many articles about the rather incredible collection of hitching posts, mounting blocks and carriage steps that remain on many properties in the area. Albion and Gaines, in particular, have many of these. There are also quite a few in Medina.

Long wanted me to see the horse weight, which his father referred to as a horse block.

John Long treasures the horse weight. He scrubbed it and gave it a new coating of black paint.

Horse weights were movable blocks, made of iron or stone, that were carried in carriages. Not every place had a hitching post to tie up a horse. So people brought along a horse weight to tie up their horse and keep it in place.

I had never seen a horse weight before until Long showed it to me on Thursday. He takes pride in the relic. He has it scrubbed up and painted black. It’s been in his family for many, many years.

Long, 79, remembers when horses were a bigger part of Albion. He can recall hitching posts along Caroline Street and a drinking fountain for horses on the Courthouse Lawn.

I asked County Historian Bill Lattin if he thinks there are many surviving horse weights these days. Lattin has two, including a heavy sandstone weight that he suspects was used to hitch a team of horses. He also has a smaller one, similar to Long’s.

But Lattin hasn’t seen too many of the weights.

Long likes the history of the area. He lives outside the eastern end of the village of Albion. Long and his wife Loretta raised two sons – Jeff and Doug – out in the country.

John Long said almost every farmer in the area used to grow tomatoes to feed the processing plants in Albion.

Many of the roads near him – Kietel, Densmore, Lattin and Sawyer – are named for pioneer settlers. Zig Zag Road used to be call Wickham Road, named for another pioneer. Long doesn’t know why the name was changed.

He’s seen a lot of changes in local agriculture. Long’s farm and almost every other farm oepration in the area grew a lot of tomatoes to feed the processing plants in Albion.

Lipton’s (across from McDonalds) stopped buying local tomatoes in 1961 and then Hunt’s took its last local crop in 1969. Hunt’s had an enormous facility, the former Chase site in Albion plus more space on East Avenue going to Platt Street, where Helena Chemical is currently located.

“In the fall you could smell the ketchup cooking in Albion,” Long said.

Many local farmers grew tomatoes for Lipton’s and Hunt’s. These days you don’t see much acreage for tomatoes.

Instead, Long said it feels like corn is everywhere. He rents out his land and two farmers who use it for corn.

“Corn is king now because of the ethanol,” Long said.

Most of the corn has been harvested next to Long’s former dairy farm on Zig Zag Road. Long sold much of equipment from the barn in an auction in October.

Trolley Building could be transformed into Culinary Institute

Press release, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension

KNOWLESVILLE – Horticulture in Orleans County is expanding into new horizons.

On Nov. 21, the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension Board of Directors voted in favor of transitioning its current part-time Horticulture Educator position to a full-time Garden-to-Table Educator. This new role will link horticulture with food and nutrition education to better serve the needs of Orleans County residents.

The Garden-to-Table Educator will provide daily support to the Master Gardener program and will advocate for garden-based learning and garden-to-table programs to further horticulture education in OCCCE youth and family programming. OCCCE’s non-profit and government agency partners, such as those in the county health department, see tremendous need for emphasizing backyard gardening and linking it with food choices to help community members lead healthier, better lives.

Growing your own food is a natural link with food preservation and the culinary arts, and it emphasizes horticulture’s important role in our community. As one board member stated, “I really look forward to more education on food preparation and preservation coming from the new Garden-to-Table Educator position. I think it will help address issues of rural poverty as well as childhood obesity and nutrition.”

The transition to a Garden-to-Table Educator coincides with OCCCE’s efforts to revitalize the Trolley Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds, which currently houses a large kitchen with a 50’ x 70’ event space.

In January 2014, community members will meet to establish a vision for the Trolley Building to guide renovation efforts, and ideas of hosting a Culinary Institute within the building with a sizeable teaching kitchen have been proposed.

The OCCCE Board of Directors wants the space to meet community needs and be available for use by other agencies to host educational workshops and events. OCCCE’s focus on agriculture, horticulture, and youth development naturally extends to food science and the culinary arts, and county community members are excited about the potential benefits of such a facility.

OCCCE is actively pursuing grant funds for horticulture education, and the Garden-to-Table Educator position provides a wide-range of grant options. Recently, a proposal requesting about $60,000 was submitted to The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation in Washington, DC, to conduct The Well-Stocked Pantry Project.

This project is designed to provide families with a “how-to” guide for starting a garden and incorporating its tending; along with cooking, preserving, and enjoying its bounty; into their daily lives for learning, enrichment, and enjoyment.

Gardening with children can yield strong families, improve nutrition, combat obesity, and promote lifelong learning. If funded, this project could bring national attention to Orleans County horticulture and make a significant, positive impact.

OCCCE is currently seeking applications for the Garden-to-Table position now through Jan. 15, 2014. For details, see the OCCCE website by clicking here.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Lynn Hill served as auctioneer Saturday during the first ever turkey auction, featuring birds raised by 4-H’ers. The 21 turkeys sold for a combined $1,585. Skip Lear, left, helped Hill with the auction.

Claudia Dreschel of Holley created a display at the auction, showing pictures of herself with her turkeys.

KNOWLESVILLE – The debut turkey auction by the Orleans County 4-H program resulted in $1,585 in sales for 21 turkeys, and many happy buyers who will have locally raised meat for Thanksgiving.

Twelve 4-H’ers raised the turkeys over four months. The birds at the auction ranged from 17 to 34 pounds. They all sold for at least $60 with three at $100 or more.

The 4-H Market Auction Committee pushed to start the auction this year. The committee hoped the turkeys would sell for an average of $75. The average price on Saturday: $75.48.

The 4-H program would like to make the turkey auction an annual tradition, and would like to see more bidders buy turkeys from local 4-H’ers.

Alan and Guin Panek of Albion bought three turkeys at the auction. They will have 60 people over for Thanksgiving.

“We wanted to support the 4-H program,” said Mrs. Panek, a former 4-H educator. “We know these turkeys are locally raised, they’re healthy and fresh.”

The Paneks bid the highest amount at the auction, $150 for a 34-pound turkey raised by Nicole Mrzywka of Holley.

Dona Scharping, in front of Lynn Hill, holds up a yellow card to show she is bidding on a turkey. She bought one for $65 that was raised by Zachary Moore of Albion.

The Orleans County Fair Committee bought one of the turkeys to be donated to a local food pantry. Barb Kurzowski also bought a turkey and donated it a food pantry.

Many of the 4-H’ers have been raising animals for years, but typically they are larger livestock.

“They’re really nice when they are babies,” Janie Schutz, 17, of Waterport said about the turkeys.

But birds became more aggressive as they get older. She and her sister Rylie Lear, 13, prefer working with beef cattle.

“You bond more with your cows than your turkeys,” Schutz said.

The 4-H’ers fed the turkeys at least 2 pounds of a grain-based feed a day. They needed lots of water and clean conditions.

Claudia Dreschel, 14, of Holley and her brother Andrew raised eight turkeys, with four sold at the auction. They estimated it cost $50 in feed for each turkey over four months.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience,” Claudia said. “They eat a lot and they can make a mess very fast.”

Guin and Alan Panek of Albion bid on a turkey during the auction on Saturday. They bought three birds, including the highest bid of the night, $150 for a turkey raised by Nicole Mrzywka of Holley.

Provided photos – Natalie Mrzywka, 15, of Holley is raising turkeys for the auction on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. She helped build a new coop for the turkeys.

KNOWLESVILLE – Several 4-H youths have been raising turkeys the past four months that will be auctioned off at a sale Saturday at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

The turkey auction is new for the 4-H program, which has a meat auction during the fair in July.

The auction on Saturday with 22 turkeys gives the public a chance to buy turkeys before Thanksgiving while also supporting local 4-H youths.

There will be a preview of the turkeys beginning at 6 p.m. at the Trolley building on Route 31 with the auction starting at 6:30.

In addition the 4-H Market Auction Committee will be hosting a spaghetti dinner starting at 6 p.m. Tickets for the dinner cost $8 and children’s size (half portions) can be purchased for $4.

Nicole Mrzywka, 12, also joined in raising turkeys for the auction.

“The work that the 4-H members have put into these projects is apparent and they would greatly appreciate your support,” said Kerri Richardson, a community education coordinator for the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

The auction is a “win-win-win” program for Orleans County 4-H, its youth, and community members, she said.

“The 4-H’ers win from the learning experience: taking on the responsibility of raising high quality livestock and developing a marketing technique for its sale, and obtaining funds for college or for future projects,” she said.

The turkey buyers are purchasing fresh, locally grown turkeys for their Thanksgiving dinner, while the 4-H community benefits from the sales of the spaghetti dinner tickets. Ticket funds are used for future 4-H market auction educational programs.

For more information, call the Extension at (585) 798-4265.

Press release, American Farm Bureau Federation

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 28th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.04, a 44-cent price decrease from last year’s average of $49.48.

“The cost of this year’s meal, at less than $5 per serving, remains an excellent value for consumers,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman, a rice and cattle producer from Texas. “America’s farm and ranch families are honored to produce the food from our nation’s land for family Thanksgiving celebrations.”

The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10. There is also plenty for leftovers.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at $21.76 this year. That was roughly $1.36 per pound, a decrease of about 3 cents per pound, or a total of 47 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2012. The whole bird was the biggest contributor to the final total, showing the largest price decrease compared to last year.

In addition to the turkey, other items that declined in price included a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.18; one pound of green peas, $1.54; a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.67; fresh cranberries, $2.42; a half pint of whipping cream, $1.85; and two nine-inch pie shells, $2.49.

Items that showed a moderate price increase from last year included three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.36; one gallon of whole milk, $3.66; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.10.