Photo by Tom Rivers – Some beef cattle are pictured in Carlton back in April.

The federal budget isn’t the only deadline that passed on Sept. 30 without an agreement in Congress. The legislative body also failed to act on the Farm Bill, which sets the nation’s agricultural policy.

The Farm Bill is usually renewed in five-year agreements. Congress was unable to approve a five-year deal in 2012 and instead opted for a one-year extension. That expired on Monday.

“Only this time, the likelihood of a one-year extension seems remote,” said Dean Norton, the New York Farm Bureau president. “This only raises the uncertainty level on our farms that are looking to plan ahead for next year as the current harvest season enters its final stages. How does any business set a budget, purchase supplies, or make hiring decisions without having some idea of what governmental policies are in place that have a direct impact on what they do day-in and day-out?”

Norton is in Washington, D.C., urging lawmakers to move on the Farm Bill.

“Without it, our dairies are put in an especially vulnerable position if volatile milk prices swing too low,” he said. “This will continue to leave many of New York’s important fruit and vegetable growers without a reasonable safety net as well. In addition, a number of other cost saving reforms and vital programs will be cast aside if there is no movement to secure a responsible farm policy in the next few months.”

The Farm Bill doesn’t just affect farmers. Consumers could see higher prices and reduced access to local food, Norton said.

Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said Farm Bureau members throughout the country are “deeply concerned over the political challenges that are making it next to impossible for Congress to reach a compromise on important legislation.”

Farm Bureau wants to see a Farm Bill that provides a safety net for farm products and other risk management tools as farmers plan for next year’s crop, Stallman said in a statement.

“Farm Bureau is encouraging Congress and President Obama to work together to get the budget process in order, get our national economy back on track and move forward on legislation important to agriculture, such as the Farm Bill, immigration and tax reform and waterways funding,” he said.

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo has finally signed an expanded Niagara Wine Trail into law, a measure that could be a significant benefit to Orleans County.

The Niagara Wine Trail ran along Route 104 mostly in Niagara County. It reached into Orleans to include the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery near the western end of Ridgeway. But it couldn’t keep moving east, without a change in the state law.

Several groups, including the wine industry, have tried for years to extend the wine trail. The State Senate was the first to go for it, but the Assembly didn’t agree until this year.

The Assembly and Senate both voted in favor of the measure. It seemed a done deal back in June. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature seemed a no-brainer.

This trail is expected to be a tourism boost for Western New York. It will stretch from Niagara Falls through Orleans and into Monroe County. It also will run south from the Falls area into Erie County.

I’ve been watching this for nearly four months now, wondering why it was taking the governor so long, especially with all of his talk about creating jobs, promoting New York and agriculture, and the need for more state attention for Western New York. We lost the summer, a chance to rev up our tourism engine while this sat on his desk.

The governor finally summoned the strength to sign this last week.

The legislation expands and renames the Niagara Wine Trail system. The new configuration, which takes effect immediately, extends the trail across all of Orleans County and into western Monroe County, encompassing more wineries.

We in Orleans can piggyback on this trail and create other trails. A “Cobblestone Trail” on 104 makes a lot of sense. We might consider trails for farm markets, Medina sandstone and perhaps other historic sites.

We can tap into the tourism promotion dollars in Monroe County, Rochester, Buffalo and Erie County. This could be big for Orleans.

The trail will run on Route 104 between the Ferry Avenue/Route 62 intersection in Niagara Falls and Route 390 in Monroe County. That will be known as “Niagara Wine Trail Ridge.”

The complement to the Ridge route is the “Niagara Wine Trail Lake,” which follows Route 269 north from its intersection with Route 104 at the Niagara-Orleans County Line to Route 18. It then runs west to Route 425, then south to Route 62 and along that route until its intersection with I-290 in Amherst.

Seventeen wineries are on the trail now and more are under development. The money to pay for additional signage on an expanded trail system has already been earmarked through a 2011 Regional Economic Development Council Award. The expansion imposes no new costs to taxpayers.

The governor also signed legislation for three other wine trails, giving the state 16 such trails.

The state expanded the “Shawangunk East Wine Trail” in Ulster County. New York established the “Adirondack Coast Wine Trail” that runs from the Town of Peru into the Town of Plattsburgh. The “Chautauqua Wine Trail” will be renamed the “Lake Erie Wine Country Trail.” The route will remain unchanged.

The state also approved new legislation allowing New York wineries to sell wine from roadside farm markets if the product was made within 20 miles of the roadside farm market.

Other new apple, RubyFrost, has another 3 weeks to mature

Photos by Tom Rivers – These SnapDragon apples from Kirby Farms have red color, good size and a juicy crispness.

ALBION – They represent high hopes for New York apple growers and they will soon be put to the taste test. SnapDragon and RubyFrost, two new varieties developed by Cornell researchers, are ready to make their public debuts.

The two new apples will be released at about 40 farm markets throughout the state.

“There’s a lot of people asking, ‘Where can we get it?’” said Roger Lamont of Albion, chairman of the New York Apple Growers LLC. That group formed in a partnership with Cornell to sign up growers and manage the supply.

The apples won’t be readily available in grocery stores until 2015 when recent plantings have a full crop. But they will be at many local farm markets in the next two years.

“Farm markets are good because of the direct contact with growers,” Lamont said.

There is a bigger supply of RubyFrost apples this year, and some will be held in storage until January, when Lamont said they will be released in a limited supply through grocery stores.

“We want to get the consumers’ reaction,” Lamont said.

Lamont drove a truck load of SnapDragons across the state on Friday so farm markets in eastern New York would have the apples. He wants to start developing an eager customer base for the apples.

The new varieties represent a major change in how new apples are managed and marketed. Cornell and other apple breeding programs used to develop new varieties which were then typically slowly released and often in a haphazard manner.

If a variety became popular, growers would plant trees en masse, leading to an oversupply and falling prices.

Tim Kirby checks on his SnapDragon apples in an orchard along Route 31 in Albion. Kirby is selling the apples at Kirby’s Farm Market in Brockport.

Lamont said the new system ensures there is a big supply, but not too many where prices will fall below profitable levels. New York Apple Growers LLC is also directing funding to Cornell’s apple breeding program, to fund research for more new varieties in the future.

The program is open to all New York apple growers, but not to growers outside NY. Some other apple-growing “clubs” have formed in recent years and not all growers had an opportunity to grow and sell new varieties. That put some growers at a disadvantage.

Tim Kirby of Albion said he is grateful the new varieties are open to all of the growers in New York, and that the apples will be managed so there isn’t an oversupply.

“People want something new and different,” he said. “This is real positive for the industry.”

Kirby planted SnapDragon and RubyFrost apples in 2011. SnapDragon has proven “grower-friendly,” requiring less work than another popular variety, the Honeycrisp.

The SnapDragons all seem to ripen at about the same time, meaning they can get picked at once, rather than multiple times.

RubyFrost is a late-season variety. It’s a red apple that tastes sweet and tart.

The Kirby farm picked SnapDragons last week and was one of the first in the state to sell them at a farm market. Kirby’s Farm Market is located on Route 104 in Brockport.

Kirby said they should prove popular with customers because of the apples’ red color, the crispiness and the size. They are a little smaller than Honeycrisp, which some consumers perceive as too big.

Kirby was in an orchard off Route 31 near Riches Corners Road on Friday. He had already picked many of the SnapDragons and had them in crates.

“They color well,” he said about their red skins. “Look at them. They’re beautiful.”

SnapDragon gets its juicy crispness from its Honeycrisp parent, and it has a spicy-sweet flavor.

RubyFrost takes longer to ripen on the tree. That apple will be picked in about three weeks.  It’s a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp.

ALBION – I stopped by Liberty Fresh Farms, an onion packing house on Route 98 in Albion, last evening because my 9-year-old son is part of a Lego league through Orleans County 4-H.

The Panek family, owners of the former Remley Printing building, is letting three Lego teams practice building robots and whatnot in some of the rooms in the building.

The Paneks helped form Liberty Fresh. When I was there last night, the sun was setting and the tall stacks of onion crates were striking. I noticed a statue of a patron saint by a tree. The rainy spring made for a difficult growing year for onion farmers.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Apples await to be picked at an Orleans County orchard. After a disastrous 2012, New York fruit growers are poised for a record harvest this year.

Press release
NY Apple Association

The apple harvest is now officially underway across the state of New York, from the lower Hudson Valley to the upper Champlain Valley and throughout Orleans County – and growers are harvesting a record crop, the New York Apple Association reports.

The state’s nearly 700 apple growers are expected to pick about 32 million bushels by the time harvest concludes in November, a modern record.

Last year’s crop was decimated by late spring frosts that killed many tree buds. The 2012 crop was 17.1 million bushels. New York’s average production is 29.5 million bushels of apples.

Excellent weather conditions – beginning during this year’s bloom and growing season, and continuing into harvest so far – mean that this year’s fruit will be large and juicy, with high natural sugars. Meanwhile, recent new plantings mean that consumers will find more of the New York state apple varieties that they love.

“Good news, New York state apple fans: This year’s apple harvest is on time, and is now in full swing across New York state,” said NYAA President Jim Allen. “Our consumers who have been waiting for us to get back into the market after last year’s short crop will have lots to celebrate this fall.”

Harvest of New York’s top variety McIntosh is now underway in the eastern part of the state and will soon be harvesting statewide, Allen reported. Harvest of all other varieties, including consumer favorites including Zestar, Gala and HoneyCrisp, also has started across the state.

Farm markets across the state are now stocked with new-crop fruit and fresh apple cider, and retail stores are stocking their shelves. Pick-your-own orchards are also open statewide, offering wholesome, healthy family fun.

NYAA’s consulting dietitian also celebrated arrival of the new crop as the state’s schoolchildren head back to class.

“Apples are the perfect addition to every school lunch,” said Linda Quinn, MS, RD. “Their natural sweetness comes packaged with a big serving of fiber so that fuel is released to the body more slowly, giving your child healthy energy while leaving her feeling fuller for longer.”

To promote this year’s crop, NYAA has enlisted Rochester native and international soccer star Abby Wambach. In July, Wambach became the women’s world record holder for career goals scored. Television and radio commercials featuring Abby are airing now. She will also be featured in in-store signage starting later this fall.

Collins pushes for tax code changes for cider

Photo By Tom Rivers – Congressman Chris Collins joins members of the Orleans County farm community on Tuesday to promote the Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation Act, which would reduce the excise tax on hard cider. Collins is pictured inside the tasting room at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina.

MEDINA – Hard cider was popular more than a century ago and then went mostly dormant until a recent comeback.

The industry is on a resurgence and its sales have tripled since 2007. But the potential may not be realized due to an outdated tax structure that sometimes taxes hard cider to the same rate as wine.

“Hard cider is growing leaps and bounds,” said Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, who has introduced the Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation Act with Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon.

The CIDER Act would change the definition of hard cider in federal tax law. Currently, hard cider is taxed at different rates based on its alcohol and carbonation level, both of which can fluctuate, especially for small craft operators.

“The hard cider industry is poised for major growth and unless the federal tax code is reasonably adjusted, our producers and farmers are going to miss out on this economic opportunity,” Collins said. “If these simple changes to the tax code are made, not only will the American cider industry expand and become more competitive and profitable, but our local apple growers will see a major demand for their product.”

The average bottle of hard cider contains the juice of three apples. If there is more demand for hard cider, New York growers will see more demand for apples, especially those at juice-grade, which will strengthen the apple industry.

“This change would be good for the economy, jobs and Orleans County,” Collins said at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina.

Wendy Wilson, the winery’s president, said a change in the tax code, taxing hard cider at a reduced rate, would save the winery about $8,000 annually in taxes. That money could be used for more marketing to draw more people to the area, she said.

The CIDER Act proposes three changes for the industry:

Increases the carbonation level allowed for hard cider. Cider consumers expect a high level of carbonation, equivalent to that of most beer. Current federal tax code does not permit this desired carbonation level without reclassifying the project as champagne, which is taxed at a much higher rate.

Increases the alcohol content allowed in hard cider. This change will align the alcohol content with the natural sugar content of apples. The outdated definition of hard cider only allows up to 7 percent alcohol by volume before it is taxed as wine.

Allows pears to be used in hard cider production. Pear hard cider is a popular flavor in the international hard cider market and prohibiting it weakens the U.S. cider industry’s ability to compete globally and hampers sustainable growth.

Collins is the lead Republican sponsor of the CIDER Act in the House of Representatives. He said it could be passed as a standalone bill or perhaps be included in the Farm Bill or other legislation.

Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, said the CIDER Act would be a big benefit to apple growers and cider makers.

“Our state has a long and trusted tradition of producing the best apple cider, and with this legislation, this tradition will continue and expand with new cider options,” Allen said.

Press release, Congressman Chris Collins

MEDINA – Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) will stop at LynOaken Farms and Leonard Oakes Estate Winery today to discuss the Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation Act.

Collins, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, introduced the bipartisan CIDER Act that would change the outdated definition of hard cider in federal tax law, allowing the industry to expand and boosting demand for apples, including those grown in New York.

Collins will detail the legislation during a 4 p.m. visit at LynOaken Farms and Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, 10609 Ridge Rd.

The business both grows apples and produces hard cider. Collins will also be joined by members of Orleans County’s agricultural community.

BARRE – The Erie Canal tends to get all the attention as a man-made waterway in these parts, but Orleans County is home to another “big ditch,” the series of drainage improvements used to create the Elba Muck about a century ago.

The Elba Muck covers about 7,000 acres in Genesee and Orleans counties. Many immigrants and woodsman cleared a swamp and built 90 miles of ditches to drain the land. Farmers in the two counties formed a special watershed district and they pay to pump water with sump pumps and other devices and keep the land from becoming waterlogged.

Driving out to the muck is like visiting a different planet with the dark black soil. It’s worth a drive out there to check out the place that brought many hard-working immigrants to our community.

The muck remains highly productive farmland. Two Albion farms, Triple G and Panek, are among the 10 farms that still work the land at the former swamp.