agriculture

Roy-Hart agricultural teachers present ‘Green Team’ at national conference

Posted 16 July 2024 at 10:38 am

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!”

Antique tractors featured in Plow Days this weekend in Elba

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Louis Esten, who founded Plow Days 26 years ago, stands by some Farmall tractors which will take part in the event Saturday and Sunday.

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 3 May 2024 at 8:53 pm

ELBA – An antique tractor purchased “just for kicks” by a Medina man is expected to take part in Plow Days Saturday and Sunday at the Torrey Farm at 7411 Oak Orchard Rd., about one-half mile south of Elba.

Larry Boyle, who lived in Millville at the time, purchased a 1938 McCormick Deering Model 04 tractor for $200 in the late 1960s from a friend in Barre. The tractor ran and Boyle used it to haul wood and work up the fields on his small farm.

After moving to Medina, the tractor was stored in a barn and there it has sat for decades, until Larry’s son Terry decided to restore it.

Terry Boyle of Medina, left, and Louis Esten of Elba stand by the 1938 McCormick Deering tractor which Boyle restored and Esten trailered to the site of Plow Days on Saturday and Sunday on Torrey’s farm at 7411 Oak Orchard Rd., Elba.

Terry knew Louis Esten, having worked for him at Path Truck Lines, and knew about Esten’s passion for old tractors. It became Terry’s goal to get his father’s tractor running and take it to Plow Days, a demonstration by old tractors Esten started in 1998.

John Torrey from Torrey Farms also loves old tractors and has an impressive collection of 85 Farmalls and a large toy tractor collection of die cast and pedal tractors. He offered a large field on his farm just south of Elba for Esten to hold his Plow Days.

The day will feature 15 to 20 tractors working in the field, all of them McCormick Deering and Farmall, with the exception of one Cockshoot, a Canadian/Oliver brand.

This display of Farmall tractors is among the 85 antique tractors collected by John Torrey. He lines them up at his home south of Elba every year.

Terry said his dad’s 1938 McCormick Deering hadn’t been run in 50 years when he started working on his several months ago. The tractor is No. 24 out of only 104 built. Terry estimates he has put at least $5,000 in it. It isn’t clear how much it is worth today, but one site online lists similar models being offered for $9,000 to $20,000. Larry, however, isn’t ready to part with it.

There is no charge to attend Plow Days, which runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine.

Esten said they have been rained out only once, and people still came to view tractors in the barn, enjoy the camaraderie and visit the vendor booths. Breakfast and lunch are available from food trucks on the grounds.

Esten said he has lots of help from his sons, grandchildren and friend Daniel Gerould in putting on Plow Days.

A lineup of assorted McCormick Deering and Farmall tractors sits ready to perform for Plow Days Saturday and Sunday at the Torrey Farm on Oak Orchard Road, just south of Elba.

Terry Boyle, second from left, sits in front of his antique McCormick Deering tractor with Michael Esten, his dad Louis Esten and Louis’ grandson Ayden.

Blossoms in orchards make landscape look like cotton candy

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 April 2024 at 4:09 pm

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.

NY farmers donated 8 million pounds of food last year

Photos by Tom Rivers: Albion FFA members and some of the Albion football players are pictured on Dec. 12, 2020 after loading a flat-bed trailer and another smaller trailer with 53,000 pounds of produce, milk and other food. They then delivered and unloaded the food at Community Action on East State Street. The Albion FFA has been leading the food drive for 14 years.

Posted 21 March 2024 at 8:55 am

Press Release, New York Farm Bureau

New York Farm Bureau is reporting that its members donated 8 million pounds of food to regional foodbanks across the state last year through the Harvest for All program.

The number was announced this month at the annual American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference in Omaha, NE.

Once again, New York State had the second highest donation total in the country, only behind Florida.

The “Harvest for All” donation program is a nationwide annual farm donation partnership linking Farm Bureau and Feeding America in each state. In New York, NYFB’s YF&R Committee and Feeding New York State administer the statewide donation partnership.  The food is then distributed among the 10 Feeding America food banks throughout the state.

The work highlights the importance of our regional food banks in helping reduce food insecurity in the state. NYFB and Feeding NYS continue to advocate for full funding of Nourish NY and the Healthy School Meals for All programs in the New York State budget. The vital programs, in part, provide food banks with resources to purchase healthy, local food which benefit New Yorkers in need and the state’s farming community.

“New York agriculture has a long commitment of giving back,” said Rich De Meyer, New York Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers chairman. “We understand the importance of fresh, healthy food to our communities, and how it makes a difference. I would like to thank every farm that donated last year and to give thanks to Feeding New York State for its work to bridge the connection between our farm families and those in need. New York Farm Bureau will continue to work hard to build a stronger food system and increase food access for all New Yorkers.”

Dan Egan, Feeding New York State Executive Director said, “Feeding New York State thanks the farmers of New York for their incredible donations of top-quality fresh food. Our 10 food banks feed millions of our neighbors, but we could do none of this work without the farmers who produce our food. My dad used to say, ‘Work is love made visible.’ Our work together is how we all love our neighbors. We look forward to the year ahead with hope for a good growing season, good health and good shared work.”

Scott Oldenburg, left, is the Albion FFA advisor. Kaitlynn Basinait, second from left, is the FFA president. They help unload 37,000 pounds of produce and donated food from local farmers on Dec. 9, 2023. The food was delivered to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

County will take questions about ag district during April 15 session at Hoag Library

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 March 2024 at 10:04 am

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.