November 2012 - New York Farm Bureau

November 2012 Grassroots Page 1 

Grassroots 

Vol. 1, No. 11 the voice of new york agriculture ® NOvember 2012 

NYFB 

Prepares 

for State 

Annual 

Meeting 

By Fred Perrin 

fperrin@nyfb.org 

Photo courtesy Mary Carpenter 

Violet Hill Farm in Herkimer County raises about 200 turkeys for the Thanksgiving season including the midget white heritage 

breed that is one of the smallest standard varieties of turkey. 

A Thanksgiving story 

Give Thanks for NY Farmers 

By Steve Ammerman and Tara Wiley 

sammerman@nyfb.org, twiley@nyfb.org 

As families across New York sit 

down for their traditional Thanksgiving 

Day dinner, they certainly 

can be thankful for their local farmers. 

Mary Carpenter who runs Violet 

Hill Farm with her partner Paul 

Dench-Layton in West Winfield, 

NY certainly understands the hard 

work involved leading up to the big 

day. They raise 200 turkeys in addition 

to lambs, pigs, geese, ducks, 

rabbits and a menagerie of other 

animals that will be prominently 

featured on holiday tables. They 

also forage for culinary mushrooms 

and wild edibles. Their primary 

market is in New York City where 

they set up shop every Saturday at 

the Union Square Green Market in 

addition to several restaurants they 

sell to. 

“Once the cold weather hits, our 

business really takes off a lot. People 

will cook in their apartments 

again so the demand for meats goes 

up,” said Mary Carpenter. 

Most everything they sell is pasture 

raised. The pigs run in a herd 

on the 200 acre farm in Herkimer 

County, and their turkeys and geese 

are kept together in a big paddock. 

They try to keep it as natural as 

they can since there is a big demand 

for their products. 

“We keep increasing. Over the 

last three years, our yearly sales 

have tripled. There is definitely the 

need,” she said. 

She attributes part of that to 

their marketing efforts on social 

media. When people search the web 

for pasture raised turkey in New 

York City, Violet Hill Farm pops up 

on the search engine list. She also 

credits the face to face interaction 

they have with people at the farmers’ 

market. 

“We are honest about what we 

do and how they are raised. There 

are extremes on either end and we 

try to do what makes sense,” said 

Carpenter. “It has to work business 

wise but also be workable for the 

average person. Costs, especially 

now, are tough on people so we try 

to keep our margins as tight as we 

can.” 

They take great pride in their 

work, and are excited their food will 

be served on one of the most important 

meals of the year this Thanksgiving. 

“I think it is fantastic. We definitely 

are a part of a lot of people’s 

Please see Thanksgiving Page 20 

Delegates and members from all of 

New York’s fifty-two county Farm Bureaus 

will convene at the Desmond Hotel 

& Conference Center in Albany, NY, 

on December 4 – 6, 2012, to create and reaffirm 

polices that 

have their roots at 

the local level. Is 

that all it is? Absolutely 

not! 

There is much 

more in addition 

to the business 

meeting, and everyone 

is welcome 

to attend. Workshops 

and educational 

seminars, 

Mark Maslyn 

American Farm 

Bureau Federation 

Executive Director 

of Public Policy 

Young Farmer 

activities and exhibits 

are all part 

of a celebration 

atmosphere of the 

2012 year. Invited 

guests include NY 

Lieutenant Governor 

Robert Duffy 

and NYS Agriculture and Markets 

Commissioner Darrel Aubertine. The 

opening session will feature a national 

affairs update by Mark Maslyn, American 

Farm Bureau Federation Executive 

Director of Public 

Policy. The Farm 

Keith Eckel 

Board Chairman, 

Nationwide 

Mutual Insurance 

Company 

Bureau banquet 

will be keynoted 

by Keith Eckel of 

Clarks Summit, 

Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Eckel serves as 

board chairman 

of the Nationwide 

Mutual Insurance 

Company. Nationwide 

is New 

York Farm Bureau’s 

new insurance 

partner in 

2012. Mr. Eckel is 

owner of Fred W. 

Eckel Sons, and 

president of Eckel 

Farms, Inc. He is 

a trustee of Pennsylvania State University, 

and was board president of Pennsylvania 

Farm Bureau before joining 

the Nationwide Board in 1996. 

Members interested in attending 

the NYFB State Annual Meeting need 

Please see Annual meeting, Page 20 

Meet NYFB 

Candidates Page 12-13 

Next Month 

Christmas trees

Page 2 Grassroots November 2012 

Immigration Task Force Reports 

By Julie Suarez 

jsuarez@nyfb.org 

American Farm Bureau Federation 

(AFBF) President Bob Stallman took an 

unusual step this year in appointing a 

Task Force of various state Farm Bureau 

staff to take a hard look at AFBF’s 

immigration policy and design a series 

of recommendations for a labor program 

going forward that would hopefully 

unite the state Farm Bureaus to 

assist in mobilizing grassroots advocacy 

efforts. The Task Force was initiated 

when a southern state Farm Bureau 

succeeded in inserting one word 

into AFBF’s immigration policy at the 

2012 Annual Meeting – “portability”. 

NYFB actually opposed the concept of 

inserting portability into a temporary 

seasonal worker program during this 

Annual meeting over concerns about 

the impact to Northeast agriculture. If 

workers had more of an option to come 

and go as they please, once the cold 

weather hits, apple, cabbage and other 

crop harvests would be difficult to fulfill 

with workers not as keen on staying 

until the end of harvest. 

While NYFB was not successful in 

defeating the “portability” concept on 

the floor, the results of the Immigration 

Task Force effort to talk about what 

“portability” actually means in terms 

of our policy were quite successful, 

which lead to productive discussions 

between states about what’s needed for 

farmers to assure a more stable work 

force. Now that the AFBF Board, on 

which NYFB President Norton serves, 

has unanimously approved the Task 

Force’s recommendation it is time to 

actually share the salient points of the 

program. AFBF and the members of 

the Task Force are hopeful, or perhaps 

foolishly optimistic, that not only will 

the state Farm Bureaus throughout the 

nation lend their support and resources 

towards convincing their representatives 

to adopt a single sector agricultural 

immigration reform approach 

this year, but that this general outlined 

approached will be introduced by Congressional 

members and supported by 

other agricultural groups as well. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I was 

honored to be a part of the Task Force 

appointees and had the privilege of serving 

with other Farm Bureau Executive 

Directors, Policy Directors, and Labor 

staff throughout the country. This ability 

to share the perspectives of California, 

Arizona, New York, North Carolina, 

Washington, Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, 

Ohio, and Pennsylvania was vitally 

important, and the group was chaired by 

Peter Furey, the New Jersey Farm Bureau 

Executive Director. We engaged in 

substantive discussions and ultimately 

decided upon a two pronged approach 

– a current worker authorization and 

the creation of a temporary worker program. 

The temporary worker program 

would have both a contract and a noncontract 

option, assuring portability 

for those farms that have multiple crops 

ready at intervals as well as a contract 

option for farms (like ours in New York) 

that tend to have a need for contracted 

workers to stay for a longer period of 

time and milk cows. 

In the vision of the Task Force, the 

proposal merges several of the legislative 

proposals we’ve seen throughout 

the past decade. A current worker program 

(not amnesty, not citizenship) but 

work authorization for five years, that 

is renewable, for workers here under 

fraudulent documentation. The worker 

can decide to get in line for a green card 

if that is preferred or simply work for 

five years and then return to the home 

country. In order to qualify for this 

work authorization, the individual has 

to have worked in agriculture for a certain 

period of time prior to the adoption, 

but also has to continue to work 

in agriculture for a certain period each 

year to remain in status. This ability is 

key for the workers who have been here 

working on our farms year after year 

and need legitimate documentation. 

The details of the Temporary Worker 

program were actually more controversial 

to hammer out and the development 

of a two pronged program 

that includes both a contract 

and a non-contract option took 

some time and careful thought. 

The suggestion is that the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

administers both programs, 

and employers will need 

to register to take part. For the 

non-contract option, the potential 

employees apply to work 

in the United States and prove 

that a registered employer has 

a position for them. After that, 

they are free to move around in 

the agricultural sector, working 

for registered employers for a 

period of 11 months. The visa 

is renewable, and all applicable 

labor laws for hiring workers 

would apply. However, the suggestion 

is that the jobs simply 

require the State or Federal 

minimum wage, whichever is higher, 

and be simply posted on an electronic 

job register like jobs of other employ- 

The State 

Farm 

Bureau’s will 

be ready 

to work 

together 

in a united 

front – to 

secure 

introduction 

of a 

favorable 

bill and 

hopefully 

passage 

ment sectors. For the contract option, 

again an electronic posting is required, 

and a signed contract between both parties 

would be executed. Employees 

could remain in country up 

to 12 months, with an option for 

renewal for up to three years 

before requiring a commitment 

to the home country. Housing 

or a housing allowance would 

be required for the contract option, 

which would be open to all 

sectors of agriculture. 

There are many other details 

we’ve talked about in the group 

discussions, from appropriate 

dispute resolutions, managing 

bureaucratic details, and of 

course the necessity of ensuring 

that workers entering the 

United States still do have the 

requirement for screening by 

the Department of Homeland 

Security. However, as the program 

is envisioned it would 

succeed in satisfying labor 

needs, should it be written, introduced 

and administered in a more simplistic 

fashion. 

Save money on your heating bills with Econoburn — 

the best-built, most efficient, wood-fired boiler on the 

market and proudly manufactured right here in 

New York State! 

The Econoburn wood gasification boiler installs 

indoors or in an out-building, seamlessly integrating 

with your existing heating system with these features: 

• Advanced 2-stage gasification for maximum efficiency. 

(Uses 1/2 the wood vs. conventional wood boilers) 

• Pressurized closed-system boiler vessel. 

(Maximized service life vs. traditional open-systems) 

• Safety Certified to UL/CSA standards. 

• Domestically manufactured controls. 

• 25-year warranty. 

Call for a Free information packet! 

It’s difficult to be optimistic about 

anything relating to labor and immigration 

reform these days. After all, 

Ag Jobs was around for over 15 years 

and while we came close a few times, we 

never succeeded for a whole host of reasons. 

Hopefully, the uniting of the state 

Farm Bureau’s around a set of recommendations 

for a program will assist in 

securing an actual willingness to fix the 

problem by Congress. It’s clear that employers 

across multiple employment sectors 

are seeing more and more I-9 audits, 

so the pressure from different sources 

on Congress may also assist in seeing 

some resolution. It’s clear that a dose 

of pragmatism is warranted and hopefully 

will occur after this election cycle – 

when we start weighing the heavy issues 

of the fiscal cliff, tax expirations, Farm 

Bill, and immigration. The State Farm 

Bureau’s will be ready to work together 

in a united front – to secure introduction 

of a favorable bill and hopefully passage 

- and we all know that when agriculture 

is united we can succeed, when we are 

disunited and fracture, we give Congress 

a reason to point the finger at us and not 

solve the problem. 

www.econoburn.com 1-866-818-5162


Got Labor Questions? 

Get Your Answers in Albany! 

By Julie Suarez 


NYFB was formed not only to advocate 

for farmers and rural interests, but 

also to help explain and facilitate information 

to farmers on various governmental 

programs and regulations. Labor 

issues are some of the most frequent 

questions raised by farmers, particularly 

those that are just starting to employ 

workers for the first time. But even for 

veteran farmers with lots of experience 

hiring seasonal and year-round workers, 

the various labor regulations can 

be a source of confusion - for instance, 

when is an employee considered a farm 

worker and paid on a weekly, versus a 

bi-weekly, basis? 

Some of these questions will be answered 

at NYFB’s annual meeting, 

when NYFB will be hosting two workshops 

designed specifically to address 

those thorny labor questions. You do 

not have to be attending the entire meeting 

to go to these important workshops, 

all you need to do is send an email to 

By Keith Schiebel 

FFA Advisor 

Thousands of New York City students 

enjoyed the sweet taste of real maple 

syrup as the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 

(V.V.S.) High School FFA made its annual 

fall trip to the Big Apple during the first 

week of October. As part of a five-day 

tour, 9 V.V.S. FFA members traveled to 

the Big Apple to promote maple and 

agriculture. For most of these intrepid 

FFA students, it was their first time in 

New York City and an educational experience 

for them as well. More than 3,500 

students from 8 schools in Brooklyn, the 

Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island took 

part in the 25-minute presentations. 

Inner city youth from 4 of the city’s 

5 boroughs took part in the event and 

learned about different aspects of maple 

and maple production. Taught by 

V.V.S. FFA members, students age Kindergarten 

through high school seniors 

visited various stations to learn about 

different phases of maple. An FFA member 

dressed as “Pocahontas” explained 

the theory of how maple syrup was first 

discovered while “John Smith” demonstrated 

how the first taps were created 

by whittling spouts out of sumac trees. 

Next, participants moved to a tree 

tapping station where they had the opportunity 

to tap a tree with a bit and 

brace and a power tapper. This part of 

the exhibit shows advances in the maple 

industry. Students can also explore the 

Pam Rafferty at prafferty@nyfb.org or 

call the main office for a simple and free 

workshop registration at (518) 436-8495. 

The two workshops will be held at 

the Desmond Hotel in Albany, from 4:00 

to 5:30. The first workshop is designed to 

help farmers get a better sense of how 

to prevent injuries in the workplace, 

which has a direct impact on farmers’ 

pocketbooks by keeping workers’ compensation 

insurance premiums down. 

The workshop will be presented by Mr. 

Neil Gilberg, the Business Advocate at 

the Workers Compensation Board and 

Mr. Ed Ruff, the Advocate for Injured 

Workers. Kevin Cook, NYFB’s Manager 

of Member Benefits and the Workers’ 

Compensation Safety Group, said “This 

marks the first time we’ve been able to 

get a speaker directly from the Workers’ 

Compensation Board for safety training 

at State Annual meeting. I really encourage 

members of the Safety Group 

in the area, and also attending annual 

meeting, or anyone who is just employing 

individuals for the first time to stop 

by and pick up valuable, real information 

that will help improve workplace 

safety, employee productivity, and save 

you money in the long run.” 

The other workshop will be a joint 

presentation from the New York State’s 

Department of Labor Rural Services 

Division and the Wage and Hour Division. 

It’s always a wise idea to keep in 

touch with the latest information in labor 

laws. It is far wiser to be prepared 

for the next time the state Department 

of Labor staff show up at your farm, 

and this workshop is a great place to 

get questions answered on topics from 

what posters need to be posted and 

what information needs to be on employee 

paystubs. Get an accurate answer 

in an environment that’s friendly, 

so that you don’t find out you have 

something done incorrectly during a 

labor inspection! 

These are two excellent workshops, 

along with a few others at our state annual 

meeting including leadership development, 

social media management, 

and crop insurance options that are 

available to members free of charge, 

just by registering with Pam Rafferty at 

prafferty@nyfb.org. 

PS 186 Principal Bayan Canotte, Senator Golden, and Senator Griffo observe V.V.S. FFA member Tyler Metz as he explains 

how to make a maple spout from sumac. 

Maple Syrup Comes to the City 

V.V.S. FFA Vice President Deanna Schiebel portrays Pocahontas as she describes the 

history of how maple was discovered to Assemblywoman Meng, Senator Stavisky, and 

Assemblyman Simanowitz during presentations at John Bowne High School in Flushing. 

mobile maple trailer, which is equipped 

with a small-scale evaporator that shows 

the boiling process using air injectors. 

Perhaps the students’ favorite part of the 

tour is the sampling of the V.V.S. FFA produced 

maple cotton candy and real maple 

syrup. For many, it’s their first taste of 

one of New York’s sweetest agricultural 

products. 

Area state legislators are asked to 

sponsor the exhibit to their districts, facilitating 

the visits by linking the FFA 

students with schools. FFA tries to go 

to a variety of districts so that students 

all over New York City will have the opportunity. 

Thanks for this year’s visits 

go to Senator Golden from Brooklyn, 

Assemblyman Benedetto and Senator 

Klein from the Bronx, Senator Stavisky 

and Assembly members Simanowitz 

and Meng of Queens. Also joining the 

trip was Senator Joseph Griffo who 

represents V.V.S. from Oneida County. 

The exhibit was assembled by an initial 

state grant from Assembly Agriculture 

Committee Chairman William Magee 

and was funded through the New York 

Maple Producers Association. It was 

the 11th time the V.V.S. FFA has made 

the trip to New York City. 

NYFB 

Remembers 

Board 

Member 

Charlie 

Larsen 

NYFB lost a valuable member earlier 

this month when District 10 Board 

Member Charlie Larsen passed away 

at the age of 71. Whether he was running 

the Farm Bureau board meeting 

as he did for many years as County 

President, or announcing the tractor 

pull at the county fair, Charlie was always 

promoting agriculture. The Hudson 

Valley was always well represented 

during the four years Charles served on 

the NYFB Board of Directors. His public 

service did not stop with Farm Bureau. 

He served many years on his town 

planning board as a member and chair. 

His support for Ag education was demonstrated 

by his support for the NYFB 

Foundation for Agriculture education. 

He was also a member of the Clermont 

Fire Company and a Fire Commissioner 

of the Clermont Fire District, he 

had served on the Germantown Central 

School Board, served as President of 

the former Southern Columbia Ambulance, 

was very active in the Hudson 

Valley Old Time Power Association. His 

Farm Bureau support and leadership 

will be sorely missed. 

official notice of new 

york farm bureau,inc. 

annual meeting 

The New York Farm Bureau, 

Inc. (NYFB) Annual Meeting 

will be held at The Desmond 

Hotel and Conference Center, 

Albany, New York during three 

days on December 4-6, 2012. 

The voting delegate business 

session convenes on Tuesday 

afternoon, December 4, 2012 

and runs through Thursday, 

December 6, 2012. All Farm 

Bureau members are invited 

and encouraged to attend the 

NYFB Annual Meeting.


The President’s message 

Grassroots 

November, 2012 

Grassroots is published monthly by New York 

Farm Bureau Member Services, Inc. (159 Wolf 

Road, P.O. Box 5330, Albany, NY 12205-0330) 

as a member service. Production services by New 

York Press Service, Inc. Subscriptions are available 

through New York Farm Bureau membership. 

Non-member subscription rate is $12. Periodicals 

postage permit at Albany, NY. POSTMASTER: 

Send change of address notices on Form 3579 to 

Grassroots, 159 Wolf Road, P.O. Box 5330, Albany, 

NY 12205-0330. 

EDITORS 

Julie Suarez 


Steve Ammerman 

sammerman@nyfb.org 

ASSISTANT EDITOR 

Tara Wiley 

twiley@nyfb.org 

ADVERTISING MANAGER 

Doug Rea 

doug@nynewspapers.com 

NEW YORK FARM BUREAU 

MAILING ADDRESS 

P.O. Box 5330 

Albany, NY 12205 

PHONE/WEB SITE 

Phone: 1-800-342-4143 

Web site: www.nyfb.org 

facebook.com/NYFarmBureau 

MANAGEMENT 

Jeffery Kirby Executive Director 

Kevin Cook Member Services 

Elizabeth Dribusch Legal Affairs 

Scott Keyes Insurance Partner 

Relations & Membership 

marketing 

Paul McDowell Financial & Info Systems 

Fred Perrin Member Relations 

Sandra Prokop NYFB Foundation 

Julie Suarez Public Policy 

NYFB BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

President, Dean Norton 

Elba, (716) 474-3901 

Vice President, Eric Ooms 

Old Chatham, (518) 392-9594 

District 1, Hal Kreher 

Clarence Center, (716) 741-8781 

District 2, Paul Bencal 

Ransomville, (716) 216-4039 

District 3, John Sorbello 

Shortsville, (315) 730-2670 

District 4, Ashur Terwilliger 

Lowman, (607) 733-3957 

District 5, Darrell Griff 

Hamilton, (315) 691-9635 

District 6, Eric Behling 

Mexico, (315) 963-8160 

District 7, David Fisher 

Madrid, (315) 261-8231 

District 8, Jay Skellie 

Salem, (518) 854-7883 

District 9, Richard Ball 

Schoharie, (518) 295-7139 

District 10, Vacant 

District 11, Kenneth Schmitt 

Melville, (631) 249-2616 

Ann Peck, Chair of Promotion 

and Education Committee 

Newark, (315) 331-7791 

Andrea Schultz,Chair,Young Farmers 

and Ranchers Committee 

Ransomville, (716) 622-0279 

REGIONAL OFFICES 

Western NY Resource Center 

877-383-7663 or 585-343-3489 

Central NY Office 

866-995-7300 or 315-252-1367 

Eastern NY Office 

866-995-7300 or 518-854-7368 

Long Island Office 

631-727-3777 

On Page One: 

The bright colors of autumn make a beautiful 

backdrop for these cows while grazing. Each 

month, we’ll highlight a different member farm 

on the Grassroots nameplate. Send a photo of 

yours to info@nyfb.org, and you might see it in a 

future issue! 

Hard Work Pays Off in the End 

Sometimes small, unexpected moments come our 

way in life that really help put things in perspective. 

You are just going through your daily 

routine when all of a sudden, you’re reminded of why 

it is we do what we do on the farm and at the NY Farm 

Bureau. I had a moment just like this recently after I 

boarded a plane to return home following a NYFB trip 

to Washington, DC. 

It was one of those late flights where all you want 

to do is close your eyes after a 

long day of meetings. However, 

a conversation in the row in 

front of me piqued my interest. 

Two men with seemingly no 

connection to agriculture were 

talking about how farming is 

such a modern business these 

days. Both were impressed with 

technology and how it used on 

the farm. One even mentioned 

the role GPS plays in planting 

and tending to the soil and how 

efficient farming has become. 

Dean Norton 

NYFB President 

Their discussion soon took 

them into more controversial 

waters on the pros and cons 

of natural gas exploration. 

Certainly, people are passionate 

on both sides of the issue, but instead of going to 

extremes in anger, I was listening to the two have a 

civil, intelligent discussion. One saw the economic 

benefit of drilling for natural gas while the other 

man had some genuine safety concerns. In this day 

and age when people are blasted with propaganda 

in the media, sometimes I wonder if anybody is ever 

listening to what we have to say. But this intelligent 

View from Washington 

A Labor Plan for All Farmers 

For far too long, farmers and ranchers have had 

to struggle to make sure that they have a legal, 

reliable supply of workers. The reality has been 

a daunting, broken system, riddled with shortcomings 

that have resulted in labor shortages, lost crops, bureaucratic 

nightmares and neighbors competing with 

one another to get the farm hands they need. 

Farmers from around the country all feel the pain. 

From Washington state apple growers to New York 

dairy producers, there is an across-the-board shortage 

of labor for hire. Agriculture 

needs and deserves a legal, stable 

workforce, and Farm Bureau has 

a plan. 

Bob Stallman 

AFBF President 

Flexibility and Stability Matter 

Farm Bureau, along with 

other organizations in the agricultural 

community, is working 

on a solution for farmers and 

ranchers in all sectors, in all 

regions and for all commodities. 

What Farm Bureau is bringing 

to the discussion is a plan that 

we think will accommodate all 

agriculture—from a grower who 

needs to hire harvesters for only 

a few days, to a dairy that needs 

conversation between two strangers struck me that 

our message may actually be getting through to the 

general public. I do believe the majority of New Yorkers 

can come to some common ground on a topic that 

publicly seems to polarize those at the far ends of the 

spectrum. 

Another moment hit me just the other day when my 

son Kyle and I were out on the farm doing that age old 

chore of stacking hay in the barn. It took me back to 

my youth, when I must admit, things were a bit more 

carefree. Little did I know then what life had in store 

for me. The recent fall day reminded me of the value 

of hard work, and how it has paid off in my life giving 

me a wonderful family and a position at the NYFB 

where I can truly make a difference. While lifting 

bales of hay may not be on my plate every day, I do feel 

the weight of so many important issues that NYFB is 

striving to resolve for you, our members. 

Certainly as we head into Thanksgiving, it is often 

those small moments that make you take stock of why 

we should be so thankful. No doubt, this past year has 

caused great uncertainty in agriculture with trials 

and tribulations coming from Mother Nature along 

with some storms we have weathered in the Capitol 

halls in Albany and Washington, DC. At the same 

time, we have made advancements in improving the 

business climate for our members. No doubt, there 

is much more hard work ahead, but I am thankful for 

our way of life in farming laced with tradition and 

family history. It has taught me that good things do 

grow with persistence, ingenuity, and a lot of sweat. 

And if nothing else, those two men on that late night 

flight showed me that with a little civil discourse, we 

can all learn from each other to work toward a better 

life for all on and off the farm. 

Happy Thanksgiving from the Nortons! 

a workforce 365 days of the year. The crux of Farm 

Bureau’s plan is to establish and implement a new visa 

program that would give both employers and employees 

stability and flexibility into the future, while also 

addressing the current workforce that has contributed 

to our farms and communities. Both elements 

are necessary to provide a long-term, stable and legal 

workforce. 

Building on how the domestic market currently 

operates, farmers would be permitted to offer migrant 

laborers either a contract or at-will work. Similarly, 

workers would be able to choose their form of employment. 

With a contract, both employers and workers 

would be provided longer-term stability and the 

worker could have a visa term of up to 12 months. 

On the other hand, the at-will option offers flexibility 

to employers who may just need a week’s worth of 

harvesting, while allowing workers the portability to 

work at other seasonal jobs for up to 11 months. This 

program reflects real-life workforce challenges and 

provides both the flexibility and stability that domestic 

workers enjoy. 

Just as important, the plan would allow key migrant 

workers—those who have been working in U.S. agriculture 

for a defined period, as well as those who are 

in management and other key positions at a farm—the 

ability to stay in the U.S. and continue to work in the 

agriculture sector. 

Eliminating Rigidity 

Since its inception, the H-2A temporary agricultural 

worker program has been riddled with 

problems, creating more challenges than providing 

solutions. Because of the diverse special labor needs 

within farming, the program has been difficult for 

growers to use, is not even available to some sectors 

of agriculture like dairy and simply is not feasible in 

some parts of the country. Farm Bureau’s plan would 

remedy many of H-2A’s failings by offering real-world 

solutions that better meet both employers’ and workers’ 

needs. Over time, as farmers begin using the new 

visa program, we imagine H-2A will become obsolete. 

A market-based, flexible agricultural worker program 

makes sense and is long overdue. It is important 

for workers, farmers and especially consumers that 

agricultural producers have access to a legal, stable 

workforce for the future. With all of agriculture working 

together, we are optimistic we can offer Congress 

a reasonable, practical, common-sense solution that 

works for growers while respecting the rights of workers. 

It is time to move the discussion forward and find a 

solution that works for all farmers and ranchers.


Guest opinions 

Agriculture: Key Economic Engine 

By Robert A. Smith 

Farm Credit East 

It is great to see attention 

being given to agricultural 

economic development in 

the Empire State. The interest 

of Governor Cuomo and Commissioner 

Aubertine is appreciated 

and will hopefully lead to 

policy changes that will help 

New York farmers to be competitive 

in a challenging global 

economy. 

Farm Credit East shares 

Farm Bureau’s commitment to 

agricultural economic development. 

We have appreciated the 

opportunity to work with Farm 

Bureau on policies that will 

reduce the public sector burden 

on agriculture both from a tax 

and regulatory standpoint. 

In an effort to highlight the 

economic significance of agriculture 

to policymakers in New 

York and the other Northeast 

states, Farm Credit East recently 

released a report entitled, 

“Northeast Agriculture: 

The Overlooked 

Economic Engine”. 

Our report indicated 

that New York farms 

are responsible for 

$38 billion in total 

economic output and 

196,200 jobs! These 

jobs are on our farms 

and in agricultural 

service, input and 

processors businesses. 

Some of the highlights 

of our report 

indicate: 

n Milk and cattle 

production lead the 

agriculture sector with $3.8 

billion in output and generate 

nearly 28,500 jobs. 

n Fruit production and wineries 

total nearly $2 billion in 

output and generate 

more than 10,000 jobs. 

n Vegetable farming 

totals $1.1 billion 

in output with 7,396 

jobs. 

n Greenhouse, nursery 

and sod production 

is $775 million 

in output and responsible 

for 6,700 jobs. 

New York Farmers know the Value of Forestry 

By Eric Carlson 

President & CEO 

Empire State Forest Products Association 

Farmers know about the 

value of their forest. New 

York’s forest products 

industry relies on you for our future. 

We thank you for providing 

timber for our markets. 

We really appreciate 

that simple right of 

way to get to the neighbors 

tract. We honestly 

couldn’t continue in 

many regions of New 

York without you and 

the land you value. We 

need one another. It is 

money in our pockets 

when we work together. 

Our industries have 

so much in common; 

we live off the land’s 

ability to produce a 

product. We work with 

the same challenges of 

weather, soil, and ever 

changing market for 

our products. It is why 

our Association works so closely 

with the New York Farm Bureau. 

We admire your talent, skill and 

grassroots ability to make sure 

your membership is treated fairly 

by government at all levels. 

Our mission is simple, we simply 

need to get your trees from 

the farm to our customers in the 

forms they demand, from paper 

for schools and business, heat for 

homes and schools, solid wood 

for furniture, and cabinets, and 

flooring. 

Our industry has had a rough 

road the past few years. Housing 

starts have plummeted and 

despite population increases 

the world is using less paper as 

Eric Carlson 

President & CEO 

Empire State Forest 

Products Association 

Robert A. Smith 

Farm Credit East 

we move to a more technology 

oriented society. How bad has it 

been? According to the Hardwood 

Lumber Manufacturing Association 

production is down 50% from 

2008 levels. New York has seen a 

similar collapse in employment 

some regions suffering more than 

others. 

There is hope. We 

see housing starts 

picking up as interest 

rates remain low and 

people see a future for 

themselves and their 

families in our communities. 

Many New 

York forest products 

companies have found 

new markets in Asia 

and the Middle East 

for solid wood. 

That’s the good 

news. The sobering 

news goes back to our 

simple mission, getting 

trees from the 

forest to customer. 

Here in New York, we 

have had a terrible 

business climate. Regulations can 

be very restrictive rather than encouraging 

good outcomes. Taxes, 

especially property taxes, even 

for forested tracts are too high. 

We have seen a proliferation of 

ordinances in the state as our 

rural towns and suburban regions 

change. The international 

markets also bring a new set of 

challenges such as inspections 

for pests providing us the threat 

of invasive pests like the emerald 

ash borer and Asian long horned 

beetles that could have devastating 

impacts on our forests. Many 

towns have used the home rule 

provisions to impose arbitrary 

and capricious timber harvesting 

regulations on our industry. 

We need to address the inequities 

of local governments creating 

these nuisance ordinances 

that stymie businesses and lower 

the value of your timber. 

New York needs to 

improve the Right to 

Practice Forestry law 

that provides our industry 

so much great flexibility 

currently despite 

the Right to Practice 

Forestry, localities can 

supersede the law an 

implement ordinances 

that take money out of 

our pocket and yours. 

Here is our case for 

why we need to move 

New York into the 21st 

century on forest policy. 

Timber Harvesting 

We have the resources. 

According to the 

latest US Forest Service 

Forest inventory Analysis 

New York is growing 

2 times the timber as we harvest. 

We have trained over 2500 loggers 

through a program that certifies 

their education for safety and environmental 

protection. We have 

the workforce. 

Wood Utilization 

We have found new markets 

and created new products here in 

New York. Our hardwood mills 

use thin kerf technology and new 

technology to minimize waste 

and maximize ether amount of 

solid wood for products. Simply 

put we get more wood from the 

same tree that ever before. 

‘Our mission 

is simple, we 

simply need 

to get your 

trees from 

the farm to 

our customers 

in the forms 

they demand, 

from paper for 

schools and 

business, heat 

for homes 

and schools, 

solid wood for 

furniture, and 

cabinets, and 

flooring.’ 

n Commercial logging 

is often overlooked 

but has output 

of $550 million and 

5,540 jobs. Beyond 

this, sawmills produced 

$796 million and 4,827 

jobs. 

Altogether, farming, commercial 

fishing and forestry produce 

a total of $8.9 billion in output 

and create 75,551 on-farm jobs, 

while the related agricultural 

support and processing businesses 

create $29.6 billion in output 

and 120,665 off-farm jobs. 

Agriculture is a major, and 

often unsung, industry that the 

state should foster and encourage. 

As part of that effort, a 

strong commitment to ensuring 

that New York farmers can 

be competitive is essential – 

our regulatory and tax burdens 

cannot be out of line in comparison 

to the states in which 

our farmers have to compete, 

such as Ohio, Pennsylvania 

and Idaho. 

Thank you to all Farm Bureau 

members for your efforts to highlight 

the economic significance 

of New York agriculture. 

Connect locally produced to the 

community 

Schools across New York are 

saving hundreds of thousands 

of dollars by switching 

to high efficiency wood 

fired boiler systems. 

What do we need to 

make the forest products 

industry better? 

• We need to provide the 

relief to local governments 

by expanding the 

Right to Practice Forestry 

to eliminate local 

government intervention 

on harvest that is 

part of land owner long 

term management planning. 

• Reform property taxes 

for forest lands. Let’s 

expand this to include 

more flexibility and link 

it to the value of a forest 

to produce a crop similar 

to agriculture. 

• Demand our governments 

at all levels favor 

using locally produced products 

in their actions. 

• Reform state regulations to encourage 

compliance and achieve 

the intended outcomes of clean 

water and air quality. Develop 

self reporting mechanisms with 

less punitive consequences that 

would encourage us to report accidents 

and potential violations. 

How this helps agriculture 

is very simple, less regulations, 

more well managed forests with 

healthy markets provides you and 

your community more money for 

a better quality of life and isn’t 

that what we really desire for our 

future? 

Looking for equipment, antiques or hay? Don’t miss the 

Grassroots Farmers’ Market pages 23-27


Commodity report: Apiculture 

Award Winner Studies Apiary Issues at Yale 

Earlier this year, the American Farm 

Bureau awarded their 2012 Agriscience 

Awards, which recognize scientists, educators 

and students who exemplify excellence 

in the field of agriscience and to 

highlight the importance of agriculture 

in the 21st century. This year’s winner 

from New York was 18 year old Jill Dolowich 

from Brookville, New York. 

By Jill Dolowich 

I currently attend Yale University 

where I am planning to major in Environmental 

Engineering with a focus on energy. 

Once I read about Colony Collapse 

Disorder and the environmental disturbances 

to honeybees, I became very interested 

in discovering the culprit to this 

pressing issue. I was offered the chance 

to conduct original research alongside a 

leading entomologist at Michigan State 

University, Dr. Zachary Y. Huang, which 

I quickly accepted. From there, my interest 

in apiculture expanded even more. I 

was also extremely fortunate to have the 

opportunity to work with Professor Nancy 

Moran in the Moran Lab at Yale University 

during the summer of 2011 where 

cutting-edge research on honeybees is 

being conducted. My research entailed 

determining the routes of transmission 

of bacterial microbiota between worker 

bees. I am looking forward to continuing 

research at Yale University on the Bee 

Microbiome Project. 

Though we may often think of it as 

an annoying little pest, the honeybee 

is the most important species of pollinator 

on the planet. By pollinating 

numerous fruit and nut-bearing plant 

species, the honeybee ensures reproductive 

success for essential foods, such as 

oranges, peaches, blueberries, apples, 

plums, cherries, and almonds. More 

importantly, the honeybee also serves as 

a keystone species in most ecosystems, 

meaning that it has a disproportionately 

large effect on its environment. In the 

case of the honeybee, the pollination 

services it provides allow plants to reproduce 

and maintain genetic diversity. 

Since securing the safety and security 

of our national food supply is an explicit 

national priority, securing the safety and 

security of America’s honeybee population 

is crucial. . Oddly enough, millions 

of bees are disappearing without a trace. 

The primary cause of this population 

decrease is a phenomenon known as 

Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. Some 

contend that certain farming practices, 

like swaths of mono-cropping and chemical 

sprays, might be partly to blame. 

Jill Dolowich, pictured here with hives, will use her scholarship to study apiary issues. 

Continued Research is imperative to test 

the effects of pesticides on the honeybee 

in correlation to CCD. Bees underline 

the reality that we are more, not less dependent 

on nature’s services in a world 

of close to seven billion people. 

Despite advances in agricultural 

technology, humans are still extremely 

reliant on the survival of honeybees. 

Honeybees are responsible for a significant 

amount of plant pollination that 

occurs each year. Without honeybees, 

a large number of plant species would 

not exist. My commitment to conservation 

has fueled my desire to educate local 

communities about the significance 

of honeybee population decline. 

I am fascinated by Biomimicry, the 

impact of the environment on evolution, 

and the link between nature and the 

transmission, resistance and virulence 

of infectious disease. Further investigations 

will focus on the diversity, functional 

roles and genetic diversity in honeybees 

and of bacteria living in the guts 

of honey bees and bumble bees. As dominant 

pollinators, these insects are critical 

players in terrestrial ecosystems. A 

better understanding of their basic biology 

and of the impact of environmental 

change is essential to addressing declines 

in honeybee populations. 

Working with bees is something that 

I love doing. I am honored to receive 

this agri-science award that allows me 

to spread even more knowledge about 

honeybees and the way they are being 

harmed throughout the world. 

Next month: 

Forestry 

WINCO and WINPOWER GENERATORS 

S T A N D B Y G E N E R A T O R S A N D P O W E R S Y S T E M S 

Efficient & Reliable 

M A D E I N U S A 

Opening the Barn Doors 

Dave Fisher, NYFB State Director for District 7 and member of the St. 

Lawrence County Farm Bureau prepares to take a group of visitors on a 

hay wagon ride tour through the Kelly Farms operation as part of the St. 

Lawrence County Farm Bureau Open Farm Day. 

SPECIALTY TECHNOLOGY, INC. 

Melrose, NY 518-663-5563 www.specialtytechnologyinc.com 

INDUSTRIAL • AGRICULTURAL • MUNICIPAL • CONTRACT MAINTENANCE & REPAIR 

INDUSTRIAL • AGRICULTURAL • MUNICIPAL • CONTRACT MAINTENANCE & REPAIR


Education news 

Reaching Out with Agriculture’s Message 

There is always something to learn 

and learn we did at the National Promotion 

and Education Conference hosted 

by Missouri Farm Bureau in Kansas 

City the last week in September. Attendance 

included members and staff from 

more than 15 states and AFBF, who 

gathered to share ideas and explore 

many potential opportunities. 

Ann Peck, Promotion & Education 

Chair, and Sandie Prokop, staff education 

specialist, attended this annual 

conference and returned energized. 

In addition to some R & D (rip off and 

duplicate) of some of the outstanding 

programs presented, we attended workshops 

covering social media; reaching 

consumers (trends in food prices); 

reaching students (how FFA members 

can reach out to other students); and 

reaching Foodies (with fantastic information 

about food chain communications). 

We also had the chance to visit the 

Kansas City Board of Trade where 

we learned a bit about the basics on 

Futures and Options and the changes 

in the “pit” from the wild yelling and 

hand signals to the digital reporting on 

the big board. Our next stop was the 

SubTropolis, an underground business 

district created through the mining of a 

270–million-year-old limestone deposit. 

In the mining process, limestone is removed 

by the room and pillar method, 

leaving 25-foot square pillars that are on 

65-foot center and 40 feet apart, making 

the structure three times stronger than 

concrete. Two miles of railroad lines 

and 6 miles of road make the SubTropolis 

easy to access with freight. 10% of 

Kansas City’s industrial market is underground, 

with benefits of low utility 

costs due to year round temperatures of 

65-70 degrees and easy expansion when 

needed. 

The 2013 Calendars are here 

Ann Peck and Sandie Prokop visit SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground 

business complex, at the AFBF Promotion and Education Conference. 

We were treated to a visit at Carolyn’s 

Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch, 

where we discovered the true diversity 

of ag education all in one spot. This is 

their 22nd season and their continued 

focus on ag education has made them 

a destination for a variety of learning 

and fun experiences. Our last stop was 

at Ingredion, formerly National Starch, 

where we learned about many food and 

industrial uses where corn, tapioca, 

wheat, potatoes and other raw materials 

are turned into a myriad of ingredients. 

Their starches, sweeteners, 

texturants and nutritionals are used by 

customers to provide everything from 

sweetness, taste and texture to immune 

system support, fat replacement and 

adhesive strengths. Our knowledge of 

corn products was totally expanded as 

we toured the facility with knowledgeable 

staff. 

The 2013 National Promotion & Education 

Conference will be hosted by New 

York Farm Bureau next Fall. We look 

forward to using all that we learned and 

experienced and the Committee will 

be working over the next year on their 

hosting activities to showcase the true 

New York to all next year. 

The NYFB 2012-2013 school calendar has been released! They should be in the hands of 3rd grade teachers throughout 

NYS. If you did not get one for your classroom and would like to, please contact sprokop@nyfb.org. 

Honoring 

Volunteers 

by Sandra Prokop 

sprokop@nyfb.org 

All ag education supporters are cordially 

invited to attend the 2012 Recognition 

Breakfast sponsored by Key Bank 

on Wednesday, December 5, 2012, at The 

Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in 

Albany, New York at 7:00 a.m. during the 

NYFB State Annual Meeting. 

The seating capacity is limited, so 

reservations are required, and will be 

honored on a first come, first served basis. 

The cost of the breakfast in $20 per 

person, which includes a small donation 

which will be matched by our breakfast 

sponsor and give us the power to achieve 

even more. 

Please make your reservations by 

calling (1-800-342-4143) or faxing (518-431- 

5656) to the attention of the NYFB Foundation. 

Payment is appreciated prior to 

the event and will also be accepted at the 

door.Please join us so that the Foundation 

can extend our sincerest thanks for 

all that our contributors have helped us 

to do and we can showcase our success 

story. 

Why two 

(or more) 

forms, when 

one will do? 

By Cathy Mural 

cmural@nyfb.org 

When it comes to being resourceful 

and efficient, no one can compete with 

the farmer. As a result of NYFB’s grassroots 

feedback, New York’s state government 

is now looking to do the same. 

The NYS Department of Taxation and 

Finance (Department), in partnership 

with NYFB and the NYS Department 

of Agriculture and Markets, has developed 

a simplified, one page agricultural 

assessment renewal application for the 

upcoming 2013 agricultural assessment 

renewal period. 

While a very minute change in the 

larger world of tax compliance, this 

streamlined application for agricultural 

assessment renewal will be very meaningful 

to family farms who are stewards 

of over 25% of the state’s land mass. Agricultural 

assessment renewals occur 

in the spring of each year when farmers 

are engaged in soil preparation and 

planting for the coming growing season. 

Any relief from duplicative paperwork 

is a great help during one of agriculture’s 

busiest times of year. For example, 

one New York dairy farmer processes 

and signs approximately 37 agricultural 

assessment forms annually for parcels 

that are consistently used a part of his 

family’s operation. This streamlined, 

certification process will relieve some 

red tape New York’s family farms must 

navigate with limited time, staff and resources 

– and most importantly, enables 

them to focus on farming. 

Landowners are eligible to submit the 

streamlined certification form, RP-305-r, 

for a parcel that has already been approved 

for agricultural assessment and 

has not undergone any changes. Farmers 

are required to keep all necessary 

documentation on hand for inspection if 

requested by the local assessor. RP-305-r 

is now available online for viewing and 

printing at www.tax.ny.gov.


From the field 

Counties prepare for 

upcoming meetings 

and elections 

Washington 

Washington County has done an outstanding 

job in preparing for this year’s 

election between Incumbent Bill Owens 

and challenger 

Matt Doheny. County 

President Tom 

Region 7 

Borden was very 

Bill 

Hamilton 

bhamilton@nyfb.org 

instrumental in 

organizing legislative 

tours with both 

candidates as well 

as a Meet the Candidates 

night that 

was held at Greenwich 

High School. 

A big thank you to 

Tom and the entire 

Washington County 

board for their help 

in organizing these 

events. NYFB and 

our county Farm Bureau’s are nonpartisan 

and seek only to provide education 

about both candidates positions 

on agriculture. 

With their annual meeting and local 

policy development wrapped up, Washington 

can now look ahead to the President’s 

conference and State Annual 

Meeting. 

Washington also had another successful 

fair season with record attendance 

this year. The county Farm 

Bureau had a booth which featured a 

Young Farmer display and the Ag. Master 

Kiosk. 

Rensselaer 

Rensselaer held its annual “Taste of 

Rensselaer” at the Hilton Garden Inn 

in Troy this year. With over 80 people 

in attendance the event was very successful. 

A big thank you goes out to the 

planning committee for the event and to 

the Regional Food Bank of Northeaster 

New York for all their efforts in making 

the event a success. 

The counties annual meeting was 

held at the Lakeview Inn on Crystal 

Lake in Averill Park. Over 50 members 

attended making the event a success. 

Check Presentation 

The Schagticoke Fair was a success 

again this year. The booth featured a 

display from both the county Farm 

Bureau and our insurance partner, Nationwide. 

A special recognition goes out to 

Dean Casey for his years of service as 

county Farm Bureau President. 

Saratoga 

Saratoga County has done a great job 

in helping NYFB with our efforts in the 

“Stop the Flood of Regulations” campaign. 

With the county Farm Bureau’s 

support, the county board of supervisors 

passed a resolution opposing the 

guidance document from the EPA. This 

effort will be very instrumental in our 

effort to help stop the burden of overregulation. 

Broome County Farm Bureau President Scott Whittaker and Policy 

Development Chair Bill Olin read through the county resolutions at 

Broome County’s recent annual meeting. 

The Rensselaer County Farm Bureau presented a check to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York at 

their annual meeting last month. The money was raised through their Taste of Rensselaer annual event. Pictured 

are David Hawley, Executive Director for Cornell County Extension of Rensselaer County, Rensselaer County FB 

President, Dean Casey, Donna Murray with Ag Economic Development and Jennifer Jennings of the Regional Food 

Bank of Northeastern New York. 

The county also had a successful fair 

season. The county Farm Bureau booth 

featured the Ag. Master Kiosk and also 

had display items from Nationwide Insurance 

agent, Dave Dewez. 

The county has also seen an active 

Policy Development season with several 

members from across the county proposing 

new resolutions. The county can 

now look forward to bringing all their 

resolutions to the table at the Regional 

policy meeting and State Annual Meeting. 

Clinton 

Clinton County held their annual 

meeting at Guma’s Restaurant in Chazy. 

The meeting was a big success this year 

with over 40 members in attendance. 

Bill Owens attended the event and received 

the “Friend of Farm Bureau” 

Award. The award was presented by 

NYFB Vice President Eric Ooms. Assemblywoman 

Janet Duprey also attended 

the event. 

Clinton County held their first day 

on the farm event this year on August 

18th. The event was held at Rusty 

Creek Farm in Chazy. A huge thank 

you goes out to Tony and Mary Lapierre 

for offering their farm as a venue 

for the event. 

The day on the farm featured fun activities 

for both kids and adults. A hay 

wagon tour was given every half hour 

throughout the day. The kids enjoyed 

a bounce house and a farm toy scavenger 

hunt. Several vendors attended 

the event and featured free give-a-ways 

for everyone. The event also featured a 

raffle and a silent auction. Great food 

and Ice Cream was enjoyed by all who 

attended. 

With around 250 people in attendance 

it was a very successful day. Clinton 

County Farm Bureau did an outstanding 

job organizing the event. A big 

thank you goes out to all of the sponsors 

who helped make this event successful. 

Franklin 

Franklin held their annual meeting 

at the Knights of Columbus in Chateauguay. 

There were several policies 

brought to the table and the meeting 

produced a lot of productive debate. 

The county has worked hard to finalize 

their proposals for the state resolutions 

committee. 

The county was also active in hosting 

a legislative tour this year. Several 

county legislators attended the tour 

along with several members of the 

County Farm Bureau board. The board 

did a great job organizing this event 

and showing county legislators what 

Franklin has to offer. 

A special thank you goes out to Dennis 

Egan for his service as County Farm 

Bureau President. 

Essex 

Essex County has been very active in 

their membership efforts this year. The 

county had representation at the membership 

portion of this year’s commodity 

summit and really took the message 

to heart. Thanks to an early push they 

are already over half way to their 2013 

goal. 

Essex held their annual meeting 

at the Cornell Cooperative Extension 

building in Westport. They also discussed 

several new policy proposals 

and will now be looking forward to 

State Annual Meeting. 

Fall Festivals in Full 

Swing 

The fall season has moved so fast it 

is now holiday season and the membership 

race is in full swing. A district 

meeting to go over resolutions and share 

ideas and events 

Region 10 was held and NYFB 

Vice President Eric 

Ooms lead the discussion. 

Fairs, fall 

festivals and tours 

are in order with 

many counties involved. 

Marilyn 

Howard 

mhoward@nyfb.org 

Columbia 

Dutch Hollow 

Farms, with Beth 

Chittenden, held 

tours for school 

children to educate 

them about life on a farm and where 

their food comes from. The Columbia 

County Fair had a booth with Linda Fix 

in the Fruit & Vegetable Building and 

Columbia County Farm Bureau had 

a booth near the Soybean Booth with


From the field 

Adrian Ooms and Brian & Beth Chittenden 

providing information on farming 

in the county. 

Jim Davenport has been keeping an 

eye on membership and they sent out 

a dues reminder to get membership in 

before Oct. 30. 

On a sad note long time Columbia 

County Leader and NYFB State Board 

member, Charles Larsen, passed away. 

He will be remembered for all of his 

ideas and support of agriculture. 

Dutchess, Putnam and 

Westchester 

The Dutchess County Fair was a 

great success with almost 400,000 people 

attending. Dave Tetor was in charge 

of field crops and announced the Dairy 

Show. DPWFB had a new display and 

a kiosk next to the dairy birthing center. 

Special thanks to Andy Imperatti 

and Lenny Miller for their help and the 

Pine Plains FFA for helping to tend our 

booth. Across from our booth was a soybean 

exhibit and Lloyd Vail, Jr. brought 

his very large new combine. Beth Chittenden 

also tended the Soybean Booth. 

Charlie Doom came Saturday night 

to watch the DPWFB Booth and announced 

that she has joined the Foreign 

Service and is leaving for Washington 

DC for training. We will miss her on the 

board. Thanks to all of the volunteers 

who helped tend the booth. 

Dave Tetor and Mark Adams have 

been working on membership and have 

already contacted members about renewing 

and have sent out a notice to 

members about the Oct. 30 deadline to 

renew to save on dues. 

The Pine Plains FFA Harvest Fest 

was a great success; Chris McNeil has 

done an amazing job! There were fifty 

kids who were taught to clean and fit 

and show some fifty calves who were 

loaned by area farms. School buses 

brought all elementary kids in the district 

to see the dairy and livestock in the 

barns and exhibits in the gym. There 

was a large tractor pull and horse pull 

and it was a great weekend for children 

and adults in the area. 

Orange 

Ed Fairweather attended the Thruway 

Hearing on toll increases and did 

an excellent job relating how it would 

affect his greenhouse business as well 

other agricultural businesses in the 

state. Kristen Brown and George Constable 

helped with the CCEOC Open 

House on the Farm at a fourth generation 

dairy farm with around 1,100 people 

attending. The farm is planning 

to diversify to pumpkins and agritainment 

to help their dairy. Kristen Brown 

did a tour with the Citizens Foundation 

and visited Belcam for Animal Nutrition, 

Crop Production Service and Hudson 

River Tractor. Participants included 

IDA and other organizations in the 

county so they could see the presents of 

Ag in the county and support services. 

Sullivan 

Sullivan held a Down on the Farm 

Day and it was a beautiful day. This 

year it was at the Ed Moran’s horse 

farm, with the SCFB Booth was set up 

in the indoor ring. The farm also helps 

with 4H projects and has beef cows, and 

also raises chickens and turkeys. It was 

a very pretty place, well organized, with 

boarders giving riding demonstrations. 

Some of the 4H kids brought their dairy 

cows, goats, sheep, and mini mules. Ed, 

Bob and Linda Kays, Brian Brustman 

and others were answering many questions 

all day. 

Ulster 

Soil Study Grant Awarded 

The Albion School District announced a new 5 acre land lab where Albion students and FFA members will plant 

corn and study the impact of varying amounts of fertilizer, water and other crop inputs. They received a $25,000 

Monsanto grant which will help purchase soil-testing equipment, laptops and corn seed. Sen. George Maziarz 

joined the students and their teacher for the presentation. 

Ulster County Farm Bureau is planning 

a good membership campaign this 

year with President Charles Hurd making 

new t-shirts, black with the large 

UCFB logo on the front with “Who’s 

your farmer…” underneath. They are 

giving them to the first 20 new members 

this year and are selling them at farm 

markets in the county. They have already 

sent out a nonrenewal reminder 

and are moving forward. 

Policy Development 

Important in the 

Coming Months 

Harvest is starting to wind down and 

so are county Farm Bureau Annual 

Meetings. But these meetings mean 

the beginning of a process, not an end, 

called policy development. This is truly 

the best opportunity for our leaders to 

gauge the pulse of what is on our members’ 

minds. 

Cortland County 

Congratulations to Cortland County 

Farm Bureau for being selected as one 

of 25 Farm Bureaus across the nation to 

receive the AFBF County Award of Excellence. 

Cortland County received the 

award for their Rural Road Safety Initiative 

that they conducted this spring. 

They competed with 

Region 5 130 county Farm Bureaus 

from across 

the country. The 

award will presented 

at the American 

Farm Bureau meeting 

held in Nashville 

Mark 

James 

mjames@nyfb.org 

in January. Leaders 

from the county 

Farm Bureau will 

staff an exhibit at 

the meeting showcasing 

their very 

important program. 

A special welcome 

to new county 

Farm Bureau board members Joan 

Goldwyn, Bill Hakes, and Zach Young. 

Joan has a horse farm and Bill and Zach 

have dairy operations. Also joining the 

leadership team is Stuart Young. Stuart 

is serving as membership chair for the 

coming year. He is currently assembling 

a team of members to help grow membership 

in Cortland County. If you are 

interested in helping out, please contact 

Stuart. 

Onondaga County 

Once again this year, Onondaga 

County Farm Bureau staffed a booth at 

the Lafayette Apple Festival. Over 20,000 

people attend this great event showcasing 

one of Onondaga County’s most important 

crops. The county Farm Bureau 

also promoted the dairy industry handing 

out nearly two thousand single serve 

milk bottles. 

In August, the county also held their 

annual horse show at the NYS Fairgrounds. 

The show was well attended 

again this year. 

Finally, Onondaga County Farm 

Bureau welcomed Congresswoman 

Ann Marie Buerkle and NYFB President 

Dean Norton to the county annual 

meeting. The Congresswoman 

attended to accept the AFBF Friend of 

Farm Bureau Award from President 

Norton. The award is given to Members 

of Congress who have a voting record 

that dovetails with Farm Bureau 

Policy. 

Please donate today! 

Products and services provided by the NYFB 

Foundation for Agricultural Education are made 

possible by donations from members like you. 

Upon request, further information about NYFBFAE’s activities and programs will be provided. If you 

wish additional information on the NYFBFAE’s activities and programs, please write: New York Farm 

Bureau Foundation For Agricultural Education, Inc., P.O. Box 5330, Albany, NY 12205. The NYFBFAE’s 

Annual Report may be obtained by writing either the N.Y.S. Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 

Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or the New York Farm Bureau Foundation For Agricultural Education, 

Inc., at the above address. 

Yes, I would like to donate to the NYFB Foundation: 

q $25 q $50 q $100 q $200 q Other $_________ 

Name __________________________________________________ 

Address ________________________________________________ 

City/State/Zip ___________________________________________ 

Phone __________________ E-mail__________________________ 

In q memory q recognition of ____________________________ 

(please check one, if you so choose) 

Send to: NYFB Foundation, PO Box 530, Albany, NY 12205


News briefs 

Adirondack Plant 

Gets USDA Loan 

There has been another step forward 

for the Adirondack Meat Company’s 

plan to build a processing plant in the 

North Country. The USDA Rural Development 

Program has awarded the 

owner a $900,000 loan guarantee to help 

construct the facility. 

The Adirondack Meat Company will 

be located in the Town of Ticonderoga, 

Essex County on land adjacent to the 

approved Ticonderoga Business Park. 

The meat processing facility will operate 

Monday through Friday, 5am to 

5pm, and will process a maximum of 10 

animals per day, primarily beef cattle, 

but will also have the capacity to process 

pigs, goats, and sheep. 

NYFB member Shaun Gillilland 

runs Ben Wever Farm in Essex County 

raising grassfed beef, pork, and lamb. 

He says this new plant will be important 

to the area helping him cut down 

on extensive travel time when he takes 

his animals to the slaughterhouse. He 

currently has to travel into Vermont 

or more than two hours away into St. 

Lawrence County which means taking 

a whole day off from the farm. 

It is also a challenge reserving time 

at plant which can be booked months 

in advance. He says the new plant will 

give him more options. 

“A lack of processing makes it hard 

to expand my business because the demand 

for local meat is skyrocketing,” 

said Gillilland. “Am I happy that it is 

opening? Absolutely.” 

Counties Designated 

as Primary Natural 

Disaster Areas 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) has named 14 counties in New 

York as primary natural disaster in two 

separate designations due to damages 

and losses caused by several natural disasters. 

The following counties in New York 

have been named primary natural disaster 

areas due to damages and losses 

caused by weather-related armyworm 

outbreak that began May 15 and continues: 

Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, 

Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee , Herkimer, 

Niagara, Oneida, Orleans Schuyler, 

Seneca and Wyoming. 

These counties also qualify for natural 

disaster assistance because their 

counties are adjoining: Chemung, Cortland, 

Fulton, Hamilton , Lewis, Livingston, 

Madison, Monroe, Montgomery 

Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. 

Lawrence, Steuben, Tompkins, Wayne 

and Yates. 

Greene County in New York has been 

named a primary natural disaster area 

due to damages and losses caused by 

flash flooding, high winds and hail that 

began June 22, 2012, and continues. Albany, 

Columbia, Delaware, Rensselaer, 

Schoharie and Ulster counties also apply 

due to being contiguous to Greene. 

All counties listed above were designated 

natural disaster areas Oct. 3, 

2012, making all qualified farm operators 

in the designated areas eligible for 

low interest emergency loans from US- 

DA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided 

eligibility requirements are met. 

Farmers in eligible counties have eight 

months from the date of the declaration 

to apply for loans to help cover part of 

their actual losses. 

Additional programs available to 

assist farmers are also available. Interested 

farmers may contact their local 

USDA Service Centers for further information 

on eligibility requirements and 

application procedures for these and 

other programs. More information can 

be found online at http://disaster.fsa. 

usda.gov. 

Governor Cuomo hosts Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit 

The Governor and NYFB President Dean Norton talk about the success of the summit at a reception at the Governor’s 

Mansion in Albany that featured many great New York made products. Because of our Grassroots deadline, there will 

be a full report of the important Summit announcements in the December edition of Grassroots. 

AFBF Presents Case 

on Chesapeake Bay 

Regulations 

Attorneys for the American Farm 

Bureau Federation delivered legal arguments 

in October explaining why 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

violated the Clean Water Act when it issued 

its “Total Maximum Daily Load” 

regulation for the entire Chesapeake 

Bay watershed. 

AFBF believes that states in the 

Chesapeake Bay watershed, not the 

federal government, are authorized by 

law to decide how best to achieve water 

quality goals. “The Clean Water Act put 

states in the driver’s seat when it comes 

to decisions about how to achieve clean 

water and restrictions on land use and 

development,” according to Don Parrish, 

senior director of regulatory relations 

for AFBF. 

AFBF delivered the oral arguments 

and answered questions during a 

lengthy session before Judge Sylvia H. 

Rambo in the U.S. District Court for 

the Middle District of Pennsylvania 

in Harrisburg, Pa. More than a dozen 

Pennsylvania farmers, as well as staff 

from several state Farm Bureau organizations 

within the watershed, attended 

the argument to show their support for 

the legal challenge. 

Sec. 179 Expensing 

Available for Fruit 

Growers, Vineyards 

Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue 

Service issued its position that 

vineyards and orchards are now eligible 

for Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 

Section 179 expense deductions on fixed 

assets. For 2012, this means eligible orchards 

and vineyards may now deduct 

up to $139,000 of planting costs (i.e. labor, 

land preparation and rootstock) 

if the fruit crop has reached a marketable 

stage. Based on a 1986 statutory 

change, this IRS policy reverses a 1967 

ruling which disallowed vineyards and 

orchards from taking advantage of IRC 

Section 179 and the ability to quickly 

recover vineyard/orchard development 

costs. For more information on expense 

method depreciation under IRC Section 

179, please contact your tax professional. 

Food Dialogues 

Examine Farming 

and Food 

Farming will take center stage this 

month in the heart of Broadway in New 

York City to get people talking about 

their food and where it comes from. It 

is part of the “Food Dialogues” series 

hosted by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers 

Alliance. It was created to lead the 

discussion and answer questions consumers 

have about food production 

through unique events, social media, 

access to farmers and ranchers, and 

content on its website www.fooddialogues.com. 

The panel discussions will focus on 

three separate topics. USFRA has assembled 

a group of panelists who are 

experts in their respective fields with 

various points of view on the panel topics, 

including Tracie McMillan, author 

of “The American Way of Eating,” representatives 

from Consumers Union, 

the American Veterinary Medical Association, 

and farmers and ranchers from 

across the country including NYFB 

State Director Richard Ball, a vegetable 

farmer from Schoharie County. 

Ball will participate in the first panel 

discussion: The Media, Marketing and 

Healthy Choices. It will examine how 

the media’s coverage of food and its 

health benefits has impacted consumer 

choice. This discussion also will address 

what more can be done to answer 

Americans’ questions about how their 

food is grown and raised. The two other 

panels will address “Your Toughest 

Questions Answered on Antibiotics and 

Biotechnology (GMO’s) in Your Food” 

and panel experts will discuss their use 

and application in animal agriculture. 

“Following the momentum of past 

Food Dialogues’ panel discussions in 

September 2011, March 2012 and June 

2012, we realize that Americans still 

have a lot of important questions surrounding 

topics like biotechnology, animal 

antibiotics and how media and the 

marketing community talk about food 

and healthy choices,” said Bob Stallman, 

chairman of USFRA and president 

of the American Farm Bureau 

Federation. “We’re excited to bring a 

wide range of voices together for indepth 

panel discussions about these 

issues and to answer some important 

questions that aren’t getting heard. 

It’s time we move the conversation forward.” 

The event will stream live on November 

15th. For more information, please 

visit the website www.fooddialogues. 

com. 

Cornell Holds 

Agribusiness 

Conference 

Mark your calendars for The Cornell 

University Agribusiness Economic 

Outlook Conference to be held at The 

Ballroom at The Statler Hotel on December 

18, 2012. 

The program will focus on the current 

situation and outlook for the national 

economy. Breakout sessions will 

include: dairy and dairy policy; feed 

grains; fruit and vegetable; grape, wine 

and ornamental; and the partnership 

between applied research and NYS agriculture. 

A special general session in the 

morning will discuss the “Agricultural 

Economic and Political Environment 

after the Election” with panelists from 

Bloomberg BNA, American Farm Bureau 

Federation, and NY Farm Bureau. 

The program is presented by the Dyson 

School of Applied Economics and Management 

in the College of Agriculture 

and Life Sciences at Cornell University.


News briefs 

Please contact Carol Thomson at cmt8@ 

cornell.edu or (607) 255-5464 or visit the 

website at http://dyson.cornell.edu/ 

outreach/ag_outlook_conference.php 

for registration and program information. 

EPA Considers RFS 

Waiver Requests 

The Environmental Protection 

Agency closed a public comment period 

in early October regarding requests to 

waive the Renewable Fuels Standard 

(RFS). As a result of the severe drought 

this summer, the agency received highly 

publicized requests from the Governors 

of Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia 

Texas, Georgia, New Mexico, Maryland 

and Delaware for a waiver. Other 

organizations and individuals, including 

Dairy Farmers of America and the 

National Pork Producers Council, along 

with several members of Congress, also 

sent similar requests or supported a 

volume waiver. 

The Clean Air Act allows EPA to 

waive the national volume requirements 

of the RFS program in whole or 

in part if the implementation of those 

requirements would severely harm the 

economy or environment of a state, a 

region or the United States, or if it determines 

there is an inadequate domestic 

supply of renewable fuel. 

Farm Bureau has policy supporting 

the RFS to the maximum extent practicable, 

but in an effort to fully consider 

the position of members—both 

crop and livestock farmers—American 

Farm Bureau Federation held conference 

calls with its commodity advisory 

committees, of which New York has 

several members. It discussed farmer 

comments and recent studies on the impact 

of a waiver with the AFBF board, 

on which NYFB president Dean Norton 

serves, and decided not to support a 

waiver at this time. 

AFBF submitted formal comments 

to EPA that noted, “Farm Bureau remains 

committed to working with all 

aspects of agriculture in providing solutions 

to overcome the hardships of 

the 2012 drought. However, proposals 

on waiving the Renewable Fuels Standards 

(RFS) for 2012 and/or 2013 remain 

a concern as scenarios connected to 

this proposal have not been able to show 

that such a move would provide any 

meaningful relief on the current price 

for corn….Even with these extreme 

weather conditions, the reduced crop is 

expected to come in at more than 10 billion 

bushels, which still ranks among 

the top ten corn crops ever produced in 

this country.” 

AFBF detailed three major concerns: 

Waiving the RFS will have uncertain 

impacts on corn prices (the flexibility 

of refiners to change their businesses 

for a one year waiver is in question); 

the overall impact on gas prices (right 

now gasoline containing 10% ethanol 

is five cents per gallon cheaper than 

conventional gasoline without ethanol); 

and the impact of a waiver on the 

investment of new, renewable energy 

technologies. 

There is some flexibility built into 

the FRS to allow fuel refiners to fulfill 

as much as 20 percent of RFS obligations 

with credits earned in previous 

years. This year’s ethanol mandate is 

13.2 billion gallons, and with 2.5 billion 

gallons in credits, this year’s mandate 

to meet the RFS (without a waiver) 

could be as low as 10.7 billion gallons. 

However, with high ethanol inventories 

and much production already complete, 

Since there’s so much interest 

these days in local foods and beverages, 

New York’s farm based cider 

makers are now big enough where 

they’re able to launch a Cider Week 

campaign. For the second year in 

a row, cider makers have teamed 

up with the Glynwood Center in 

the lower Hudson Valley, which 

has been spearheading the effort to 

lead a revitalization of cider beverages 

to assist apple growers in adding 

another diversified business to 

the farm to create a new revenue 

stream. Participating restaurants 

are featured on the website, and 

are given promotional materials in 

return for selling a New York State 

based farm cider product by the 

glass. Judged a stunning success 

in raising awareness for cider and 

great added value apple products, 

cider week has gained fans by the 

thousands, as a recent local foods 

and cider tasting held at the New 

Amsterdam Market in New York 

City proved. 

Restaurants not only in New 

York City but in the Hudson Valley 

participated in Cider week, such as 

blenders are already on pace to meet 

this year’s target. 

The Food and Agricultural Policy Research 

Institute (FAPRI) at the University 

of Missouri questions how much a 

waiver would improve corn prices and 

notes in a report that ethanol production 

and usage in the current year appears 

motivated by crop and fuel market 

conditions, not the RFS. 

“Farm Bureau remains supportive 

of producing renewable energy to the 

maximum extent practicable, and if a 

waiver were to be granted, encourages 

EPA to conduct a thorough economic 

assessment of the impacts a waiver of 

any sort would have on agriculture and 

the overall economy,” AFBF concluded 

in its comments. 

EPA is expected to decide on the 

waiver requests no later than mid-November, 

but most likely after the election 

on Nov. 6. 

Electronic Filing 

Now Available for 

H-2A and H-2B 

The U.S. Department of Labor has 

announced the implementation of electronic 

filing in the H-2A and H-2B visa 

programs through the Department’s 

iCERT Visa Portal System. This system 

has been designed to allow growers the 

ability to file their H-2A or H-2B Visa online 

and through a secure website that 

will give immediate results and on a 

continual basis throughout the application 

process. The program is intended 

to enhance the accessibility and quality 

of labor certification services, reduce 

the data collection and reporting burden 

on small employers, facilitate more 

streamlined business processes, and 

establish greater transparency in the 

Department’s decisions. 

Electronic filing in the H-2B program 

will begin on October 15, 2012. 

Electronic filing in the H-2A program 

Cider Week Rules 

Columbia County restaurant Blue 

Plate in Chatham, which greeted 

customers with a poster and a promotional 

card on the table directing 

consumer’s attention to Cider week. 

The menu featured a special “cider 

by the glass” deal featuring New 

York State ciders. 

NYFB recently attended a meeting 

with the State Liquor Authority 

Chairman Dennis Rosen and Glynwood 

Center to discuss the project, 

and the various laws governing cider 

production. Ways to assist cider 

makers were raised during Governor 

Cuomo’s Wine Summit by Elizabeth 

Ryan, NYFB member apple 

farmer and cider producer. 

will begin on December 10, 2012. Information 

regarding the implementation 

of electronic filing, including how to 

participate in the upcoming webinar 

training sessions (still available is the 

H-2A webinar on both November 26th 

and 29th), please visit their website at 

http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta. 

gov/h2ah2b_icert_rollout.cfm. 

The H-2B e-filing process was demonstrated 

in October during a provided 

webinar by the Department. The webinar 

demonstrated how growers will be 

able to create an iCERT account and be 

able to electronically prepare their ETA 

Form. Growers will establish a single 

iCERT portal account that can be updated 

24/7, will correspond with growers 

via email provided and will retain all 

application information in one convenient 

location online. It is expected that 

the H-2A webinar will direct growers in 

the same fashion as the H-2B webinar. 

The online application process will 

help to reduce repetitive filing by “reusing” 

previous data (such as farm 

name, address, phone number, etc) and 

will track each application throughout 

the process and provide growers with 

continual notification of where the 

application is located in the approval 

process. Growers will also be able to 

upload supporting documentation to 

their application (i.e. recruiting report) 

and e-mail notifications will automatically 

be sent to the applicant when 

any decision is made or problems occur. 

The system is also designed to pick 

up any complications within the application 

process to notify growers of a 

technical problem on their application 

PRIOR to submitting for review and 

approval. 

The regular timeframes of applying 

for the programs will remain the same 

and while an original signature will 

no longer be required, growers should 

still maintain an original within their 

files on-farm. Growers are not required 

to use the electronic filing system; the 

paper-based forms will still be available, 

however only ONE method may be 

used. Furthermore, all documents that 

require a signature and date will need 

to be scanned and uploaded by Adobe 

PDF into the electronic system. 

This initiative was completed as numerous 

requests from New York Farm 

Bureau and New York Congressional 

leaders have urged U.S. DOL to reform 

the program and make the program 

more user-friendly. In this effect, the 

program intends to provide more ability 

for growers to quickly and accurately 

file an H-2A or H-2B application with a 

more immediate response on deficiencies 

and/or approvals. 

Learn More About 

H-2A and 2B Online 

Applications 

The United States Department 

of Labor will provide a webinar 

on November 26th and 29th from 

1:30pm-3:00pm for employers on 

the new H-2A electronic filing process, 

effective December 10, 2012. 

Due to limited nationwide participation 

of 200 employers per 

webinar, the New York State Department 

of Labor will hold this 

webinar at a One-Stop Career Center 

location in Central New York, 

the Hudson Valley, Long Island, 

the North Country, and the Western 

Region so that multiple H-2A 

employers may view the webinar 

together. Once each location is 

determined, you will receive an 

email or letter from Elizabeth 

Jeavons detailing the date and 

location for the webinar viewing. 

Your local Agriculture Labor Specialist 

will also attend the webinar 

should you have any general 

questions on the new process. 

Looking for equipment, antiques or hay? Don’t miss the 

Grassroots Farmers’ Market pages 23-27


President 

Dean Norton 

If asked to summarize the last two years as 

your New York Farm Bureau President in 

three words I would say Service, Change 

and Review. 

Service: One needs only to look back to 

Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee to 

see a shining example of service to the Agricultural 

community by 

NYFB. When the cards 

were down and our 

neighbors were at their 

lowest points physically 

and emotionally the 

membership and staff 

of NYFB stepped to the 

plate to provide Service 

to our rural communities 

because it was what 

needed to be done. As 

your President I could 

not have been prouder! 

Change: I think our 

new partnership with 

Nationwide Insurance 

as our preferred insurance sponsor would 

constitute as change. It was not an easy decision 

to make and the transition has not been 

without bumps in the road but I am convinced 

that this change will provide positive result 

for the future of NYFB! 

Review: NYFB completed the AFBF Peer 

Review process where staff from other state 

Farm Bureau’s provided a review of our activities 

and structure. I would like to report a 

very positive report on the strength and structure 

of NYFB. We do have some areas to work 

on and the Board of Directors will be diligently 

working to update our Strategic Plan 

in 2013 to address these issues. 

As you can see that while NYFB has been 

successful advocating for your issues in the 

halls of Albany and Washington DC we have 

also provided SERVICE to our members, made 

CHANGES for the future and REVIEWED operations 

to remain relevant in our next century. 

I have been humbled to lead NYFB over 

the last two years and would be honored with 

your support as I run for re-election to another 

two year term as your President! 

President 

Mark Dunau 

In the past year, NYFB has seen a precipitous 

decline in membership from nearly 

27,000 to about 22,500 members. These 

losses reflect terrible strategic maneuvers 

by leadership. When NYFB cut its ties with 

Farm Family Insurance and signed a Memorandum 

of Agreement 

with Nationwide Insurance 

in 2011, many 

NYFB members were 

displeased. Farm Family 

Insurance agents 

worked for decades to 

grow NYFB, and had 

personal relationships 

with thousands of our 

members. 

The second terrible 

strategic decision by 

NYFB occurred in January 

when a statewide 

press release declared 

in a letter written by 

President Norton to Governor Cuomo that, 

“We applaud your initial efforts to bring 

safe HVHF drilling to New York, but are also 

very concerned that recent delays have halted 

positive momentum. While opponents 

of HVHF drilling are extremely vocal, it is 

clear that they do not have science on their 

side to justify their position.” 

Horizontal hydrofracking is an extremely 

divisive issue amongst membership. Many 

NYFB State Board of Directors 

Candidate Statements 

members read this press release and chose 

not to renew their membership. The cornerstone 

of science is data, and there is no long 

term data on horizontal hydrofracking, only 

hypotheses, which will be proved or disproved 

in the coming years with data collected from 

hydrofracking in Pennsylvania. Because the 

price of natural gas has fallen to 15% of the 

2008 price, only madness would encourage a 

landowner to want hydrofracking to begin 

now. In fact, finance and science uniquely 

come together today in New York to encourage 

DEC to judiciously come up with the most 

protective SGEIS possible; a plan that reflects 

the reasonable and protective policies of our 

policy book, many of which are not addressed 

in the current draft of the SGEIS. 

I am committed to the grassroots policy 

of NYFB. As President of NYFB, I promise 

to follow the book. 

Mark Dunau, Delaware County, http:// 

markforpresident.dontsubmit.org/ 

Yesterday, my kids spent some time 

with me at the farm. I know they love 

to come and I know that it would be 

easier for me if they did not “help” because 

we all know how much help a five and three 

year old can be. I would not have it any other 

way though, because it reminded me of 

Vice 

President 

Eric Ooms 

all the times I went to 

“help” my dad by playing 

in the grain bin or 

hay stack. This is why 

I wanted to stay on the 

farm, so my kids could 

have the same opportunities 

that I did with 

my dad. 

This year the United 

States Department of 

Labor wanted to change 

the rules that would 

have made it harder 

for kids to grow up on 

farms. American Farm 

Bureau sounded the 

alert and farmers and 

rural citizens from across the country voiced 

their outrage at this misplaced idea. I know 

that all of New York Farm Bureau joined 

this fight and because of a collective effort 

we forced the USDOL to withdraw a bad idea! 

This issue underscores the importance of 

two of my priorities as a leader of New York 

Farm Bureau: 1. Empower our members to 

fight for opportunities and against threats 

and 2. Strengthen our organization for today 

and tomorrow. This fight reminded me 

why I love being a farmer and dad and why 

we need Farm Bureau now more than ever. 

It also reminded me why I became a leader 

in Farm Bureau. It has been a privilege to 

serve as Vice-President and I humbly ask for 

your support once again. 

I 

am Jacob Schieferstine and I would love 

to serve as your 2012-2013 New York State 

Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee 

Chair. 

I live in Vernon, NY with my wife Stephanie 

and our three children. I am involved 

with my father’s 150-cow dairy farm that 

has been in our family for over 100 years. I 

own my own small-scale custom hay harvest 

operation making small square bales to feed 

to pleasure horses and other livestock. I also 

operate a small apiary. 

Currently, I am serving as District 6 

Young Farmer chair, Oneida County vice 

president, and on the state membership 

committee. Outside of Farm Bureau, I serve 

Committee 

chair 

Jacob 

Schiefersteine 

on the Oneida County 

Agriculture Economic 

Development Advisory 

Committee, I volunteer 

for the Mohawk Valley 

Food Action Network, a 

field trip presenter for 

Lake Delta Conservation 

Days, and a volunteer 

for Oneida County 

Farm Fest. 

Over the past few 

years, I have participated 

in the American 

Farm Bureau YF&R 

Leadership Conferences 

held in Baltimore 

MD and Sacramento, 

CA; Northeast Leadership Conference Hershey, 

PA; and at New York Young Farmer 

Leadership Conference. I have served as 

a Delegate for Farm Bureau State Annual 

meetings and state lobby days; participated 

in county legislature lobbing; and read to 

school children during ag literacy week. 

If elected my goal is to continue the 

growth and enthusiasm that the Young 

Farmer committee has been experiencing. 

I am currently the longest serving member 

on the committee and I see this as giving me 

a unique advantage to guide the committee. 

Working with the newer members of the 

committee this year, I see they have a lot of 

ambition and a strong desire to participate. 

I wish to continue this growth and participation 

at the state level and expand it to the 

individual county young farmer programs. 

At this time I would like to announce 

that I will be running for re-election 

for District 2 Director of the New York 

Farm Bureau State Board. Over the past several 

years you have seen some changes in 

the way Farm Bureau operates, not least of 

all the change in our insurance partner from 

Farm Family to Nationwide. This was not 

an easy decision to make as a board member. 

However, it is one that you as a member 

expect your board director to make based 

on careful consideration of the information 

presented. The decision was made for the 

benefit of the entire organization and not 

District 2 

Paul Bencal 

for individual reason 

or advantage. 

Over the next several 

years you will see even 

more changes taking 

place, from member retention 

to membership 

marketing to county 

activities. I am excited 

to be involved in that 

change. We as a board 

are currently developing 

a strategic plan for 

New York Farm Bureau 

going forward. What 

will Farm Bureau look 

like? Who will our members be? How will it 

operate? I think a very important question is 

who will our leaders be and how do we seek 

them out and get them to come forward? 

I believe a major focus needs to be in 

leadership development. Going to a president’s 

conference is not enough. A system 

of grooming and mentoring is needed to enhance 

the capabilities of new people. Development 

through training in any media is an 

ongoing process. There are great leaders in 

this organization as well as great teachers. 

We need to tap those resources. This organization 

is second to none in what we do, and 

you as a member can be very proud of that.


I truly believe that agriculture would not 

be where we are if it were not for New York 

Farm Bureau. 

I look forward to the future of New York 

Farm Bureau as your Director, should you 

re-elect me to serve. Thank you for your support. 

I close as I always do with … “This is 

not about us…it’s about you.” 

I am seeking support from the farmers 

in district 10 in my quest to represent our 

district on the State Board of Directors. 

If elected I intend to 

District 10 

Mark Adams 

continue the policies 

and good work carried 

out by Charlie 

Larsen. My term, if 

I’m elected, will build 

on his successes and 

will include input 

from all the diverse 

agricultural segments 

found in district 10 

and across the state. 

Hello, my name 

is Ben Simons 

and I would like 

to take this opportunity to both introduce 

myself and formally declare my candidacy 

for election to the New York Farm Bureau 

Board of Directors. My wife and I along 

with our three children own and operate Simons 

Family farm in the beautiful hills of 

Steuben in Oneida County. Our operation 

consists of an 80 cow dairy, 15,000 bale/year 

commercial hay operation along with a bustling 

firewood and timber sales business. 

One of my main goals as a member of 

NYFB State Board of Directors 

Candidate Statements 

District 6 

Ben Simons 

the board would be to 

work with my fellow 

board members and 

our staff to continue 

the work already begun 

in trying to lessen over 

burdensome State and 

Federal regulations. 

These regulations stifle 

the growth of our family 

farm operations 

and put in jeopardy 

our ability to pass our 

businesses on to the 

next generation of New 

York’s farmers. My 

other goal would be to work with the counties 

in my region to increase famer membership 

so that our region could have increased 

influence on New York Farm Bureau policy. 

My experience in Farm Bureau starts 

with my days as a member of the New Hampshire 

Farm Bureau over thirty years ago 

before my family and I moved here to New 

York almost twenty-eight years ago. Over 

the last decade I have served as a member 

of the Oneida County Farm Bureau Board 

and in that time also served as president and 

vice-president. I have been able to attend 

NYFB Lobby Days and State Annual Meeting 

on many occasions. 

I would be willing to meet with the presidents 

and board of directors within District 

6 to discuss my candidacy further. If you 

have any questions please feel free to call me 

at 315-831-5087.I am seeking support from 

the farmers in district 10 in my quest to 

represent our district on the State Board 

of Directors. If elected I intend to continue 

the policies and good work carried 

out by Charlie Larsen. My term, if I’m 

elected, will build on his successes and 

will include input from all the diverse 

agricultural segments found in district 10 

and across the state. 

My name is Dean Casey. I live in Rensselaer 

county where I have been a 

Farm Bureau member for the past 

20 years which gave me the opportunity 

to serve in many capacities on the county 

board over the past years. 

As a former farm owner, and now a farm 

employee for the past 12 

District 8 

years along with being 

a graduate of LEADNY 

Dean Casey class 10, and a former 

field advisor with New 

York Farm Bureau for 

district 8 has really 

prepared me to run for 

the board seat that is 

available for district 8 

this December. I look 

forward to the opportunity 

to work with 

counties in the district, 

and work with a great 

team on the New York 

Farm Bureau board. 

If anyone has any questions please feel 

free to contact me at (518) 859-4745. 

Thank You. 

Editor’s note: The information contained 

below is written by the candidates themselves, 

not NYFB. NYFB is not responsible for the 

content or its accuracy.” 

Your New York Farm 

Bureau® membership 

saves you cash 

New York Farm Bureau Member Services 

has teamed up with Nationwide Insurance. 

Now you can take advantage of member-only 

savings on ATV, motorcycle, RV, boat and 

snowmobile insurance. 

Contact your Nationwide agent, 

call 1-877-OnYourSide or visit 

www.nationwide.com/nyfb. 

Products underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies. Home Office: Columbus, OH 43215. Subject to underwriting guidelines, review, and approval. Products and discounts not available to all persons in all states. 

Nationwide, Nationwide Insurance and the Nationwide framemark are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. FARM BUREAU,” “FB” and the FB National Logo, NEW YORK FARM BUREAU, State Farm Bureau Logo (black and white 

and color) are registered service marks of the American Farm Bureau Federation used under license by Nationwide. © 2012 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All rights reserved. FBO-0131AO (0312)


From Our Table to Yours 

This is the season of giving and what better way than to share some favorite recipes 

from New York farmers! Spice up your holiday table with these new recipes. 

Butternut Squash 

Chowder 

Serves 6 

2 cups cooked and pureed butternut 

squash 

¼ cup mild onion diced 

16 oz. chicken broth 

16 oz. creamed corn 

1/8 tsp. cinnamon 

1 tbsp. sugar 

Salt and pepper to taste 

2 cups milk (any type) 

1. Mix all ingredients except 

milk in a saucepan. 

2. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 

minutes. 

3. Reduce heat and add milk. 

Heat through, but do not boil. 

‐— From Martin Farms, 

Brockport, NY 

Zucchini Bread 

WET INGREDIENTS 

3 eggs 

2 cups grated zucchini 

1 cup oil (I use organic canola 

oil - any vegetable oil is fine) 

1 cup white sugar 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

DRY INGREDIENTS 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

3 teaspoons cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon cloves 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 teaspoon salt 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Prepare two bread pans – 

greased and dusted with flour 

or coated with poppy seeds. 

3. Mix together the wet ingredients 

and dry ingredients 

separately. Then stir the dry 

ingredients gradually into 

the wet ingredients. 

4. Pour evenly into the two 

bread pans. Bake for 45 minutes 

to an hour, using the 

toothpick comes out clean 

method to test for doneness. 

— From Roxbury Farm , 

Kinderhook, NY 

Concord Grape Pie 

Serves 8 

4 c. Concord grapes 

¾ c. sugar 

3 Tbsp. quick cooking tapioca 

1 Tbsp. lemon juice 

Pastry for 2 crust 9 inch pie 

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine 

1. Slip skins from grapes. Set skins 

aside. Bring pulp to a boil. 

2. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. 

Press through a sieve to 

remove seeds. 

3. Add grape skins, sugar, tapioca 

and lemon juice. Mix well. Let 

stand while preparing crust. 

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Roll out half of pastry and line 

9 inch pie pan. Fill with grape 

mixture; dot with butter or margarine. 

Prepare top crust, trim, 

seal and flute edges. Cut slits in 

top. 

5. Bake 25 minutes or until golden. 

Serve warm or cold. 

— From Jerome’s U Pick Fruit 

Farm, Naples, NY 

Perfect Roasted 

Turkey 

1 (14 lb.) Plainville Farms whole 

turkey 

1/2 cup melted butter, cooled 

1/4 cup chopped thyme 

1/4 cup chopped sage 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Drizzle 

butter over outside of turkey. 

Season liberally with herbs, 

salt and pepper, covering entire 

bird inside and out. 

2. Place seasoned turkey on 

roasting rack in a high-sided 

roasting pan. Cover loosely 

with foil, then roast for approximately 

2 1/2 hours. Remove 

foil and continue roasting for 

another hour or so until the 

internal temperature registers 

175ºF in the thickest part of 

the turkey. 

— From Plainville Farms, 

Liverpool, NY


Apple Cranberry 

Sauce 

Serves 8 

6 New York State Apples 

¼ cup orange juice 

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 cups fresh cranberries 

1/3 cup sugar 

½ teaspoon ginger 

1. Peel apples and cut out cores, 

seeds and stems. Cut apples into 

small pieces. 

2. Put apples into pot. Add orange 

juice and lemon juice. Cook over low 

heat until apples are soft. 

3. Add cinnamon. Mash with a fork. 

4. Stir in cranberries, sugar and ginger. 

Cook until cranberries are soft. 

— From NY Apple Association 

Oyster Stuffing Serves 8 

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil 

½ cup chopped celery 

½ cup chopped onion 

4 cups dry bread crumbs 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 

1 ½ cups oysters, reserve liquid 

2 eggs. beaten 

¾ teaspoon salt 

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning 

¼ teaspoon dried thyme 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F 

(165 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole 

dish. 

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over 

medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; 

cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. 

Mix in the bread crumbs and parsley 

and remove from the heat. Add the oysters 

and eggs, and season with salt, pepper, 

poultry seasoning and thyme. Stir in 

enough liquid from the oysters to moisten 

and mix everything thoroughly. Transfer 

to the casserole dish. 

3. Bake in the preheated oven until 

the top is toasted and a knife inserted 

into the center comes out clean, about 45 

minutes. 

— Thom Young, Retired Orange 

County farmer 

Utility rate hikes. Global climate change. 

You are not powerless. 

Farming is much more than a job ... it’s a way of life. 

At Hudson Solar, solar is much more than our jobs ... it’s also our way of life. 

Helping customers produce clean electricity, increase their sustainability and save money is our passion. 

With NEW LEASE options, now available, let us show you how 

we can make your lease payment lower than your utility bill! 

CONTACT US TODAY and start saving! 

866.452.7652 • HudsonSolar.com 

Now Serving NY, Western CT, Western MA, & Southern VT! 

Formerly Hudson Valley Clean Energy & Adirondack Solar


Government Accountability Office Report Released 

By Steve Ammerman 


The U.S. Government Accountability 

Office released its report last month 

on the H-2A Visa Program that allows 

U.S. farmers who anticipate a shortage 

of domestic agriculture workers to hire 

foreign workers on a temporary basis. 

It found more than a third of the applications 

were not processed by the deadline 

in 2011 which can cause frustration 

for New York farmers who depend on 

the workers to fill critical roles during 

short growing and harvest seasons. 

In its objective report, GAO made a 

few recommendations, including asking 

the U.S. Departments of Labor and 

Homeland Security to use their new 

electronic data systems to collect data on 

reasons for the delays. It also asks DOL 

to allow employers to submit just one application 

for groups of similar workers 

needed over a single season with separate 

starting dates. In addition, it encourages 

U.S.DOL to review and revise, 

as appropriate, its guidance to states regarding 

methods for determining the acceptability 

of employment practices in 

employers’ applications. NYFB believes 

its current form can be inconsistent and 

confusing for farmers, as well as for the 

state DOL that shares in administering 

the program. 

The report is in response to Sen. 

Kirsten Gillibrand’s request for a review 

of the H-2A program to improve the hiring 

process for New York farmers. New 

York was one of three states whose farmers 

were surveyed at on-site visits in the 

review process, and NYFB helped facilitate 

the information gathering by meeting 

with the GAO team and coordinating 

a serious discussion between about a 

dozen farmer members at the 2011 NYFB 

State Annual Meeting last December. 

The GAO findings validate New York 

Representatives from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) met with New York growers last December at the 

NYFB annual meeting to discuss concerns outlined in the new GAO audit report. 

farmer concerns that the federal agencies 

have lacked adequate technology to 

streamline the necessary process to hire 

foreign workers. Though, just recently, 

DOL has begun addressing this problem 

and has introduced a new online application 

process, a move NYFB has applauded. 

However, NYFB is disappointed 

that the U.S. Dept. of Labor rejected the 

recommendation of allowing farmers 

to submit one general application over 

a growing season when workers may be 

needed at different times. Currently, it is 

an expensive, bureaucratic process to repeat 

and can delay the farmer’s ability to 

plant and harvest local food. 

Cathy Martin, a vegetable farmer in 

Brockport, was a part of the group that 

met with the GAO team last year. 

“I appreciate the effort the GAO 

made to meet with farmers and listen 

to our concerns. GAO obviously heard 

what was being said and made the necessary 

recommendations to address our 

issues,” said Martin. 

Sentiment echoed by NYFB President 

Dean Norton. 

“Sen. Gillibrand’s efforts to resolve 

obvious problems with the H-2A program 

is much appreciated. We also 

would like to thank GAO for a thorough 

and balanced audit. We believe it is an 

important step to improving the H-2A 

system to meet the needs of New York 

farmers and maintain a healthy, local 

food supply,” said Norton. 

To review the full report and recommendations, 

go to http://www.gao.gov/ 

products/GAO-12-706 

Are you risking 

penalties by processing 

your own payroll? 

The Ag Payroll Experts at Farm Credit East can help you 

avoid mistakes or penalties by knowing the rules and 

regulations specific to your industry. 

Contact us today for a free review of your payroll process. 

800.562.2235 

FarmCreditEast.com


NYFB Honors Olympic Equestrian Athlete 

By Steve Ammerman 


Photo by Helene H. Gallagher 

Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY is a three time Olympic Medalist and competes 

in showjumping competitions around the world. 

Three time Summer Olympian Beezie 

Madden of Cazenovia, NY received 

quite an honor in her hometown last 

month. New York Farm Bureau presented 

her with the New York Equine 

Ambassador Award for her many accolades 

in the sport. 

A couple hundred people, including 

Assembly Ag. Committee Chair 

Bill Magee and Senator David Valesky, 

turned out at Cazenovia College who 

hosted the reception at its Equine Education 

Center. Many of them young 

women who have dreams of competing 

at the sport’s highest level just like 

Beezie who was very appreciative of 

the honor. 

“I think it is a great thing. It makes 

me feel good,” said Madden. “We don’t 

have the most popular sport in the 

world so for someone to recognize it 

in the community and the accomplishments 

we have had is very nice.” 

“New York Farm Bureau is proud 

of Beezie who is a true champion at 

the highest level of her sport. She is 

a wonderful representative for horse 

farming and agriculture in this state,” 

said NYFB State Director and Madison 

County FB President Darrell Griff 

who presented the award to her. 

Beezie has competed in showjumping 

at the past three Summer Olympic 

Games. In 2004 and 2008, she was a part 

of the gold medal winning team and 

also won an individual bronze in 2008. 

This year in London, the team competed 

hard, but ended up tying for sixth 

place. 

“I think we gave it a good college try. 

We were disappointed in the first day. 

After that I had pretty much the best 

score for the team in the team competition, 

but we would have liked to have 

done better,” said Madden. “But we 

were a little spoiled. In the previous 

two games to come home with three 

medals, two of them gold, that is not so 

easy to do.” 

Beezie and her husband John Madden 

are longtime NYFB members and 

own a 165 acre horse farm in Cazenovia 

where they have lived since 1988. 

It is full of rolling hills and has a wonderful 

climate for her animals. They 

have 20 horses in the stable and another 

20 out in the fields. It is also the location 

of their business John Madden 

Sales, Inc. 

Beezie has ridden horses her whole 

life, but really decided to make a career 

of it while in college. She put off 

plans to transfer to the University of 

Virginia in Charlottesville and instead 

went to work for international show 

jumper Katie Prudent. Beezie did it all 

on the farm. She exercised the horses, 

cared for the animals, even did record 

keeping. All the hard work paid off. 

In 2004, she was the first woman to surpass 

the $1 million mark in showjumping 

earnings. 

Unlike most professional sports 

where athletes are usually past their 

prime in their 30’s, for show jumpers, 

things are just getting started. Beezie 

says that is a plus for her sport because 

it takes a long time to learn the skills 

of a rider and how to become the manager 

and trainer of the other athlete, 

the horse. That also includes knowing 

how to pick the right horse which is 

full of intangibles. 

“When you are looking for young 

horses, you want it to have a classy 

look. It just needs to be intelligent 

looking. We like a good expression on 

a horse’s face, and obviously raw talent 

is quite a bit of it. That is what 

can probably tell you the most about a 

horse is how much talent it has when it 

is young,” said Madden. 

In addition, Madden says you have 

to determine if the horse can be trainable 

and physically hold up to what it 

will need to do to be a champion horse 

jumper. The veterinarian’s advice 

weighs into that decision. Plus, she 

says the horse must have the temperament 

to travel all over the world and 

compete in front of tens of thousands 

of people. 

“They go through airplanes, walk 

through cities. They have to be the 

kind of horse to deal with that and still 

have the fight and spark in them that 

makes them a really good horse,” said 

Madden. “It is hard to tell when they 

are young, but is an educated guess. 

The more you deal with horses the 

more you can get from it, but no one 

knows all that.” 

“ 

Beezie is very happy to share her 

experience with others, and recognizes 

she is a role model for younger riders. 

But she is also quite humble in the 

NYFB recognition. She hopes it shines 

more light on the sport she loves rather 

than on herself. 

“Hopefully, it does something to 

highlight the community and the area 

and promote our equestrian endeavors 

in or community,” said Madden. 

She encourages people who are unfamiliar 

with the sport to come out and 

see it in person like at the Syracuse 

Invitational. It takes much skill and 

finesse to lead the animal through a series 

of jumps and hurdles several feet 

high in an allotted time frame. 

“I think for people to appreciate 

the sport more is to be more educated 

about the actual details of our sport 

which is kind of tedious, but when 

they see a fence the size we jump in 

the Olympic games, they are impressed 

the horse can jump over it, 

that a rail can fall down so easily if 

a horse touches it because on TV it 

looks so easy,” said Madden. “I hope 

people can appreciate what special 

animals they are. They are as good as 

a Triple Crown winner.” 

For now, Beezie is already looking 

ahead to her future competitions. Last 

month, she met with her main sponsor 

to map out her plan for the world championships 

in two years and her fourth 

Olympic Games in 2016 in Brazil. 

“You want to make sure you have 

the right horses and make sure they 

are young enough,” said Madden. “And 

they (her sponsors) are 100 percent 

with us too. So we got the green light.” 

Olympic Equestrian Rider Beezie Madden was presented with the New York Farm 

Bureau Equestrian Ambassador Award from NYFB State Director and Madison 

County Farm Bureau President Darrell Griff. 

Generations 5x4:Layout 1 10/17/12 11:16 AM Page 1 

Our FarmNet helped our family prepare a working transfer 

of ownership that builds equity for our sons and a future for us. 

Thank you FarmNet! 

“ 

Cattaraugus County Holds Annual Meeting 

Manager of Public Affairs and Associate Director of Public Policy for NYFB, 

Steve Ammerman, spoke to the crowd at the Cattaraugus County annual 

meeting. Shown L to R are: Assemblyman Joe Giglio, Cattaraugus County FB 

Director Margie Andrews, Hal Kreher, Phyllis Couture, Cattaraugus County FB 

President Chuck Couture and Dave Zilker of the county resolutions committee. 

Over 40 years ago my father started our farm and now I 

work it with my two sons. I pay them a reasonable 

compensation package and handle the managerial 

decisions myself. I thought everything was fine until I 

learned our sons were planning on leaving the farm. I 

didn’t know what to do until my wife read about FarmNet 

and suggested we call. 

Moving your farm & family forward 

Call: 1-800-547-FARM (3276) FREE and Confidential 

www.nyfarmnet.org 

Consultants came to our farm and met with everyone 

individually before getting us together as a team. I’ll be 

honest - we worked through a lot of difficult issues. Now, 

we have regular meetings and are in the process of 

developing a transfer plan and new business structure to 

allow our sons to build equity. This was all done at no 

cost to us. 

Thanks FarmNet!


Suffolk county visitor 

Deputy Undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture 

Kathleen Merrigan visited with Long Island farmers and Suffolk County 

Cooperative Extension, courtesy of Congressman Tim Bishop. Ms. Merrigan 

toured several farms on Long Island, discussing farmers’ concerns about food 

safety, water quality, estate taxes and the need for immigration reform. Ms. 

Merrigan also visited with Suffolk County Cooperative Extension, where they 

showcased the excellent research work that’s done by the local extension and 

the outreach efforts for local farmers to link the best new knowledge directly 

to farmer’s fields. 

Ag Trivia Quiz 

Question: With Thanksgiving approaching, let’s test your turkey 

knowledge! Which of the following are false: 

A. Turkeys spend the night in trees. They fly to their roosts around sunset. 

B. Turkeys fly to the ground at first light and feed until mid-morning. 

Feeding resumes in mid-afternoon. 

C. Gobbling starts before sunrise and can continue through most of the 

morning. 

Full-Page 

10x16 

$1175 

Third-Page Horizontal 

10x5.3 

$520 

Premiere 

Classified 

Display 

Box Ad 

4.5x3.5 

$350 

NEW YORK PRESS SERVICE 

NYPS 

www.nynewspapers.com 

Answers: None…they are all true. Have a wonderful holiday 

full of NYS products that will please every appetite. 

Grassroots 

T H E V O I C E O F N E W Y O R K A G R I C U L T U R E 

2012 Advertising Rate Card 

Third-Page 

Vertical 

3.3x16 

$520 

Junior 

Full-Page 

8x11.25 

$900 

Half-Page 

Horizontal 

10x8 

$700 

Quarter-Page 

5x8 

$400 

Eighth-Page 

Horizontal 

5x4 

or 

Vertical 

2.5x8 

$210 

Business Card-Sized Ads (3.5x2) — $100 

Premium Placement — Back Page, Color, Full-Color — $2350 

UNIQUE and PREMIERE Advertising Opportunity, 

Not to be missed!!! 

Half-Page 

Vertical 

5x16 

$700 

Reach Every New York Farm Bureau Member! 

Circulation of more than 30,000!!! 

Call 518.464.6483 to Reserve Your Ad Space TODAY! 

1681 Western Avenue, Albany, New York 12203-4305 

518.464.6483 • Fax 518.464.6489 

Douglas Rea — Senior Vice President, Advertising 

doug@nynewspapers.com 

Compliance Corner 

Farm Products, Home 

Processing and Liability 

By Lisa A. Ovitt 

lovitt@nyfb.org 

Farm Products Direct to Consumer 

If you are a farmer who sells directly 

to the public the products you produce 

on your farm, are you aware of when 

you must have additional liability 

coverage and when your general farm 

policy is sufficient? 

Products liability is the area of law 

in which manufacturers, distributors, 

suppliers, retailers, and others along 

the chain of manufacture or production 

– including farmers -- who make 

products available to the public are 

held responsible for the injuries those 

products cause. Depending on your 

particular activity, you could be liable 

for products liability if someone is 

injured by your farm product. 

Products liability is a risk that can be 

managed with insurance. Speak with 

your insurance agent or check your 

farm policy to see if it provides some 

products liability coverage – and under 

what circumstances -- for the products 

you produce and sell directly to the 

public in an unprocessed condition. For 

example, if someone buys a dozen eggs 

from your farm and claims they were 

sickened by them, would your policy 

provide for products liability coverage? 

Further, if you process your eggs into a 

pie crust and sell that pie directly to the 

public, you may need to have additional 

commercial liability coverage written 

as a complement to your farm policy. 

Identifying your potential risks and 

then managing them is key to your 

farm’s future. Again, speak with your 

insurance agent, and discuss your 

processing activity. A discussion of one 

such activity, home processing, follows. 

Home Processing 

Under New York State regulation, 

“home processor” refers to an operation 

that has been inspected and is allowed 

to manufacture foods for wholesale 

marketing or retail agricultural venues 

such as farms, farm stands, farmers 

markets, craft fairs and flea markets. 

(Use of the internet in any form 

(sales, advertising, email addresses 

or websites—including Facebook, 

Craigslist, etc.) is prohibited under 

Home Processor regulations.) Home 

processed foods shall be manufactured 

in a private home or residence using only 

ordinary kitchen facilities. Commercial 

equipment is not considered ordinary 

kitchen facilities. Only foods that 

are classified as “non-potentially 

hazardous,” such as simple baked goods 

and fruit preserves, are included in this 

definition. Foods that are considered 

potentially hazardous from a food 

safety standpoint are not included 

in this definition. Manufacturers 

of potentially hazardous foods must 

obtain an Article 20-C Food Processing 

License. Producers of maple syrup 

and honey are not considered “home 

processors” and do not need to be 

inspected or obtain a license. However, 

there are some labeling requirements 

they need to follow. 

Do “home processors” need 

a license? 

No, “home processors” are allowed 

to manufacture their products without 

an Article 20-C Food Processing 

License, the standard NYS license 

that is required for manufacture of all 

other foods. They do however need to 

be inspected and meet the following 

conditions: 

• All finished product containers are 

clean, sanitary and properly labeled. 

Labels should include the name and 

address of the business, the name of 

the product, ingredients in the product 

listed in order of predominance and the 

net weight, standard count or numerical 

count of the product. 

• All home processed foods produced 

under this “home processor” 

exemption are neither adulterated nor 

misbranded. 

• Glass containers for jams, jellies, 

marmalades and similar products are 

provided with suitable rigid metal 

covers. 

What’s involved in a home 

processor inspection? 

The inspection process is fairly 

simple. A food inspector from the 

Department will visit the home to make 

sure the kitchen is neat and clean. They 

will be observing the overall cleanliness 

of the facilities, making sure there are 

no pest infestations or house pets in the 

kitchen area and that food and supplies 

are stored appropriately. This may 

involve opening and examining the 

refrigerator and cabinets. Additionally, 

the kitchen needs to have potable water 

that has been tested for coliform (some 

municipal water users will not need to 

have this testing done). There is no fee 

associated with the inspection other 

than the water testing costs. 

When does a kitchen need to 

be inspected? 

A home processing operation must 

be inspected prior to commencing 

operation. If the inspection is 

satisfactory, the operator will receive 

a “Home Processing Exemption 

Inspection Report” as documentation. 

A copy of the report should always be 

brought to the market. 

For our Fact Sheet on Home 

Processors, go to www.nyfb.org. 

For more information on products 

liability insurance and additional 

commercial liability coverage, contact 

your insurance agent. 

For more information or to schedule 

a home processing inspection, contact the 

regional Agriculture & Markets Office 

listed below or visit the Department’s 

website at: http://www.agriculture. 

ny.gov/FS/consumer/processor.html 

Albany - (518) 457-5459 

Syracuse - (315) 487-0852 

Newburgh - (845) 220-2047 x 11 

Rochester - (585) 427-2273 

Buffalo - (716) 847-3185 

NYC - (718) 722-2876 

The information contained herein 

is provided for informational purposes 

only. It is not intended to be, nor should 

it be considered, a substitute for legal advice 

rendered by a competent attorney. If 

you have any questions about the application 

of the issues raised herein to your 

particular situation, seek the advice of a 

competent attorney. 

Hay, Machinery, Vehicle Parts, Equine, Tractors, Vehicles, 

Livestock, Forestry Forest Products, Farm Market, 

Supplies, Specialty Products, Real Estate, Employment, 

Services, Grassroots Miscellaneous, Farmers’ Hay, Vehicles, Market 

Vehicle Parts, 

Equine, Tractors, Machinery, Livestock, Forestry/Forest 

Products, Farm Market, Supplies, Specialty Products,


to Learn NYC’s mission is to inspire, 

promote and support sustainable school 

gardens in New York City’s 1700 public 

schools. Grow to Learn connects schools 

with the material resources, technical 

help and mini-grant opportunities that 

they need to dig in and get gardens 

growing and increase environmental 

awareness and healthy food attitudes 

among NYC’s students. Since January 

2011, we registered 231 schools, reaching 

55,783 students, training 600 teachers/ 

parents, and making schools eligible for 

grants and materials. We distributed 

$224,956 in garden grants to 138 schools 

to help them establish learning garden 

programs and create positive impacts 

on student eating habits, leading to 

healthier kids, communities, and planet. 

What challenges do you see for 

your organization? 

The face Michael Hurwitz 

of New York GrowNYC 

Agriculture New York City 

Tell us about GrowNYC. 

GrowNYC is a hands-on non-profit 

which improves New York City’s quality 

of life through environmental programs 

that transform communities block by 

block and empower all New Yorkers to 

secure a clean and healthy environment 

for future generations. GrowNYC’s four 

main programs include Greenmarket, 

Environmental Education, the Office of 

Recycling Outreach and Education and 

Open Space Greening—each of which 

is constantly expanding, and taking on 

new initiatives. We have about 60 yearround 

employees, and that number 

grows to 150 at the height of the season. 

How did GrowNYC get started, 

and how has it grown through 

the years? 

GrowNYC was originally created in 

1970 as the Council on the Environment 

of New York City. Born out of the 

spirit of the first Earth Day, the Council 

was initially a policy-based organization, 

writing comprehensive reports about 

quality of life issues like air quality, traffic, 

and noise. Over the past 40 years we’ve 

worked to become more engaged with New 

York City and its citizens. Whether it’s 

operating the world famous Union Square 

Greenmarket, building a new community 

garden, teaching young people about the 

environment, or improving recycling 

awareness, the number of citizens we 

engage with each year continues to grow. 

The first Greenmarket opened in July, 1976 

with twelve participating farms. Today we 

operate 54 markets across all five boroughs 

of the city and over 230 family farms 

participate, collectively keeping more 

than 30,000 acres of regional farmland in 

production, and safe from development. 

How can farmers in rural areas 

take greater advantage of 

urban markets, especially in 

New York City? 

Farmers markets and community 

supported agriculture projects operate 

in all five boroughs of the city, with 

hundreds of thousands of consumers 

utilizing them weekly. There are 

organizations located in New York City, 

like GrowNYC, whose mission it is to 

connect interested growers to these 

markets. I would encourage anyone 

interested to contact us immediately 

and see if there is a way that we can 

support them through the many outlets 

we provide. There are other like-minded 

distributors coming to the City, such as 

Hudson Valley Harvest, that operate 

with the farmers’ best interests at the 

core of their work and are certainly 

worth farmers’ while to contact and 

explore if they can be a resource for 

their businesses. Additionally, with the 

increased demand for local food has 

come the simultaneous demand for local 

food processing. Processors like these 

provide great opportunities for farmers 

to move surplus produce, develop their 

own lines of value-added products 

which extend seasons and eliminate 

waste, and can lead to relationships 

allowing farmers to grow specifically 

for these outlets and potentially put 

otherwise fallow land into production. 

How do the markets benefit 

both farmers and consumers 

besides simply providing 

greater access to local food? 

Farmers markets provide numerous 

benefits to farmers and the communities 

in which they are located. We pride 

ourselves on transforming open spaces 

into vibrant centers of community 

activity where city residents can meet 

their neighbors, educate themselves on 

the benefits of local agriculture, and 

taste and interact their way through 

the market place. For both the farmer 

and the consumer, there’s a better price 

point found in a direct sale market. The 

farmer benefits from cutting out the 

middleman and engaging directly with 

his customers—he gets to set his own 

prices, build loyalty with customers and 

take their requests into consideration 

when planning what to grow the 

following year, or how to expand his 

business in the long run (over 85% of 

our farmers claim they would be out 

of business if not for the markets). For 

customers, our markets offer traceability, 

the opportunity to engage with the 

grower directly and ask about his 

growing practices, what is in season right 

now, or even how to cook a product they 

may be unfamiliar with. This exchange 

builds community, strengthening an 

upstate/downstate connection, and 

fosters a deeper understanding of our 

food system as a whole. Farmers markets 

are also an excellent way to engage our 

youth, the next generation of consumers 

and advocates, around the importance 

of eating seasonally and the connection 

between food and health. We bring over 

5000 students annually into the markets 

to engage our farmers and provide them 

with Greenmarket Bucks to shop at their 

stands. 

What are some GrowNYC 

initiatives that you are 

particularly excited about? 

Greenmarket was founded in 

great part to offer struggling regional 

family farms an option to sell their 

produce that was more lucrative 

than the wholesale markets they had 

been forced to rely on. Wholesalers 

wagered for rock bottom prices, forcing 

hundreds of farms throughout the 

state to fold. Many farmers who have 

joined the Greenmarket program 

over the last 36 years claim it was the 

very act that saved the family farm. 

Now, it is with great pride that we are 

able to extend our mission to launch a 

wholesale distribution program that 

provides the farmer a fair price for his 

goods, while moving product in bulk to 

all communities throughout New York 

City. Greenmarket Co. is a testament to 

the growth of our organization over the 

years and the steadfast relationships 

we’ve been able to build in the region, 

proving that New York City is a ready 

and willing marketplace that cares to 

patronize its upstate neighbors. 

Another initiative is the Greenmarket 

Regional Grains Project, which has 

successfully sought out grain growers 

in the region and connected them with 

bakers, brewers and distillers who 

would like to use locally grown grain 

to make their respective products. The 

Regional Grains Project has worked to 

match growers and producers directly, 

and the results have been manifold: more 

acres in the region devoted to growing 

grain, bakers creating new products 

based on the ingredients that are now 

available regionally, the development 

of infrastructure to process grain for 

its various end uses, and an increase in 

business for all parties involved. We’re 

looking forward to yet more varieties of 

grain being grown locally, and of course 

consuming the wonderful products 

they’ll be used in. 

One of our sister programs at 

GrowNYC that I am so proud to be 

associated with is Grow to Learn NYC: 

The Citywide School Garden Initiative, 

which launched In January 2011 in 

partnership with the Mayor’s Fund. Grow 

With regard to Greenmarket, 

I see a very promising future as the 

public becomes more aware of the 

relationship between food and health and 

community. It’s incredible to think how 

far sustainable agriculture has come in 

the past ten years alone. That said, there 

are some areas that I do think we need to 

address to ensure that regional growers 

have every opportunity to be successful. 

Greenmarket needs to work with other 

market operators to ensure that we do 

not over saturate the marketplace and 

that farmers’ trips into the city are for 

their maximum benefit. Moreover, I do 

worry that misguided regulations will 

layer farmers with unnecessary burdens 

in an economic climate that is already 

extremely challenging. Labor is also 

an on-going challenge for farmers— 

securing a solid work force continues to 

get harder for the growers 

within our community. Until we as a 

nation address our immigration policies, 

establish an effective guest-worker 

program and be honest with ourselves 

about who our skilled labor-poll includes, 

I don’t see this improving for New York 

State farmers. The final two areas that 

pose great challenges for Greenmarket 

are the cost of land within close 

proximity to New York City and the 

aging of our farmer community. We need 

to do everything we can to help farms 

pass from one generation to the next, and 

ensure that those that want to farm have 

the opportunity to enter the field. 

Where do you see 

Greenmarkets going in the 

future, and how will they 

continue to thrive in an urban 

environment? 

Every year we receive requests 

from both farmers and communities 

seeking new markets in the City. We 

will continue to answer their call by 

continuing to expand into new locations 

and by strengthening our existing 

markets. This past week we launched 

our first evening market, which was 

an instant success, with thousands 

of shoppers visiting the market over 

the course of five hours. We’ll develop 

more innovative approaches to markets 

that expand income-generating 

opportunities for growers and provide 

communities with increased access 

to their products and opportunities to 

have some fun with their families and 

neighbors. 

Why does GrowNYC partner 

with New York Farm Bureau? 

New York State is an agricultural leader 

in the nation, contributing billions 

of dollars to the economy. GrowNYC 

and New York City as a whole share 

strategic interests with New York Farm 

Bureau, ensuring that our region’s 

farms remain viable on all levels and 

believe that our fates, whether large 

farms or small, are deeply connected. I 

think that the New York Farm Bureau 

can be a crucial ally advocating for the 

types of sensible policies that address 

the challenges I see our farming 

community facing over the next several 

years.


Give Thanks for NY Farmers 

As a sponsor of Nationwide Mutual 

Insurance Company, New York Farm 

Bureau Services Company continues 

to endorse its policies and services, and 

recommend that members work with Nationwide 

agents to serve their insurance 

needs. 

In turn, members play a role in shaping 

the coverages that Nationwide provides. 

For more than 60 years, Farm Bureau 

leaders from 

around the country 

have voiced their 

suggestions and 

questions directly 

to company leaders 

at Nationwide’s 

policyholder conferences. 

Policyholder suggestions at previous 

meetings helped spur Nationwide policy 

innovations such as coverages for pollution 

liability, agritourism activities, 

Apples pies are set to cool at Black Horse Farms Market in Athens, NY. Pies are baked 

inside a paper bag to give them a sweet sugar cookie crust. 

fixed equipment breakdown, and defense 

against unwarranted animal cruelty 

lawsuits. Other changes resulting from 

customer input have included display of 

Farm Bureau member status on Nationwide 

auto policies and proof-of-insurance 

cards, NYFB member discounts on a 

broad range of Nationwide policies, and 

the auto accident forgiveness option. 

Two NYFB leaders took part in Nationwide’s 

2012 National 

Policyholder 

Conference, August 

27-28 in Des Moines, 

IA. They joined 

Continued from Page 1 

holiday celebrations. People come back 

with stories or send us emails after 

Thanksgivings. People telling us how 

much they enjoyed it and it was the best 

turkey their relatives have ever had and 

how they had never been able to impress 

their mother-in- laws until now. 

So, it is pretty cool,” said Carpenter. 

Another local farm helping bring 

delicious treats to your holiday table 

is Black Horse Farms. Black Horse is 

a family-run farm market that farms 

nearly 1000 acres from Greene County 

up to Saratoga County. Their own fields 

are the major contributor of seasonal 

produce to the farm market. They 

carry flowers, gourmet foods, baked 

items, gifts and the famous fresh produce 

department carrying organics and 

regular produce. You can also purchase 

honey, maple syrup and many other 

gourmet products from other New York 

enterprises. But their pies are what 

draw in the crowds around this time. 

“We see a big jump in business for 

Thanksgiving when it comes to our 

pies,” said owner, Chellie Zimmerman 

Apa. “Especially our homemade pumpkin 

pies. We have a lot of variations on 

that…including ones with gingersnap 

crusts and even sweet potatoes. 

Pumpkins, apples and hard squashes 

are also very popular around this time, 

of course. The farm will have pie pumpkins 

available right up to Thanksgiving, 

despite a tough growing season this 

summer. 

If you are looking for something a 

little different, Black Horse also makes 

savor y pies, including tomato pie, artichoke 

spinach, potato leek and a new 

one they are going to be making is an 

apple cheddar bacon pie made with 5 

year old cheddar. Jared Asgewan of 

Black Horse suggests using them as appetizers 

or side dishes. 

“Honestly, you could even make a 

meal of them,” he said. 

You can also get a variety of their 

homemade soups, cookies, breads and 

sandwiches that are all homemade right 

in their store. But if you want some of 

them for your own dinner, they suggest 

that you call ahead and place your orders. 

“We have a large walk-in crowd,” 

laughed Zimmerman-Apa. “But often 

times, people arrive only to find we have 

already sold out of what they were looking 

for!” 

But their favorite part of the holiday 

is knowing that they are going to be a 

part of so many different holiday dinners 

for so many different families. 

“It is very gratifying to know that 

we are providing them with the food to 

feed their families at this season,” she 

said. 

At Nationwide’s National Policyholder Conference, from left: Nationwide Board Member Terry McClure, Tioga County President 

Kevin Frisbie, NYFB Executive Director Jeff Kirby and Nationwide Board Member Tim Corcoran. 

NYFB Leaders Share Ideas with Nationwide 

participants from 

eight other Farm 

Bureaus in addressing agricultural and 

insurance issues to keep Nationwide in 

tune with members’ needs and expectations. 

Former leaders of the Ohio Farm Bureau 

and current Nationwide directors 

Tim Corcoran and Terry McClure heard 

first-hand the interests of customers and 

Farm Bureau members. Gary Douglas, 

president of Nationwide Agribusiness, 

and several members of Nationwide’s 

management team also listened to member 

comments. 

Topics discussed included policy questions 

and coverage needs and included 

risk management, pollution claims, safety 

training, agritourism, legal coverage, 

commercial trucking, interstate trucking, 

pet insurance, liability with uninvited 

visitors, and other risks that farmers 

face. Exchanges such as these also take 

place at a similar conference conducted 

by Nationwide each year specifically for 

New York Farm Bureau members, and 

for members of eight other Farm Bureaus 

that sponsor the company. 

Equine 

Industry is 

Vital to the 

States 

Economy 

A thriving equine industry is vital 

to the health of the New York State 

economy, according to the results of 

a study released a study released last 

month. The New York State Equine 

Industry Economic Impact Study determined 

that the equine industry has a 

$4.2 billion effect on the state’s economy 

and generates 33,000 full-time jobs. 

Equine commerce also results in $187 

million in state and local taxes for New 

York. The thousands of horse farms, 

training centers and riding stables doing 

business across the state preserve 

1.3 million acres of open space. There 

are 157,500 horses in New York. 

“When you look at the numbers, it’s 

eye-opening,” said Rick Violette Jr., 

president of the New York Thoroughbred 

Horsemen’s Association. “The 

Study shows, in black and white, that 

every horse in New York is a potent job 

creator. The horse should be our state 

animal. But it comes as no surprise 

that the equine industry creates tens 

of thousands of jobs. There is so much 

that goes into the raising and training 

of a horse. It is a very labor-intensive 

business.” 

New York’s racing industry engenders 

a particularly strong work force. 

The Study demonstrates that there 

are 80 jobs for every 100 racehorses in 

New York. In addition, each individual 

racehorse has an economic impact of 

$92,100 on the state’s bottom line. The 

racehorse population is 23,100. 

The equine industry contributes 

to the local economies of every one of 

New York’s 62 counties. In addition to 

the 2,300 breeding, training and racing 

facilities across the state devoted 

to Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, 

there are 23,000 family-owned farms 

and stables, as well as commercial enterprises 

that include show horse operations, 

boarding and riding stables, 

and breeding farms for recreational 

and show horses. Every member of the 

equine industry in turn supports state 

and local businesses. 

NYFB Prepares 

for State 

Annual 

Meeting 

Continued from Page 1 

to make reservations by November 9. 

Reservation information is available 

on our website, www.nyfb.org, can be 

requested by emailing Pamela Rafferty 

at prafferty@nyfb.org, or by calling the 

state office calling the state office at 518- 

436-8495. 

Visit the 

New York Farm 

Bureau 

any time at 

www.nyfb.org 

for the latest news 

and events


NYSERDA Can Buy-Down the Cost of a Wind Turbine 

There is nothing more natural or 

nostalgic than a wind turbine on a 

farm. Generating one’s own electricity 

fits perfectly with the independent 

thinking of farmers. Last year, the 

New York State Energy Research and 

Development Authority (NYSERDA) 

helped 32 farms in New York State 

make that dream a reality. For eligible 

participants, NYSERDA can provide 

an incentive (i.e. a grant or rebate) for 

up to 50% of the cost of the system. 

NYSERDA has provided funding for 

turbines from 2.1 kW to 850 kW in size. 

Farms bring three critical elements 

to a successful wind project: 

land, wind, and an appreciation of the 

value in a long-term investment. The 

project’s return on investment will depend 

on many factors including: their 

available wind resource, their cost of 

electricity, and their ability to take advantage 

of the federal Investment Tax 

Credit and accelerated depreciation. 

What always occurs is an immediate 

and sizeable reduction in the electric 

bills and a proud feeling of owning 

a wind turbine and generating one’s 

own electricity. 

Wind is very site specific and a 

wind site assessment should be conducted 

to determine the available 

wind resource. This resource is described 

as the annual average wind 

speed. Speeds of at least 10 mph are 

usually considered necessary for a 

reasonable investment. Wind speeds 

increase with the height above the 

ground and an increase from 8 to 10 

mph will double the amount of electricity 

generated. 

There are three concepts that 

should be considered to size a wind 

turbine to meet one’s needs. 1) All 

farms are eligible for net metering. If 

the wind turbine generates more electricity 

than the site is using, the electric 

utility meter will spin backwards. 

(Some have been known to watch for 

this event and cheer when it happens.) 

At the end of the month if the meter 

spun backwards more than it spun 

forwards, the electric company will 

issue a credit for the excess electricity. 

This credit can be carried forward 

and applied to the electric bill on a 

non-windy month. 2) Some farms are 

also eligible for remote net metering, 

where this credit can be applied to 

other electric accounts. This may be 

useful when a farm has multiple electric 

meters on site. 3) The wind turbine 

should not be too big. A properlysized 

turbine should only generate the 

electricity that is needed on an annual 

basis. It is not cost-effective to oversize 

a turbine. 

Wind turbines are farm equipment. 

The New York State Department of 

Agricultural and Markets has defined 

a wind turbine as farm equipment. 

Under the Right-to-Farm Laws, a farm 

in a Certified Ag District cannot be 

prohibited from installing a wind turbine 

by the local jurisdiction. In addition, 

there can be no restrictions on 

the height of the tower; however, setback 

limits may be imposed. 

For more information on the program 

contact the NYSERDA Project 

Manager, Mark Mayhew, at 866-NY- 

SERDA or 518-862-1090, extension 3119 

or by e-mail at msm@nyserda.ny.gov 

or visit www.nyserda.ny.gov. 

Venison Donation Coalition to Curb Hunger 

By Kathy Balbierer 

Venison Donation Coalition 

What a wonderful time of year! Fall 

foliage is at its finest, bright reds, yellows 

and oranges cover the trees. The 

air is crisp and clear. Final harvests 

are taking place and abundance is all 

around. Snow will soon cover the earth 

and the landscape will be a beautiful 

white canvas. For some, it is the best of 

times. 

Hunters are excited because deer 

season has opened. Hunting camps will 

be in full swing, campfires lit and camaraderie 

among the group will be at its 

height. Many will be fortunate enough 

to bag a deer or two and have their 

freezers full for a year. 

Unfortunately, it is the start of a very 

difficult time of year for those less fortunate. 

Nights are getting colder, snow 

will be falling soon. For many New 

Yorkers that have no housing, it means 

that they are not only hungry, but they 

may be sleeping on the streets. 

Did you know that a donation of 

$1.00 to the Venison Donation Coalition 

will feed a warm meal to a family of 

four? Or you can donate an entire deer 

to the cause and provide an average of 

160 warm meals. 

The Venison Donation Legislation 

was enacted in 1993 authorizing the 

donation of big game to charitable organizations. 

Sportsmen’s groups were 

largely responsible for these programs 

in the early years. The Venison Donation 

Coalition got its start in 1999 when 

Chemung and Steuben County sportsmen’s 

federations backed up the effort 

with funds to pay 2 processors and distributed 

1000 lbs. of highly nutritious 

ground venison. 

The program’s growth since then has 

been exciting. The Venison Donation 

Coalition consists of representatives 

from sportsmen’s clubs, non-profit organizations, 

regional food banks, local 

food pantries as well as local, state and 

federal agencies including the Farm 

Bureau whose objective is to secure 

funding for the processing and distribution 

of venison to families in need. With 

the help of its partners, the Venison Donation 

Coalition secured funds to pay 

the meat processors for their services. 

Since 1999, the Venison Donation 

Coalition has been highly successful 

in its goal to feed the hungry throughout 

New York State. Today they have 

100 processors in 50 counties throughout 

New York State. The nine regional 

food banks support the entire state with 

the distribution of the meat to those in 

need. Through the generous donation 

of deer from the hunters and farmers, 

the Coalition has processed and average 

of 38 tons of venison each year 

and more than 3.3 million servings of 

highly nutritious meat has been served 

to individuals and children in need. In 

2012 they anticipate breaking 4 million 

meals served to those in need! 

Any hunter or farmer interested 

in donating a deer, please call 866-862- 

DEER or visit the Venison Donation 

Coalition’s website (www.venisondaontion.org) 

to locate a processor near you. 

Please remember, you must call ahead 

before dropping off any deer for donation. 

You can also help by donating $1 or 

more. One dollar will feed four people. 

Financial donations are appreciated 

and tax deductible. For every dollar 

that is donated to the Venison Donation 

Coalition, $.90 is used towards 

processing the venison. With approximately 

500,000 deer hunters in New 

York State, imagine if every one of 

them donates just $1 and/or a deer 

how successful the program would be. 

Venison could be processed and the 

hungry would be able to have meat on 

their tables. 

Financial donations can be made at 

your Town Clerk’s office or anywhere 

hunting and fishing licenses are sold. 

Just inform the D.E.C.A.L.S. licensing 

agent that you wish to make a donation 

to support the Venison Donation 

Program. All donations through 

D.E.C.A.L.S. are deposited directly into 

the Venison Donation Fund. Donations 

can also be accepted through our secure 

website, 

www.venisondonation.org or send a 

check payable to: Venison Donation Coalition, 

Inc., 3 East Pulteney Sq., Bath, 

NY 14810. 

Please help to keep the Venison Donation 

Coalition successful in your neighborhood. 

Donate today! One deer or one 

dollar goes a long way to help curb hunger 

throughout New York State. 

Montgomery County Farm Bureau “Meet the Candidates” 

Montgomery County Farm Bureau hosted a “Meet the Candidates” evening that gave members an opportunity to 

meet the candidates from the local Montgomery election from both the State and Federal level. Candidates were 

asked several farm-related questions ranging from federal spending to farm assistance programs at the state level. 

Members were able to talk with candidates one-on-one after the panel questions were complete. Pictured above 

are Rep. Paul Tonko, moderator Chris Nellis, Montgomery Co. FB President Martin Kelly, Cecilia Tkaczyk, Bob Dieterich, 

Assemblyman George Amedore, and Tom Quackenbush.


What did you say? 

By David Chapel 

david.chapel@bassett.org 

New York Center for Agricultural Medicine 

and Health 

In my one year as a medical student, 

I’ve been taught to value research and 

evidence. In my twenty-two years as 

a farmer, I’ve learned to trust the wisdom 

of first-hand experience. So when 

research and my first-hand experience 

agree, I take a closer look at what they 

have to say. For those of us who have 

spent our lives in the farming community, 

it comes as no surprise that aging 

farmers often become increasingly 

hard of hearing. Years spent driving 

tractor, working in the milking parlor, 

and running the chainsaw eventually 

take their toll. 

Likewise, studies dating back to the 

1930s have compared hearing loss in 

farmers and in non-farmers. Almost 

universally, those studies have found 

that farmers are much more likely to 

suffer from hearing loss, especially after 

many years of exposure to the noise 

of farming. 

Hearing loss, however, actually begins 

when farmers are still in their 

twenties. It makes sense to me; I’m 

constantly exposed to loud noise on the 

farm and never wore hearing protection. 

A study done in Iowa showed that 

three out of four farmers don’t use any 

hearing protection. Probably because, 

for most of us, with so much going on 

every day, it’s an easy thing to let slide. 

Excessive noise has been shown to 

cause fatigue and decreased productivity, 

and with time it can lead to an 

aggravating ringing in the ears. Hearing 

loss means asking others to repeat 

themselves more often, missing entire 

conversations, or missing precious moments 

with family and friends. But beyond 

that, hearing loss can be dangerous. 

As farmers, we rely on our hearing 

to stay safe. 

Think about trying to get someone’s 

attention in an emergency. Back in 

high school, stacking hay on the wagon 

while my grandpa drove tractor, I knew 

I had no hope of getting his attention 

as his hearing was poor. Thankfully, 

we suffered nothing worse than a few 

broken bales, but the reality is that protecting 

our hearing may help us prevent 

injury or even death on the farm. 

Preventing hearing loss requires a 

long-term change in our habits and environment. 

And, of course, any changes 

must be realistic, both financially 

and practically. The simplest step is 

wearing ear plugs, ear bands, or earmuffs. 

These devices are given a noise 

reduction rating (NRR) in decibels to 

indicate their effectiveness. The higher 

the NRR, the greater the noise reduction. 

When purchasing hearing protection, 

check on the package for an NRR 

of 24 decibels or higher. 

Beyond wearing simple ear protection, 

we should also remain aware of 

noise when upgrading or modifying 

equipment or work areas. Replacing 

a missing muffler, investing in soundinsulated 

tractor cabs, and installing 

sound-dampening materials in enclosed 

areas can all drastically reduce 

our daily noise exposure. 

There’s one simple guideline: If you 

have to shout to be heard by someone 

standing nearby, then the noise level is 

high enough to damage your hearing. 

Considering all the ways we count on 

our ears, both on and off the farm, we 

can’t afford to underestimate the importance 

of this issue. Stay safe, protect 

your ears by being smart both in 

your 20’s, 40’s, and beyond. 

2012 Distinguished Service to Agriculture 

Award given 

Bob Laisdell with his son Matt receives the 2012 Award from County President 

Mike Kiechle, County Vice President Roger Eastman and Committee Selection 

Chair Kurt Gehrke. 

Follow the Farm Bureau 

on facebook at 

www.facebook.com/NYFarmBureau 

Or visit the New York Farm Bureau any 

time at www.nyfb.org 

Former NYFB President, Ag Commissioner 

Receives Washington County Farm Bureau 

Award 

District 8 Director, Jay Skellie, presents member Richard Maguire with the Bud 

Grant Award at the Washington County annual meeting. 

Join us online 

Now there are more ways than ever to stay connected to the 

important issues facing New York farmers. 

Visit the New York Farm Bureau any time at 

www.nyfb.org for the latest on news and events, 

legislation and more.


Grassroots Farmers’ Market 

Classified Ads FREE to NYFB members, 

and darn cheap for everybody else! 

Hay 

IDAHO’S FINEST ALFALFA. Larsen Farms 607- 

865-8844. rbishop@larsenfarms.com 

QUALITY HAY for sale. Alfalfa-Grass mix. 45 

pound bales. $2.75 per bale. 315-866-3348 

HAY FOR SALE. 4x5- 1000lb. Round silage 

bales, mixed grass, no chemicals, can load 18- 

wheelers. 1st cut and 2nd cut available. Cash 

upon loading. Schaghticoke, NY 518-796- 

2344 

A.G. EMERICH & SONS. Hay, straw and bagged 

shavings. Serving NY and NE since 1935. Van 

trailer loads dropped or picked up by the bale. 

518-399-1893 or 518-399-7444 

HAY FOR SALE. 1st cutting $5.00 – high 

quality mixed grass – delivery and stacking 

anywhere in the Capital Region. Call Klaus 

Busch 518-928-1593 

HAY FOR SALE. O’Mara Family Farms – 

Premium quality hay. Top quality timothybrome-orchard 

grass mix. Feed hay and mulch 

hay offered year round. Delivery or pickup 

available. Brewster, NY 845-423-3995 

BARLEY STRAW for sale. Small squares. Clean, 

bright and tight. Use as a pond treatment for 

algae, for bedding and feed. Cazenovia, NY. 

315-662-3861 

HAY FOR SALE. Timothy, brome, alfalfa, orchard 

grass mix. Square bales. Some 2011 or first cut 

2012 and on thru season. Call for pricing. 518- 

793-4507. No chemicals. Near Saratoga. 

HAY FOR SALE. Large round bales 4x4. Quality 

mixed grasses/timothy. Stored inside. $35/bale 

Will load. Cash upon loading. Brockport area. 

585-637-9632 evenings. 

HAY FOR SALE. 4x4 dry round bales, grass hay, 

stored inside. 1st cut $30/each. Boonville. 

315-942-4475 

HAY FOR SALE: high quality mixed grass, 

alfalfa, timothy-alfalfa in 40lb bales. Orange 

County NY. Limited local delivery; pickup 

preferred. Jeff Soons 845-374-5471 info@ 

soonsorchards.com. 

HAY FOR SALE. NOFA NY Certified Organic 

Grass Hay. 40lb squares. Timothy, bromegrass 

and reed canary grass mix. Sydney Center, NY. 

Kirk 607-865-6278. Prices based on quantity. 

HAY FOR SALE. 5x5 round bales. Mixed grass/ 

timothy. Made in June, stored inside. We can 

load or deliver. 607-625-3879 

HAY FOR SALE. Excellent quality 1st cutting 

small squares of mixed grass/legumes. Very 

dry hay. $5/bale U-Pick up. Lamora Dairy. 

518-569-1954 

HAY WANTED. 300-400 square bales of 

timothy/grass mix, small amount of alfalfa 

mixed in OK. Delivered is best. Monroe 

County. 585-352-4511 

Tractors, Machinery 

JOHN DEERE 158 Front End Loader with 96” 

bucket and quick attach. $3000. Complete 

John Deere hydraulic front assist axle including 

lines and fittings. $2500. 518-642-1697 

John Deere Tractor 2240, Woods Orchard 

Rotary Mower 0121 (offset), Vicon Spreader 

PS603, Utility trailer 5x8, Honda WP20X water 

pump. New chain saws Echo 12”, Homelite 

14”. 716-523-8972. 

INTERNATIONAL 4500 Series A forklift. 4000lb 

capacity, 60hp, 2wd and an AgTec 5002 pulltype 

PTO driven sprayer. 500 gallon capacity 

with fan. 845-876-5999 

1959 Massey Ferguson 50 series. Completely 

restored to showroom condition. $6500. 

Ralph at 518-755-4134 

IHC 2 row 36” wide corn picker. Reasonable 

offer. Weaverline Feed Cart 224. NI 3722 

Manure Spreader. Western NY. 585-547-8573 

1060 NEWFIELD. 65hp diesel. Excellent 

Condition. New rubber. $4500. 315-831-5132 

or 315-368-8286 

Reach Farm Bureau members throughout the state! 

Sell equipment, real estate or a service, you name it! 

One free ad — up to 30 words — per month for every member, 

as long as we receive your ad by the 15th of the previous month. 

Want an additional up-to-30-word ad? No problem. 

Members pay just $15. Non-members pay $30. 

We gladly accept ads by e-mail at: classifieds@nyfb.org. 

or mail to: Grassroots Classifieds, PO Box 5330, Albany, NY 12205 

or fax to: 518-431-5656 

For more information call: 518-436-8495 


MCCORMICK INT Farmall Type M, NH mower 

attached. Excellent condition. $4000. 518- 

284-2433 

1974 FARMALL 666. Serial # 

450151V0119.52. Good tin work, new clutch 

and T.X. Runs well. $4000. 607-783-2690 

931B Cat Trak Loader. For repair or parts. 845- 

292-7618. 

48” USED Ariens snow thrower, 24” used 

ariens snow thrower, 48” used new Holland 

snow thrower. New walk behind snow 

throwers by Worldlawn (24” & 26”) 607-529- 

3294 

10.00x20 tires, mounted on budd rims. $100 

each. Hydraulic rams and hoses with fittings. 

315-598-2251 

HEAVY DUTY firewood trailer built on two 10’ 

steel I-beams. 10’ long x 4’ wide with 18” 

ground clearance. Draw tongue with drop pin 

hole. 22.5” tires. $1000. Dave. 518-966-8130 

evenings. 

2 HAY WAGONS $1500 each obo; potato 

grater, used. $150; Iron hog kettle $200; 

platform scales $100 obo. 315-673-3485 

DEMCO 500 gallon sprayer w/ 45’ hydraulic 

folding boom, good condition $5000. Case 

IH 1660 both sets of concaves and grates, 

good condition $26000. Chevy 370 diesel, 

single axle dump truck $6500. 315-789- 

0882 

PARTS for H.G. Cletvac. Axels, Drive gears, Farm 

Hand 2 row potato harvester with m table dirt 

remover. Farmall Cub. 315-573-2365 

MOSQUITO MAGNET. Large 20 lb tank. 

Everything intact. Make offer. 518-641-9661 

or 518-374-9107 

FARM HELPERS. 60” snowplow for Yamaha 

Rhino $400. Trailer cart over size 60”x37” Load 

Hog Red Devil $50. 18 gallon metal gas tank 

36x18x7.5 $25. 315-483-4443 

All credit cards accepted. 

Advertisers in this section support the mission 

of the New York Farm Bureau. 

NYFB reserves the right to refuse to accept any classified ad, paid or unpaid, 

at its sole discretion. Payment must accompany order with all paid ads. 

Advertiser of the month: 

ADIRONDAK FOOTHILLS EQUINE 

ADIRONDAK FOOTHILLS EQUINE in Comstock, 

NY offers horse boarding, lessons, indoor arena 

and much more. Brand new 120x280 outdoor 

provides the perfect venue for ranch sorting, team 

penning, barrel racing and gymkhanas. Visit www. 

adkfoothillsequine.com for a listing of events. Call 

518-642-3755 or e-mail adkfoothillsequine@ 

roadrunner.com. 


WINPOWER 12k generator. PTO on trailer. 

Works well, asking $850. Orange County. 845- 

360-5586 leave message. 

2 row powell transplanter, strawberry 

mulcher. 602 Moline tractor, Irrigation pipe 

6”; 3” with risers; 2 pumps. 2 reels (500’ of 

1.5” hose). Ogranin 1100’ of 3” hose. New 

Orimis Pump 850 gallon at 150 lbs; Copper 

150 gallon at 150 lbs. New filter system. Best 

milking machine. 585-526-6606 

3PT HITCH 7’ double auger snowblower, 

Hydraulic chute complete w/cylinder $1850; 

3 pt 4.5’ single auguer snowblower manual 

chute $1150. 315-964-1161 days please. 

HARSH Stationary mixed model 290/232 bu. 

With electronic scales, 4 auger 5.5 bottom, 

10hp motor; Reel Augie portable mixer model 

2300 with hay max kit; Plate cooler 81 plates; 

Free stall loops. 607-857-4610 

OEM Massey, Gleaner, New Idea, White, Agco, 

& Challenger parts. 0% financing on Hesston 

and Massey Ferguson round balers, mowers 

& most hay tools. . www.mabiebros.com or 

315-687-7891 

CALL US for KRONE hay tools and parts. 

Tedders and Rakes in stock. www.mabiebros. 

com or 315-687-7891 

PORTABLE SAWMILL. Timber Harvester Model 

#30HT25 with hydraulic debarker. 27” Tower 

Edger, 14” Double Blade powered by 27hp 

Wisconsin engine. Shed, Board, Rollers, Wagon 

and many extras. Complete package $30,000. 

607-760-1746 

MULLER Bulk tank, 1000 gallon. $5900. 716- 

337-3679 

FREE: 2 concrete silos, 65x20 and 75x25. You take 

down and remove one or both. 518-287-1870 

WANTED: Old Brockway truck for lawn 

ornament or possible restoration. 585-229- 

5992 

Vehicles and Vehicle Parts 

1 TON LIVESTOCK Truck. Older GMC. Good 

condition, good box. Rubber 90%, 4 speed. 

Call for details. 607-546-4055 

1995 INT. Box truck with lift. 160k miles; 7.6 

liter diesel. Recent overhaul and in perfect 

running condition. $11,000 obo. Just too large 

for us. 607-742-6377 

1989 ¾ ton Chevy pickup with cap $2000; 

1992 F350 1 ton Ford pickup with dual wheels 

$2500. Very good bodies and running condition 

– low mileage. Open to offers. 585-547-9269 

1986 GMC High Sierra 2500, 4wd. ¾ ton. Call 

for info. 315-691-4878 

1993 FLAIR 25FT MOTORHOME 93k miles. 10.4 

mpg (9.65 towing station wagon). Chevy 454, 

P30 chassis, Onan generator, LP HW & furnace, 

3-way refrigerator, roof air, one owner now 85. 

Must sell. $7500 obo. NY. 518-692-2035 

2007 Breckenridge Park style mobile home. 

12x40, furnished, gas heat, central air, all 

appliances, great for guest cottage, excellent 

condition. Long Island. $39,000. 631-722-3414 

WEST HERR Chevrolet of Hamburg – WNY’s 

largest selection of pickup trucks new and 

used. Additional $500 rebate on new 

Chevrolets for NYFB members. Chris Haug 

716-228-9099 chaug@westherr.com. 

Equine 

EQUINE DENTAL SERVICES accepting new 

clients in all of New York State 315-829-3135. 

WESTERN CHAPTER NYS Horse Council. 

Serving the equine community in WNY. www. 

wcnyshc.org. 716-941-9120. 

WILDWOOD FARM – standing imported 

Lusitano Stallion – Voluntario Interagro. Quality 

Iberian warmblood young stock available. 607- 

693-5091. 

FOUNDATION QUARTER HORSES. 

Temperament and Conformation. At stud 

“How Blue Are You.” Sale horses, suitable 

for ranch disciplines, hunter, trail and more. 

Raycliff Farm. 315-823-4321 visit www. 

rhultenquarterhorses.com. 

LAND’S END WHIPPORWILL. Reg. Section B 

Liver chestnut Welsh pony stallion! By #1 

ranked Hunter Pony Stallion Caroline’s Red Fox! 

$500 private treaty. Foxtale Farm. foxtalefrm@ 

aol.com or 607-215-5594 

JP RHOADES FARM. Reg. Morgan horses. 

All ages. Trained and young stock. Bred for 

soundness, athleticism, sensibility. Pine City, 

NY 607-732-8485 Prhoades@stny.rr.com. 

MORGAN HORSES- We offer the finest in 

trained mares, geldings and outstanding young 

stock. Terrific quality, sane, and sound. Hartland 

Morgans, www.hartlandmorgans.com Windsor, 

NY, 607-655-2604. 

HORSES TRAINED – Youngsters started/ 

problem horses. Registered Morgans for 

sale – sweet tempered and beautiful. www. 

blackwillowmorgans.com. 

FINGER LAKES THOROUGHBRED Adoption 

Program has new horses available for show 

and pleasure. These horses are looking for a 

great home. For information and pictures visit 

www.fingerlakestap.org. 585-905-7457 

STALLS AVAILABLE FOR LEASE. State of the art 

72x180 indoor arena, bull pen, round pen, 1/8 

mile track, outdoor arena, turnout, miles of trail 

riding. Karen 607-222-4447 Binghamton area. 

C.B. WALKER STABLES. Brewster NY. Horses 

boarded, leased, bought and sold. Lessons in 

all disciplines. Training in dressage, jumping 

and eventing. 845-278-1731 or info@ 

cbwalkerstables.com. 

CHESTNUT RIDGE Stable in Cambridge, NY. 

Boarding, Lessons and Training. Indoor and 

Outdoor Riding Arenas, Cross Country Course 

and Trails. Indoor and Outdoor Board. 518- 

677-3545.



Equine 

DUTCH MANOR STABLE – Since 1967. Where 

quality board, training & instruction are a 

Capital District tradition. Large heated indoor 

and outdoor riding arenas. USHJA certified 

instruction. 518-456-5010 www.dmstable. 

com 

DIAMOND DERBY Ranch. Horse boarding, daily 

turnout, trails and lessons. Western, English. 

845-638-0271 

AFTER HOURS FARM, Clifton Park NY. 

Specializing in “TLC” horse boarding, superior 

English riding lessons and training. Indoor 

and outdoor rings. Horse shows, clinics and 

summer camp. (518)384-6441. 

ADIRONDAK FOOTHILLS EQUINE in Comstock, 

NY offers horse boarding, lessons, indoor 

arena and much more. Brand new 120x280 

outdoor provides the perfect venue for ranch 

sorting, team penning, barrel racing and 

gymkhanas. Visit www.adkfoothillsequine. 

com for a listing of events. Call 518- 

642-3755 or e-mail adkfoothillsequine@ 

roadrunner.com. 

RENEGADE FARM in Schenectady NY. 

Reasonable rates with experienced quality 

service since 1996. Boarding, training, English 

& western lessons by Lynn Bakos. ARIA certified 

instructor. Monthly Adult Horsemanship course, 

summer camp. Indoor & outdoor rings, trails, 

over 40 acres of pastures. 518-864-5518 or 

lgbrenegade@yahoo.com. 

IVES FARM – Brewster/North Salem NY. Family 

owned horse boarding farm. Exceptional, 

personal care for horse and rider. Unique 

welcoming peaceful atmosphere in countryside 

setting. Roomy matted stalls with window. 

Grass turnout with sheds. Large outdoor arena, 

round pen, cross country field, miles of NSBTA 

trails. Stalls or rough board. 845-489-4940 

Lisa 

ITASKA SHOW Stables, Whitney Point, NY. 

Specializing in Hunters, Jumpers, Eventing. 

Boarding/training (stalls currently available), 

Lessons and Showing. Home of Binghamton 

University Equestrian Team! 607-760-5735 

HORSE BOARDING- Sullivan County. New barn. 

Lots of turnout with run-ins. Endless trails, 

tireless care. www.HighRoadHorseFarm.com or 

845-482-4706 

HORSE BOARDING - Private family horse farm, 

Abundant secure pastures. Unending quiet 

woodland trails. Very large indoor arena. Large 

box stalls. Individual care. Resident veterinarian. 

Otego, NY 607-988-7779 

HORSE BOARDING – includes personal care, 

bi-monthly worming, use of outdoor arena 

and access to gravel road and trails. Separate 

paddock and roomy stall. $200/315-314-1932 

labowgirl@yahoo.com. References available. 

QUALITY STABLES. Quality care for boarding 

and training horses. Large lesson program for 

all ages. Visitors welcome. Oneonta, NY 607- 

432-8977. www.qualitystables.com. 

BOARDING,TRAINING & SALES: Pasture 

and rough board. Natural training methods 

in dressage, trail riding and western 

horsemanship. Lusitano crosses and quarter 

horses for sale. Clinton Corners, NY 845-594- 

9915 

HORSES BOARDED. Southern Dutchess 

Equestrian Center has 3 stalls available as 

we’re nearing winter. Our rates are very 

reasonable and our care is top notch!. Check 

us out at www.southerndutchess.com. 845- 

226-1256 

BAR JMC RANCH offers full boarding, 

training programs, and lessons –english and 

western. Family run facility in Greene County. 

Reasonable rates with quality service. 845-820- 

4072 

CORNERSTONE TRAINING STABLES. Training, 

lessons and sales. Check us out. Training, 

Lessons and sales. 607-359-2390 or www. 

cornerstonetrainingstables.com . Addison, NY. 

FOUNDATION TRAINING & Solutions for 

Problem Horses. 32 acres of heaven just 

outside of Saratoga. Natural Horsemanship 

Approach (PNH). Learn with your horse! Call 

Sue Knight at Round Table Training. 518-885- 

0402 

Equine 

of the earth are the most 

valuable citizens. They are the most 

‘Cultivators 

vigorous, the 

most independent, the most 

virtuous, and they are tied to 

their country and wedded to 

its liberty and interests by the 

most lasting bands.” 

Thomas Jefferson 

SUGAR HILL FARM of Victor, NY offers riding 

lessons for all levels. A safe environment builds 

confidence and teaches compassion while 

working with horses. 585-924-8240 or www. 

Sugarhillarabians.com. 

PLEASANT HILL STABLES. Trail riding, Western/ 

English tack & Apparel shop, Boarding, Lessons, 

Indoor arena. Horse & Carriage for Weddings, 

Team & Wagon for Parties, Birthday parties, Gift 

Certificates. www.pleasanthillstable.com or 

607-648-4979 

HORSES – Sales, training, lessons, breeding, 

boarding. Morgans, Paints and Quarter Horses. 

www.northstarfarm.com or 716-532-3390 

BOARDING, TRAINING (foals to seniors), 

Lessons, and Sales. Natural Horsemanship. 

WWW.hoofstepstrainingLLC.com (845) 820- 

0339 “Hoof Steps Training LLC, Doing things 

right one step at a time”. 

RETIRED HORSE BOARDING. Custom diets, 

12x12 stalls with windows, turnouts – 

individual/group, indoor arena. Specializing in 

nutritional problems. Equine nutritionist-owner/ 

manager. Afton, NY. www.equine-retirement. 

com 607-639-2409 

HORSE BOARDING & Riding Lessons. 

Brunswick NY. Oversized indoor arena, heated 

stables with all amenities. Board $525. Lessons 

for beginners-intermediate on seasoned horses 

$35. PlacidHillsStables.com 518-279-9717 

HORSE BOARDING at Stillwater Island 

Farm. 20 min from Saratoga or Clifton Park. 

Spectacular views from the 50 acre private 

island. We have room for 2 boarders. Indoor 

arena, large box stalls, turnout in grass 

pastures with run-in sheds. Individual care. 

Maintained trails. Resident Veterinarian. 

Foundation Training available with natural 

horsemanship methods (PHN). $650 518-281- 

6383 

HORSE BOARD. Full care. Beautiful property 

and barn in Fredonia. Indoor arena. Trainer on 

site. Heather at 716-785-2535 

HORSE BOARDING at Mid Meadows Farm. 

Small, private, adult barn in Mayville/ 

DeWittville area. Max of 10 horses. 60x120 

indoor/outdoor, round pen, 100 acres. 

12x12 matted stalls, heated tackroom, 

feedroom and bathroom with laundry 

facility. Run-in sheds in pastures. Bring own 

vet,farrier,trainers if desired. Visit Facebook 

page – Mid Meadow Farm or call Larry at 

716-499-7101 

FOUR SEASONS Therapeutic Riding Center. 

Where people speak through horses. 

Therapeutic riding instruction, EAAT and 

Hippotherapy for people of all abilities. NARHA 

member center. 845-434-5912 

REG. TENNESSEE WALKING Horses. Bred for 

trail riding. All have been used in my trail 

riding business and all do the original running 

walk. Why bounce when you can float in the 

Cadillac glide ride? $2800 to $4800. Will 

finance at 0% interest with a deposit. Happy 

Trails Walking Horses, LLC. 607-330-1198 or 

come trail riding with us by the Fingerlakes 

National Forest. 

Equine 

REGISTERED Thoroughbred mare. 16.1, 8 

yrs old, bay. Hunter/Jumper type mare. Broke. 

Sound, pretty and UTD on shots. $2200 585- 

300-7898 

LUKENS HORSE Transportation. Providing 

the best care for your horse for over 25 years. 

Weekly trips from the Northeast to Kentucky. 

Give us a call! 1-800-621-1225 or www. 

horsetransport.com. 

CARRIAGE DRIVING and Beginner Riding 

lessons, Pony Parties. Shadow Brook Farm, 

Middletown, NY Call Betty 845-692-5046. 

X-Ray machine 1972 Hitachi Picker. Good 

condition $1500 obo. 585-975-9176 

1990 Circle J 2-Horse trailer, straight load 

w/ramp, storm doors, 2 escape doors, tack 

compartment. 4 new tires. Very good condition. 

607-225-4909 

TWO HORSE Kingston trailer with ramp. Very 

good condition, white. $3500. Clifton Park. 

518-371-5739 

CROSBY Prix des Nations English Close Contact 

saddle, 16.5 inches, Havana brown, has holes 

for name plate and used stirrup leather/irons. 

$300. 518-791-2533 

15” USED Western saddle, all leather with nice 

tooling and fleece. Very good shape. $100 

315-245-0687 before 8pm please. 

LARGE Horse size Med weight harness, 

Cutter, cob size meadowbrook. Reasonably 

priced. 607-382-7472 or strawberryfields13@ 

frontiernet.net 

CON-TACK CONSIGNS and sells any horse 

related items including tack, riding apparel, 

antiques, etc.845-757-4442 or visit www. 

con-tack.com. 

STOP ARENA DUST Now you can have a 

dust free indoor! MAG Flakes eliminates 

watering, saves money. Proven and safe. www. 

StopArenaDust.com Emerson Supply 716- 

434-5371 

PREMIUM QUALITY THRIVE horse feed; 

complete feed, highest quality ingredients. 

Great for all ages/breeds of horses. Aids with 

normalizing weight, build healthy hooves, 

improves coat, aids with establishing a calm 

temperament. Feed as nature intended. See 

website: prayroadstables.com or call 315-393- 

3433 

TRAIL RIDES: Join us for a fun ride on our trails 

and fields. 585-638-5042. 

SHOW HORSE Appraiser. Maple Row Farm. 

716-435-0114 (cell) or 716-741-6900 

ASEA certified appraiser available to 

appraise your horse for insurance, litigation, 

sale or whatever your needs. Written 

appraisal complete with photos done in 

most cases. Lynn Gorman-Bakos 518-269- 

0480 or lynn@renegadefarm.com or www. 

horseappraisalsbylynn.com. 

EQUINE CONNECTIONS © MASSAGE 

THERAPY. Enhance Performance. Safeguard 

against injury. Give your horses the best 

possible care. CJ Mathewson. Certified 

Equissage © Therapist. Info@ www.equitouch. 

webs.com 518-848-4599 

Equine 

COGGINS TESTING – AGID and ELISA. 

Chemistry, Hematology, Urinalysis, Fecal and 

Serology too. Have your veterinarian contact us 

at Mohawk Valley Vet Labs (MVVL) located in 

Westmoreland, NY 1-877-853-4930 

A HORSE DRAWN AFFAIR/BROE FARM home 

of Rosevale Leggo. 16.2 black morgan stallion 

standing at stud. Boarding ,lessons, training, 

dressage, driving ,hunters, Sales 518-329-5249 

Livestock 

100% PUREBRED WAGYU BREEDING BULL 

available for sale or lease. Semen available, 

will deliver. Forever Hopeful Farm. 518-369- 

6874 

REGISTERED POLLED Hereford Heifer and Bull 

calves; high weaning weights, good bloodlines. 

Berne, NY 518-872-0256 

HOLSTEIN STEER 1200lbs, butcher ready $1100 

or $1.90 hanging weight. 4 holstein/jersey 

steers, 600lbs, $500 finish off this summer! 

All fed certified organic feed, pasture raised. 

585-554-4468 

DEXTER BREEDING STOCK: A traditional herd 

offering a young service age bull, 2012 calves, 

and hot ox prospects. Call for details. 518-993- 

2823, rolinsmith@yahoo.com. 

3 COMMERCIAL 4 year old cows, red angus, 

Simmental and Hereford. Used as recipients. 

Confirmed safe in calf for spring calving, 

available October. $1500 each obo. www. 

jkwpolledherefords.com or 518-469-3777 

TROWBRIDGE Customer Preconditioned Feeder 

Calf Sale. Saturday 12/1/12 at 10am. Finger 

Lakes Livestock Exchange in Canandaigua, 

NY. SELLING: Contact us, BUYING, show up or 

contact us at phil@TrowBridgeFarms.com or 

518-369-6584 

2010 Pure Angus Lowline bull. Has exceeded 

our expectations for performance and ease of 

management. 2012 babies on the farm. Used 

in rotational grazing with single wire electric. 

$2000. Campbell, NY. 607-527-8385 or 

budgerny@aol.com. 

LAKE EFFECT HOOF TRIMMING. Serving all 

New York State. 12 yrs experience, modern, 

safe equipment, insured. Contact our team 

John & Nicholas Anderson 315-408-6030 or 

mscoolcows@aol.com. 

DAIRY GOATS – ADGA registered Oberhasli 

National Top Ten DHIR milkers, yearlings, bucks, 

goat milk soap. Delicious milk, high butterfat. 

Darien 585-547-9906. www.harperhillfarm. 

com. 

REGISTERED NIGERIAN Dwarf Goat Does and 

Buckling. Nice markings. Easy to handle. 

Excellent milkers. Milk is very good for you and 

makes great cheese. Great for a small family 

or 4H project. 518-854-9702 or Alanna@ 

starlitridge.com. 

REGISTERED NIGERIAN Dwarf dairy goats – 

small and easy to handle. breeding stock, ideal 

for personal milk supply, 4-H projects, Can pull 

carts of be a pack animal. Does and bucks 

available. Shots-wormed- Downsizing herd. 

Binghamton area, call evenings 607-693-2682 

ANGORA GOATS. Reg. breeding stock from 

super fine Texas bloodlines. Breeding age 

bucks, does and starter flocks available, also 

raw or washed mohair fleece. Some pet quality 

stock also available. 518-537-4487 

ADGA registered Alpine Doe and her 4 month 

old doe kid. Gentle, perfect for showing, 4-H, 

breeding and for milking. Saratoga County. 

stepjust@nycap.rr.com. 

ROLL-n-HILLS Purebred Kiko Bucks. 

Healthy and hardy quality breeding stock, 

various colors. 18-24 months old. Visit 

RollnHillsRanch.com or call 607-760-5660. 

Prices between $500-$700. 

AKBASH Livestock Guardian dogs. Taking 

reservations for puppies in late spring. 

Experienced dogs also available, guarding 

sheep, alpacas and goats. We sleep at night, 

because they don’t! Springside Farm. 315-683- 

5860 

SHETLAND SHEEP BREEDING stock for sale. 

For information or photos, 716-244-0290 or 

wildgeesefarm@gmail.com.



Livestock 

Forestry/Forest Products 

Farm Market 

Specialty Products 

GERMAN SHEPHERDS: 6 gorgeous AKC 

males ready 11-7-12. Dam imported 

daughter of #1 sire in world. Health/hip 

guarantee. Bred for correct conformation, 

exceptional look and temperament. 585- 

589-9188 8am-8pm 

MINIATURE Donkeys, Nigerian dwarf goats, 

Muscovy Ducks, Serama Bantams. Friendly, 

healthy babies, adults available this spring. 

Questions welcome! 607-843-5584 

thornghyll@frontiernet.net or visit http:// 

braethorn.tripod.com. 

GOATS, DONKEYS, TURKEYS, spring chick, fresh 

eggs, live and dressed. NPIP certified 518-733- 

9332. 

STARTED Cornish X broilers, Guineas, Turkeys all 

year long. Pigs and piglets as well. Schoharie, 

NY 518-295-7662 

BANTAM Chickens. Old English Game. Red 

Pyle color, 4mo. And ready to go. Roosters and 

Hens. $10 each. Corfu, NY 585-599-3764 

LEARN about custom fiber processing. 

Packages offer hands-on introduction to 

making yarn, roving and felt from raw 

fleece. Fiber Mill located in WNY. Contact 

mahoganyridgefarm@yahoo.com for details. 

CONSIDERING ALPACAS... At Spirit Wind Farm 

and Fiber Studio we take pride in offering 

quality alpacas with competitive prices and 

guarantees. Providing education in alpaca 

husbandry and fiber w/ ongoing support 

before, during and after the sale. Contact us 

w/ questions or to schedule a visit to our farm 

and studio. 315-926-5427 email: kyoung8@ 

rochester.rr.com 

ALPACAS FOR SALE. ALL must go! Pet & 

quality animals, males & females. Shearing 

table, cute and other misc. items. All 

negotiable. Call after 7pm or leave a massage 

607-589-4888 or 607-589-7590 

ALPACAS! High quality reg. alpacas. Sales and 

Breeds. Farm visits always welcome. See the 

alpacas and the farm store with alpaca mill 

spun yarn and roving, homespun yarn from 

our alpacas fiber and many other alpaca items. 

Call today as the summer calendar is filling up. 

607-397-8051. Worcester, NY. 

ALPACA YARN for sale. Stillwater Island 

Alpacas. 128 Canal Road, Schaghticoke, NY 

12154. By appointment. 518-281-6383 

LAMBS - Old English Babydolls. Reg.Flock. 

2011 rams and ewes. 845-469-4462 

PUREBRED Romney sheep. White and natural 

colors. Breeders flock, lambs ready to go. 

Norma Jean. 518-638-8132 

ROMNEY Ewes, six for sale. Both white and 

natural colored. Exposed to ram for lambing 

late February to March. Excellent mothering, 

excellent fleeces. Mary Pratt elihufarm@ 

localnet.com. 518-753-7838 

BABYDOLL LAMBS. 2012 lambs, yearlings, 

rams. Registered NABSSAR, www. 

cabincreekacres.com or 518-587-6008 

ICELANDIC SHEEP: Meat, breeding stock, 

fleece, roving, yarn, felt, pelts. High quality 

products. Shepherd’s Falls Farm. 315- 

683-9408 or visit our website at www. 

shepherdsfallsfarm.com 

WHITE DORPER SHEEP. Shedding, no shearing 

needed pasture-raised, hoof rot free. WANTED: 

meat goats for grazing. Hoof rot free a must. 

Ulf Kintzel, White Clover Sheep Farm. . www. 

whitecloversheepfarm.com or Email ulf@ 

whitecloversheepfarm.com. Phone 585-554- 

3313 

Forestry/Forest Products 

SUSAN KEISTER Consulting Forester. 

Specialties: grade harvests (maple, oak, cherry), 

low grade harvests (beech, aspen, pine, etc.), 

valuations/appraisals (ROW, utility easements, 

estates, trespass), Management Plans and real 

property tax savings. Approved NRCS Technical 

Service Provider. 585-728-3044 or visit www. 

susanjkeisterllc.com. 

CONSULTING FORESTRY : Timber sales, 480A, 

Gas Line and other appraisals, Firewood/ 

improvement marking, ect. Roy D. Hopke, CF, 

607-648-4573 Info Google “Roy Hopke”. 

NEW LEAF ENVIRONMENTAL LLC. North 

Eastern Wildlife and Forestry Consultants. 

Contact Lance Ebel and Andrew Fuerst at 607- 

229-0272 or visit www.newleafenvironmental. 

com for more information. 

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE. Firewood processors 

and other products to choose from. View videos 

at www.windancerfarm.com. 607-656-4551 

FREE WOODWORKING KNIVES SELF-SET: Joiner 

and planer knives, buy any start-up kit and 

receive a FREE set of HSS replacement blades. 

Retail orders only. www.dispozablade.com or 

call Dispoz-A-Blade 800-557-8092 

SAW MILL on Long Island. Custom Cut lumber 

Boards, Planks, Beams. 631-727-5920 Ed 

Thompson. 

SAWMILL American #2 50” blade. $1000. Also 

52” left handed blade $600. 716-307-3175 

SEEDLINGS – Colorado Blue and White Spruce 

3 yr 8”-16” 20 for $21.95 100 for $79.95. 

Shipping minimum $15, 25% deposit, balance 

due prior to shipment. CNURSERY@Frontiernet. 

net. 585-657-7165 fax 585-657-7167 

APPLE WOOD & FIREWOOD available in 

Columbia & northern Dutchess counties and all 

adjacent areas. Delivery available, call for free 

quote. 845-876-5999 

TIMBER & LOG BUYERS. “The Wagner 

Company” purchase standing timber, hardwood 

logs and timberland throughout New York and 

the Northern Tier of PA. 607-687-5362 or 

www.wagnerlumber.com. 

CUSTOM SAWING of logs, rough-cut hard 

and soft wood lumber available. Mill Blades 

Hammered. Call Ken. 585-547-9269 or 585- 

591-0180 

NOW BUYING TIMBER: any kind. Aspen, poplar, 

cotton wood, willow, soft maple. Pole wood, 

fire wood stock. Standing or harvested. Picked 

up or delivered. Covey Tree Inc. 716-484-6183 

FIREWOOD. Cut, split and delivered for $175/ 

cord (within 30 miles). Serving Upstate NY. Visa 

and Mastercard accepted. Call RM Bacon 518- 

686-5996 or rmbaconllc@yahoo.com. 

LOCUST POSTS, poles, split rails, 4x4’s, 6x6, 

locust lumber. 1x6’s, 2x6’s, 2x4’s etc. Also 

buying standing locust lots, groves and truck 

loads of log length locus. Tom 518-883-8284 

or 518-369-5187 

BARN BOARDS (new): Large inventory of rough 

lumber. Spaulding Sawmill in Orange County. 

845-534-8038 

FIREWOOD. 74 cords. Approx 16” long, 

seasoned, mixed hardwood. $50 per face cord 

picked up. Jackson Lane, Carthage, NY. 315- 

493-6836 

Travel 

COME VISIT OUR FARMS! New York Deer & 

Elk Farmers Association invites you to come 

visit a deer or elk farm near you! There are 

over 540 farms in New York State! Contact 

NYDEFA at 716-685-4019 or NYDEFA@ 

NYDEFA.org to locate a farm near you! 

EASTON VIEW OUTFITTERS are specialists in 

putting together just the kind of outdoor adventure 

you have in mind! From once-in-a-lifetime trophy 

hunt to wilderness photography to using our lodge 

for your gathering or as your source of quality cervid 

stock for a new or existing farm, we promise you 

an unforgettable outdoor wilderness experience. 

Call 518-692-9999 for more information. www. 

EastonViewOutfitters.com. 

LLAMA TREKS. Take a guided nature hike with 

our pack llamas, through forested ravines with 

a stream and waterfalls, while they carry drinks 

and snacks. Spring, summer and fall. www. 

woodmanseellamas.com 315-696-8997 

SEASONAL AGRI-TOURISM business opens 

in Lodi, NY, Seneca County! Amazeing Acres 

features a 7000 sg.ft Hedge Maze, a classical 

stone Labyrinth, Medicine Wheel Garden, pond 

w/paddle boats and walking paths to the 

Finger Lakes National Forest. Rough camping 

and Hostel. Open May1 – Oct 31. Fun outdoor 

field trip for families and classrooms. Available 

for Birthday parties, celebrations and Fundraiser 

Events too. www.amazeingacres.org or 607- 

592-5493 to book a reservation. 

“THE MAPLE LADY” visit her at www. 

MapleLady.com for unique maple products, 

gifts and recipes. 

GIVE THE GIFT OF GOOD TASTE that lasts all 

year long! Jam of the month subscriptions 

from Knapp Farm. Locally grown and 

processed by 8th generation. www.knappfarm. 

net. 607-733-5269 

FRONTENAC POINT VINEYARD – Estate Winery 

is open for the season. We participate in NYFB 

Marketplace giving 10% discount on wine 

purchases at the tasting room. Hours and 

directions: www.frontenacpoint.com. 

Supplies 

DISCOUNT PESTICIDES. We ship daily. info@ 

thompsonag.com 716-934-3808. 

GENERIC PESTICIDES – Springwater Ag 

Products. 8663 Strutt St. Wayland ,NY Open 

7 days a week! Farmer friendly prices. Call for 

early savings and prices. Serving the Finger 

Lakes area since 2003. We sell brand names as 

well. 585-728-2386 

WOODWORKERS: Planer/jointer knives anyone 

can change! Free shipping for NYFB members. 

www.dispozablade.com 800-557-8092. 

VERMONT CASTINGS Encore Noncatalyst 

wood stove, 8” flue collar, 2009 model 

year. Good stove for large home. Includes 

thermostatic blower system, firebox screen 

and 8”doublewall piping sections. $2100 obo. 

607-369-4206 or 516-449-1282 

LISTER LASER Shearing Machine with extra 

combard culler, with plastic carrying case. Never 

used. Paid $320, asking $300. Firm. 716-992-3806 

PRECISION GPS Guidance Equipment. We sell 

units that Guide operators, auto steer tractors, 

map spraying and systems that guide within 

1-2 inches. Outback Guidance center. Geneva, 

NY 14456 315-789-0037 

SULLIVAN COUNTY FARM has compost for 

sale. Buyer responsible for trucking. Dry manure 

available. 845-295-0063. 

TEXAS REFINERY LUBRICANTS Since 1922. 

Top quality oils and greases. TIRESEAL never 

equaled. Leading fuel conditioner for wear and 

deposit reduction in diesel. 716-581-0570 

Made in USA. 

PURCHASE AMSOIL Synthetic lubricants. 

Reduce engine wear, lower your operating cost 

and help Farm Bureau. Visit www.lubedealer. 

com/ve Use dealer number ZO 1664563 

TARPAULINS: 1000 denier heavy duty weave, 

white, silver, green/silver, 26 sizes 8’ x 10’ thru 

50’ x 100’ Rubber/nylon tiedowns. 845-266- 

5537. 

HONEYBEES – Start Beekeeping today, we 

offer Italian, Carniolan and Russian Honeybees 

in Packages, Queens and Nuc Hives. Contact 

Betterbee, Inc at 1-800-632-3379 or online at 

www.betterbee.com and order today. Please 

mention code FARMB2008 

HONEYBEES 3lb package with queen. April 

delivery. Beehives, equipment, clothing and 

supplies. 845-445-2137 or 845-427-2809 

Elwill40@yahoo.com 

HONEYBEE COLONIES wintered over and 

washed empty 55 gallon open head barrels. 

Available after May 1st. 585-964-3121 

WASHED BEDDING SAND, STONE, GRAVEL, 

LIMESTONE CRUSHER-RUN prompt service fully 

insured since 1949. Van trucking 315-263-2647 

EQUIPMENT- Gates, pens, feed panels, corrals, 

feed throughs, all sizes. Finger Lakes. 585- 

394-1515 or 585-315-0498 ask for Ron. 

EQUIPMENT - CATTLE: chutes, headgates, 

sweeps, panels. EQUINE: stalls, saddle racks, 

round pen. Also have kennels. Call Layden’s. 

888-589-7033 

Specialty Products 

FISH HATCHERY at Falconwood Farms. Live 

fish for ponds, restaurants and farm markets. 

Grown in ponds and tanks supplied by water 

from wells and springs of Sherman, CT and 

Wingdale, NY. 845-832-6086 www.fishfarmz. 

com 

SEW WHAT? Fabric Shoppe. Fabrics, classes 

and machine quilting. Addison, NY 607-359- 

4308 

EMU OIL. Helps arthritis, psoriasis, skin 

rashes, poison ivy, etc. Works for any dry skin, 

excellent for wrinkles. At the Windmill on 

Saturdays in Penn Yan. Mail order available. 

Young Hill Ostrich & Emu Farm. 8489 Lattimier 

Hill Road. Arkport, NY 14807 emufarm@ 

linkyny.com. 

VITAZYME BIOSTIMULANT improves fertilizer 

efficiency, boost crop yields and quality. Call 

585-455-0331 or visit www.agbioinc.com 

BURNHAM OIL Fired water boiler. Model PV8- 

WC 4 section Beckett Burner, great condition. 

$600. 518-234-2683 

CATTLE FREE STALL SAND. Inorganic bedding 

sand, delivered by the yard. Provided by 

Ashcroft Construction Company. Greenwich, 

NY. 518-692-2014 

STANDING CORN for sale. Southern Madison 

co. 518- 837-4134 

BULK PINE SHAVINGS Available for Pick-up 

Truck to Tractor Trailer Loads Priced by Cubic 

Yard Mike Smith Logging 877-658-3250 or 

mikesmithlogging@msn.com 

SAWDUST and bark Mulch. Also wood cuts 

offs-ends from sawmill. Ideal for outdoor 

furnaces. Will deliver to Sussex, NJ, Orange- 

Chenango-Sullivan-Delaware, Putnam, Wayne 

Counties. All calls returned. 845-986-2946 

BULK PINE Shavings loaded on your pick-up 

or dump truck. Mike 607-859-2394 or www. 

sawdustguy.com. 

MULCH. All natural barks and colored mulches, 

bulk stone and boulders, Rinox brick and 

block products, Aquascapes, pond supplies. 

GreenScapes Inc. 315-469-0007 or www. 

greenscapesonline.com. 

KILN DRIED SAWDUST and wood shavings, 

green sawdust available. Quality, clean horse 

and dairy bedding. 20 to 120 yard loads 

available. Prompt Service. 315-729-1499 

BAREFOOT WOOD PELLETS. $275/ton. 

Worcester Valley Lumber Rte 7 West, 

Worcester, NY 12197. 607-397-8002 

LAMB for your freezer (legs, chops, burger, 3 

flavors sausage, etc.) Registered Cotswold 

breeding stock, natural colored sheep too. 

Exceptional handspinning fleeces, prepared 

fiber and sheepskins, all from our flock. www. 

nistockfarms.com or 607-522-4374. Located 

in Prattsburgh. 

LEIGHI VALLEY Wreath Company. X-mas 

wreaths. Wholesale. 315-662-3774 

GIANT VARIETY Vegetable Seeds – grow giant 

pumpkins, corn, sunflowers, etc. and make a 

show for your farm market. Start a contest and 

involve the kids! Set world records! www. 

bigseeds.com. 

GARLIC FOR SALE: German White $7/lb, 

Spanish Roja $8/lb. Picked up (shipping extra). 

Please call 518-568-5322 before you come 

over. 

NORTHERN WHITETAIL SCENTS sells premium 

scents direct from our deer to your door! We 

are a family owned and operated white-tailed 

deer farm right here in New York. Our scents 

are collected and bottled fresh daily! 100% 

natural, the way nature intended! We now 

have antlers and mounts for sale. Call 1-800- 

683-3002 or visit www.NorthernWhitetail.com. 

ARMSTRONG’S ELK FARM has ARMSTRONG’S 

VELVET ANTLER CAPSULES for sale. Velvet 

antler provides nutritional support for joint 

structure and function. This natural dietary 

supplement is 100% natural – 100% Whole 

Velvet Antler from Armstrong’s Elk Farm in 

Cornwallville, NY. Call 518-622-8452 or e-mail 

elkfarmerd@aol.com. 

Real Estate 

CLEAN LICENSED & FENCED SALVAGE/REPAIR 

YARD with new house 50% done. Great 

location, next to I-88. Some inventory 100 plus 

engines/transmissions, complete shop – lift – 

tools, waste oil furnace, body crusher – loaders 

– picker. Roll back, back hoe and lots more.



Real Estate 

Real Estate 

Services 

Services 

DANA’s AUTO PARTS. Bainbridge, NY. Visit 

www.danasautoparts.web.com. $275,000. 

$85,000 down, EX Terms. 607-624-8370 or 

352-308-4746 

BEAUTIFUL Barn for lease, in great location! 

21 stalls, 4 corrals, 10k sqft arena, viewing 

room and a quiet neighborhood on a dead end 

street. 80 acres, perfect for riding. $1995 a 

month with a minimum one year lease. This 

price includes all utilities. Shawn 818-384- 

9638 

LEASE a beautiful 4k sqft home in desirable 

city of Hamburg/Erie County. This home has 

4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Indoor Jacuzzi 

and all appliances are included. Located on 

80 acres and a cul-de-sac. Listed at $1950 per 

month. Shawn 818-384-9638 

TURN KEY! Spectacular Equestrian Center/ 

campground.2654SF home on 119+ private 

acres. Roadways, trails, pond, lodge/ 

indoor arena, outdoor sand arena, pastures, 

paddocks and open fields. 2 horse barns! 

Java Center, NY. Brenda George 716-374- 

2482 or Brenda1963@juno.com . info@ 

buncyrealestate.com. 

FOR SALE. LOOKING FOR A PLACE IN 

FLORIDA?? Great condition Mobile Home. 

2 bedroom, 2 bath. In Zephyrills, Florida. 

Established subdivision. You own your 

own property (50’x100’). No fees, rent or 

membership, no restrictions on age, children 

or pets. Fully furnished, nearly new appliances 

and furniture ready for turn key occupancy. 

315-682-8878 

FARM LAND FOR LEASE: Approx 45 acres of 

pasture and crop land located in Hamburg NY. 

Best top soil in the country. Perfect for Corn, 

Soybean, etc. could qualify for organic. Contact 

Shawn @ 818-384-9638. 

FURNISHED ROOM private bath one person 

share home. Quiet countryside, security, 

references, $390.00 monthly 518-854- 

7862. 

FSBO; efficient country home! Ranch on 25 

acres. Solar electric! Off the grid! Independent 

living! You can farm goats, deer. Ideal home 

for larger family. Current price $150,000. 

Harrisville 315-543-2919 

FARM LAND FOR LEASE: Approx 80acres of 

pasture/crop land in Southern Dutchess County. 

Near Taconic and 84. Excellent soils, 3 ponds. 

Could qualify for organic. 845-221-6152 or 

1doconnor@frontiernet.net. 

COUNTRY HAVEN on 32 acres, beautiful 

modern 3 bdrm home, pool, garage, private 

setting 518-922-6301 

186 ACRE FARM – Otsego Co. Edmeston NY. 

Close to Cooperstown. 4 bedroom home, 

barn, machine shed, good pasture, fenced, hay 

fields, woods. Great for horses and livestock. 

Excellent hunting. 607-965-2174 

RANCH HOUSE. 11 acre field backed by woods, 

warren township, Southern Herkimer County., 

Knotty pine open design, 3 BR, 2B,attached 

double garage with heated shop/hobby rooms; 

full dry basement,$195,000 includes mineral 

rights. 732-449-5499. 

SCHOHARIE COUNTY farm for sale. 11 

acres, all open pastures, productive 

hayfields; beautiful 3br 2 ba home 2300 sq 

ft. 34x78 dairy barn with hayloft, 18x18 

shed, in-ground pool. Go to www.owners. 

com and search for gpg1071. Russ. 518- 

461-5535 

65 ACRE farm between Albany/Saratoga/Clifton 

Park. 5 minutes from I87 exit 8A. Excellent for 

horses. Abundant Deer, turkey, geese. Mohawk 

river, 2 golf courses near by. Low taxes. Will 

sell with or without machinery. $400,000. 

518-371-5739 

46 ACRES in Eden NY. vacant land with road 

frontage. 15 acres wooded, tillable land. Many 

amenities. Country living with city connection. 

City water, lake views. Call for appt to see. 

716-207-3022 

10 BEAUTIFUL acres overlooking Seneca Lake, 

Yates County. Very nice 3 bedroom colonial 

home with stone fireplace, nice set of barns. 

40x80 Morton building with shop. 315-536- 

2717. Please leave message. 

Real Estate 

SELLING YOUR FARM? Want to buy a farm? 

We can help. Go to Fingerlakesrealestate. 

com then click on FARMS. We cover all 

of New York State. We have buyers ready 

to buy and they have been Pre-approved. 

Want to buy, we have farms for sale. Call 

Richard Schmidt at 315-729-3672 or email 

richardschmidt@realtor.com total sales 

commission 7.95%. 

679 ACRES including 400 tillable acres, 200 

acres woodland. Milk barn, pipeline system. 

Outbuildings. 2 houses. Great for agribusiness. 

Mineral rights convey. $1,950,000. Near 

Cooperstown. . Call NY Land Quest 877-257- 

0617. www.nylandquest.com 

BUY LAND. 40 years experience in Farm and 

Land sales in Orange County. D.L. Hawkins & 

Assoc. 845-629-6896 

DISNEY AREA ORLANDO MAGIC 

Kissimmee, Florida 4 bdrm, 3 bath fully 

equipped with private heated pool in 

Emerald Island Resort. Free phone and 

internet-free tennis $900 per week. 516- 

333-9596 ztea@aol.com 

Employment 

SHOW HORSE FARM needs experienced help. 

Heated indoor facility. Housing plus salary. Call 

518-756-9755. 

WOULD YOU like to have your own dairy but 

need help starting it? I may be able to help. 

607-776-1711 

FARMER WANTED. Operate your own organic 

vegetable farm. We are looking for a farmer to 

operate their own vegetable business on out 

farm to compliment out fruit farm. Contact 

Tabor at tabor2@nycap.rr.com or 518-893-2547 

FARM MANAGER WANTED. Seeking experienced 

hands-on individual to join our team. Must have 

knowledge of farm products, operations and all 

maintenance aspects including Angus, Sheep/ 

lamb management, sales, hay and other crops. 

Established, fully equipped farms in Dutchess and 

Columbia Counties. Mail resume and requirements 

to Chairman & CEO, 33 So. Service Rd, Jericho, NY 

11753 or by Email at employment886@gmail.com 

or fax 516-333-7555 

Services 

HORSE BLANKETS: Cleaned, waterproofed and 

repaired. Over 30 yrs experience. 845-677- 

6906 Serving Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, 

Columbia Counties and Long Island. 

AUCTIONS. Reynolds Auction Co. can help 

with all asset liquidation including farm, 

horticulture, commercial, restaurant, vehicles, 

estates, antiques and real estate. www. 

reynoldsauction.com for upcoming auctions. 

315-597-8815 

BRANDT’S CUSTOM MEAT CUTTING and 

mobile processing offers on site slaughtering 

for all types of farm animals as well as poultry. 

Now taking appointments. For those ordering 

chicks, we offer on site slaughtering of all 

poultry. Also selling quarter’s and halves as 

well as whole beef, butcher hogs and pasture 

raised poultry. Jordan or Rachel Brandt 315- 

493-9120 

AUBIN’S BUTCHERING & PROCESSING. 

Slaughtering beef, pork, veal, lamb, goats. 

Smoking hams, bacons, beef jerky, slim jims. 40 

years experience. Gary and Bert Aubin 315- 

688-2964 

POULTRY PROCESSING AVAILABLE. Cascun 

Farm in Greene, NY just opened our brand 

new NYS inspected facility. We do Chicken, 

Turkey, Pheasants and Rabbits. We can do 

all of the above whole or parted. 607-875- 

4149 

DIRECT MARKETING LIVESTOCK SERVICE. 

B.K.Transfer. 5324 County Rd 14 in Odessa, 

NY is accepting all types of livestock. Mondays 

9-4 and Thursday 9-3. 607-703-0052 and 

607-227-5282 

HUNTING GUIDE SERVICE – Long Island Fowl 

Outfitters.com Hunting at its best on the twin 

forks. Now booking field and pond hunts for 

2011-12. 631-965-9251 

HUNTING LEASE NETWORK (HLN) 

provides professional managed hunting 

leases with liability insurance. Visit www. 

nationalhuntingleases.com or call 315-789- 

3181. 

A&G DOG Boarding at Cedar Creek Farm. 

Bring your dog on a summer vacation!! We 

provide a warm home environment on a 70 

acre farm in East Fishkill, NY. Daily exercise. 

Call Kim at 845-206-1756. 

CERTIFIED Animal Aromatherapist. 

Available for the common and uncommon: 

environmental issues, trauma, immune 

system, show placing and rescue animals. 

Appointments for the 4 & 2 legged. 

Itoocare@aol.com or 607-862-9536 

CUSTOM CARDING & SPINNING. Processing 

all fiber types. Batting, roving or yarn from 

your own fleece – no minimums. Visit On-Line 

www.battenkillfibers.com or come for a tour. 

518-692-2700 

HOME IMPROVEMENTS: Erie & Niagara 

Counties. Interior & Exterior Renovations 

and Repairs. Kitchens and baths. Family 

owned business for over 30 years. References 

and estimates. 716-695-1414 or email 

dirhomemaintinc@aol.com. 

AUNT LULU’s Embroidery specializes in 

livestock embroidery on garments and 

accessories. Denim shirts, award chairs, 

hats, logo business apparel, awards for 

shows and much more. Check out www. 

StitchesByAuntLulu.com for breed specific 

embroidery. Laura 585-765-2280 

EMBROIDERED APPAREL. Your logo or 

text on a wide selection of caps, shirts, 

jackets and more. 631-929-2800, www. 

omnibusinessproducts.com and email 

omnibp@optonline.net. 

SAMPLERFARM CUSTOM QUILTS made to 

your order. Pieced, appliquéd, art and T-shirt 

quilts are professionally created and quilted. 

Longarm Machine Quilting services available. 

Nancy at samplerfarm@aol.com or 518-885- 

8427 

FENCING. Serving Western New York for over 

14 years. We install livestock, horse, deer and 

many other types of fence. All designed to fir 

your specific needs. Call R&R Fencing. 585- 

599-3489 

FENCING: we install agricultural and 

residential fencing to meet your needs. Post 

pounding, woven wire, board, split rail, chain 

link, vinyl. 25 years experience. Serving 

Western and Central NY. Stable fences & 

Vineyards, LLC. 585-349-4119 www. 

StableFences.com. 

TREE SERVICE. Serving all of WNY. 

Specializing in dangerous tree removal. Fully 

insured. 716-257-5591 

NUISANCE WILDLIFE CONTROL Services. Let a 

professional trapper harvest muskrats from your 

property this season. Licensed and Insured. A 

beaver control specialist serving CNY. Call Scott 

315-200-0777 

DEER NUISANCE control free services. 

Suffolk Archers Deer Management Program 

specializing in helping farms reduce crop loses 

to zero. Guaranteed deer harvest. Permits, 

licensed and insured. Andy 631-521-1471 

CHEMICAL CONSULTANT, GDA Consulting 

“Chemistry at Work” Guy D’Angelo, Chemist. 

Call: 631-878-2912. 

HORTICULTURE/NURSERY/CONSULTING. 

Diversify your ag business, expand or create. 

FREE initial consultation. Contract Growing 

available. Billsplants@optonline.net or 631- 

924-1513 

HEDGE TRIMMING by Peter Vorkman. We trim 

hedgerows up to 16+ feet. We will trim them 

back to the original hedgerow. Call 607-319- 

4960 

DESIGN-BUILD-CONCEPTS for ALL your Equine/ 

Ag building plans as well as Residential and 

Commercial. Give us your information at our 

website www.design-build-concepts.com for a 

free quote. 607-292-3690 

SPANISH/ENGLISH; translating, interpreting, 

classes; 14 years experience; www. 

camysorbello.com Camy Sorbello 315-597- 

9791. 

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE STORAGE, refrigeration, 

and ventilation. Arctic Refrigeration Co., 

Batavia, N.Y. Tel. 585-343-2678. 

TAX SERVICES – year round. Individuals, 

Farms, Businesses, Payroll. Elma Phillips, EA, 

MBA. Pattersonville, NY. 518-887-5740 or 

taxlady@ptcconnect.net. www.elmastax. 

com. 

FULL SERVICE YEAR around tax accounting 

& payroll service in Marion, NY. New clients 

receive 20% off the tax return fee. New payroll 

clients receive 20% off their current monthly 

payroll fee. Call Boerman Tax Accounting & 

Payroll. 315-926-0203 

FULL SERVICE YEAR ROUND Tax accounting/ 

payroll/bookkeeping services. New customer 

discount of $50 on your 2011 returns. $20 per 

client referral. We are located in Middle Grove, 

NY, minutes away from Saratoga Springs. 

Nancy DeLorenzo 518-581-0163, www. 

DELORENZOASSOCIATES.COM. 

Please donate today! 

Products and services provided by the NYFB Foundation for Agricultural 

Education are made possible by donations from members like you. 

Upon request, further information about NYFBFAE’s activities and programs will be provided. If you wish additional 

information on the NYFBFAE’s activities and programs, please write: New York Farm Bureau Foundation For 

Agricultural Education, Inc., P.O. Box 5330, Albany, NY 12205. The NYFBFAE’s Annual Report may be obtained by 

writing either the N.Y.S. Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or the New York 

Farm Bureau Foundation For Agricultural Education, Inc., at the above address. 

Yes, I would like to donate to the NYFB Foundation: 

q $25 q $50 q $100 q $200 q Other $_________ 

Name __________________________________________________ 

Address ________________________________________________ 

City/State/Zip ___________________________________________ 

Phone __________________ E-mail__________________________ 

In q memory q recognition of ____________________________ 

(please check one, if you so choose) 

Send to: NYFB Foundation, PO Box 530, Albany, NY 12205



Services 

Services 

Services 

Services 

DON’T LET NYS keep your money. Call 

today about getting a refund of taxes paid 

on qualified farm fuel. Contact Melissa for 

information. Peachin&Associates. www. 

peachincpas.biz. Or 607-432-5314 

CAPITAL SAWMILL SERVICE. Bucket truck tree 

removal and portable sawmill service. Serving 

the greater capital region and will travel. 

Landscape design and installation. www. 

capitalsawmill.com 518-479-0729 

CONSULTING REAL ESTATE APPRAISER: 

Specializing in conservation easements for PDR 

and or IRS donations; MAI, Associate member, 

ASFMRA, 30 yrs experience: R. Peters Hubbell, 

Jr. – R.P. Hubbell and Company, Inc. 845-454- 

6525 or 518-846-3322 

H2A, H2B Consulting service. Help with 

paperwork all levels and locating workers. 

Micosta. H@Express 518-755-4102, 

h2express@yahoo.com. 

IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY (H-2A/H-2B): 

Experienced attorney to handle all aspects 

of visa processing, including advertising, 

forms preparation, consular processing, legal 

consulting. L.J.D’Arrigo, Esq., Whiteman, 

Osterman & Hanna, LLP. 518-487-7642 or 

ldarrigo@woh.com. 

FARM INSURANCE: Need comprehensive 

coverage for your farm, livestock, or produce? 

We offer the most competitive farm insurance 

products available. Call today for a quote on 

your most valuable asset. Beth Rogers Agency 

585-427-7260 

COMPOSER. Original music for special events. 

Unique, memorable, tailored to your occasion. 

www.gregoryklug.com. 

SHEARING SERVICES: Llamas and Sheep. 

Baitsholts Farm. 518-797-5201. 

H2-A and H2-B work visas. Call U.S. Americans 

for free consultation at 516-997-1065 

BARBEQUE CATERING. Let us cater your next 

event. LaJeunesse Cuisine. 518-673-2453. 

Email lajeunessecuisinellc@yahoo.com. 

THE PICKERING PUB 170 South Main Street 

Canandaigua. Warm friendly atmosphere. 

Pick the Pub for Wednesday: drafts and 

tacos $1.00, Tuesday: Wing Night. 585-396- 

9060 

SEAWAY RENTAL CORP: A Honda dealer for 

sales & service of generators and pumps. We 

stock Honda parts and rent equipment for 

general maintenance. 315-788-4700 or www. 

seawayrentalcorp.com. 

GRAIN HANDLING EQUIPMENT: Call AGRI-FAB 

& REPAIR for your grain handling needs from 

facility design, fabrication and installation, 

general facility maintenance, dryer service, 

rigging, millwrighting, crane and electrical 

services. 585-584-9210 

AG & SMALL ENGINE PARTS: If you need any 

parts for tractors, bedding choppers, lawn 

mowers & more, visit us on the web at www. 

wnyparts.com or www.nyparts.com. 315-347- 

1755 

TRUCK BODIES, CUSTOM BUILT TO YOUR 

NEEDS. Dump bodies, rollbacks, stake racks, 

flat beds, round bail wagons, dump trailers, 

equipment trailers. Western Fabrication 

(315)827-4008 

ENGINE & Cylinder head rebuilding. Complete 

engine balancing, line honing, decking, 

resurfacing, boring, sleeve repair, big bore, 

pin boring, performance valve jobs, cast iron 

welding, guides and seat boring & installation 

etc. Call Steve Dannible’s Engine & Machine in 

St. Johnsville. 518-568-7794 

REPAIR-vs-REPLACE. Electronic Dairy Board 

Service. Specializing in repair of WestfaliaSurge, 

BouMatic, Germania, DeLaval and Muellar Milk 

tank control Repair. 406-590-7764 

FARM AND HEAVY EQUIPMENT BODY REPAIR. 

Heavy Equipment, Truck, Trailer and Tractor 

Body Repair; Aluminum and Stainless Steel 

Welding; Steel for sale. Visit our website at 

www.MapleGroveEnterprises.com or call Maple 

Grove Enterprises 585-492-3340 

CAD Welding and Steel Fabrication. Welding 

repairs on buckets, farm equipment and 

blades. Build up work and hard facing of 

buckets, heavy equipment and implements. 

Westmoreland, NY. John at 315-794-7421 

LIME-LAKE PERFORMANCE. Servicing Sleds- Jet 

Skis- ATV’s. Ask for Mike. 716-353-8262 or 

716-560-6018 

AQUASCAPE RAIN Xchange rainwater 

harvesting systems/Water gardens. 

Installations, consultations, products. Chips 

Landscaping. 518-339-4869/Fax 518-893- 

2064 website www.chipslandscaping.net. 

FUEL SERVICE: Call for Special Fuel Pricing. 

Mohawk Home Comfort Services a full service 

Heating & Cooling installation company 

delivering Oil,Kerosene,Diesel,Gasoline and 

Propane products. Ed @ 1-800-432-8669 

WIND TURBINES – Solar Panels: Representing 

nine different wind turbine manufacturers and 

solar pv insures you receive the best option for 

your site and your energy requirements. Call 

Pyrus Energy 315-834-6406 

CORPORATE ATTORNEY: Experienced attorney 

on Long Island handling business formation, 

contracts and transactions. Vicki S. Gruber, P.C., 

516-845-8088 vgruber@vsgpc.com or www. 

vsgpc.com. 

OIL & GAS ATTORNEY: Richard Gerard, Practice 

limited to Oil and Gas. Exclusively representing 

Landowners in NY and PA. Visit www. 

ny.gaslaw.com Call 607-732-3793 

GAS LEASE ATTORNEY: Chenango County 

area, attorney Ed Downey, review and 

consulting on gas leases and right of ways, 

607-316-5601 or edowneylaw@nycap.rr.com 

Miscellaneous 

BOOK OF NEW YORK’S Agricultural history 

is rich and fascinating! “Four Hundred Years 

of Agricultural Change in the Empire State” 

by Robert Bitz. Purchase on-line from both 

Amazon or Barnes & Noble. 

SPORTSMENS CLUB. Year round family fun. 

Fish, hunt, canoe, ATV, snowmobile. 5000 

acres. Kempshallmountainclub.com or Dennis at 

518-624-2399 

TIOGA GAS LEASE. The Tioga County 

Landowners Group is now accepting members. 

Membership information and educational 

resources on gas leasing can be found at: 

www.TiogaGasLease.org. 

DISCLAIMER: New York Farm Bureau reserves 

the right to refuse to accept any classified ad, 

paid or unpaid, at its sole discretion. 

Members: 

Call or e-mail Missy Nichols 

and reserve your FREE classified ad 

Phone: 518-436-8495 

E-mail: classifieds@nyfb.org 

Win this Fully Restored 

Fordson Tractor! 

Win this Fordson Tractor or $1,000! 

INHERIT THE WIND! 

The WIND IS FREE and CHASE WIND 

helps you convert that to electric energy. 

Your cost drops to about 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. 

Farmers in an Agricultural District 

have a Right to Farm. 

The State has determined that small windmills ARE 

included within the state’s Right to Farm provisions, 

so farmers have the ability to put up wind turbines 

WHEN in an agricultural district, even if their 

local ordinance prohibits them otherwise. 

All proceeds to benefit projects of New York FFA Foundation! 

The tractor was donated by retired agricultural educators 

Donald Farrand and Daryle Foster. The tractor was restored 

by the Morrisville State College Agricultural Engineering 

& Diesel Technology department. 

Return the coupon portion with your payment to receive 

your tickets for a chance to win! The Drawing will be at the 

2013 New York Farm Show on Friday, February 22, 2013. 

Name: 

Address: 

Phone: 

___ 1 Ticket for $10 ___ 3 Tickets for $20 

Make check payable to: “NYS FFA Leadership Training Foundation” 

MAIL TO: NYS FFA Leadership Training Foundation, Inc. 

9340 Long Pond Road, Croghan, NY 13327 • (315) 346-1222 

Visit the Center of Progress building to see this tractor 

during the New York Farm Show in Syracuse NY 

Buy Tickets Online @ www.nyffafoundation.org 

• State and Federal incentives are available for farms. 

• Attractive return (as low as three to five year return on investment.) 

• Financing by lease or loan to qualified farmers. 

• Reduces the amount of electrical energy purchased from the utility. 

• We support more than a dozen NYSERDA approved wind turbines. 

• Manufactured in the USA and around the world. 

• We specialize in agricultural energy projects for more than 30 years. 

• Our oldest wind turbine is 28 years old, oldest hydro-electric is 30 years. 

• Let us present to your grange, church, or club. 

Visit us at: 

www.chasewind.com 

NYSERDA installer #W3137 

Please call free: 1-877-884-1753 

or email us at: info@chasewind.com 

Preserve the Right-to-Farm 

for Families Who Farm and Feed the World. 

Vote for a Farmer! 

Run for Town Board, ZBA, Planning Board.

CLOSE 

TO OUR 

ROOTS 

Nationwide 

Insurance® 

was founded by the farmerleaders 

of the Ohio Farm 

Bureau Federation® in 1926 

— and we’ve been helping 

members protect what’s 

important ever since. 

Today, we’re New York Farm 

Bureau Member Services’ 

trusted insurer. As a New 

York Farm Bureau® member, 

you can take advantage of 

member-only savings on 

insurance products 

and more. 

Contact your local 

Nationwide agent, call 

1-877-OnYourSide or visit 

www.nationwide.com/nyfb. 

Products underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and 

Affiliated Companies. Home Office: Columbus, OH 43215. Subject to 

underwriting guidelines, review, and approval. Products and discounts 

not available to all persons in all states. Nationwide, Nationwide 

Insurance and the Nationwide framemark are service marks of 

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. “FARM BUREAU,” “FB” and 

the FB National Logo, NEW YORK FARM BUREAU, State Farm Bureau 

Logo (black and white and color) are registered service marks of the 

American Farm Bureau Federation used under license by Nationwide. 

© 2012 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All rights reserved. 

FBO-0132AO.1 (0812)

November 2012 - New York Farm Bureau

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?