Genesee County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan

Genesee County: Agricultural Development Plan
‣ Basic English for farm labor,
‣ Basic Spanish for labor managers,
‣ Licensing training (i.e., applicators licensing),
‣ Plant and insect identification, and
‣ Post harvest handling.
Priority Level 2: Begin program in year 2 or 3.
Cost Considerations: This recommendation would require high levels of in-house staffing
and significant development resources which may not be recovered through product
sales. A development budget of $25,000 should be considered.
Responsibility: CCE, BOCES, and GCC.
Recommendation 4: Open Regional Dialogue on Management Recruitment
Farmers and agribusinesses throughout the region complain about the difficulty of
recruiting and retaining qualified management. This is a limiting growth factor and may
cause some firms to relocate instead of expanding operations locally. This seems to be an
industry-wide issue and should be addressed economy-wide.
Priority Level 2: Begin in year 2 or 3.
Cost Considerations: This recommendation would require moderate levels of in-house
staffing and should be within the current budget.
Responsibility: CCE and IDA.
PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION
Ten-Year Objective
Develop innovative programs to address appropriate opportunities for education and
training for farm and non-farm agricultural constituents focused on increasing public
awareness and support for agriculture, Genesee’s number one industry.
Five-Year Action Plan
Recommendation 1: Expand Existing Programs to Educate Policy Makers and the
General Public
Genesee County through Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Chamber of Commerce
currently provides exemplary public outreach and education. However, the non-farm
public continues to expand faster than the farming public. Increasing the frequency of
contact with policy makers and the public, especially school aged children, will help set
the conditions for a growing appreciation of the agricultural industry. It is recommended
that Cornell Cooperative Extension expand its in-school efforts to target high school aged
students. Additionally, Cornell and the Chamber of Commerce should undertake a
periodic policy memorandum to keep policy makers updated on agricultural issues.
Priority Level 1: Immediate action in early program years.
Copyright©, 2001: Agricultural & Community Development Services, Inc, Columbia, MD 24