2019 Farmer and Chef Fair: Cut, Prep, Pair

March 9, 2019


Finger Lakes livestock farmers are invited to participate in this year's "Meat & Great: Cut, Prep, Pair" event to showcase their farm's story and products. Participating farms are will be provided event space to share your farm's story with the public. Attendees will include individual consumers, food trucks, local chefs, and food buyers. Finger Lakes chefs will also be on hand offering cooking demonstrations and food samples from local meat sourced from participating farms. New this year will be a wine, beer or spirits pairing with the food samples.

This year's event will take place Saturday, March 9 from 3pm-6:30pm at Hobart William Smith College in Geneva, NY in the new location, ?MyKitchen' and Common Room in the Scandling Center. Farms are able to arrive between 2-2:30 pm to set up. Each farm will be provided with a table to set up as they see fit. Table locations are available on a first come first served basis. We ask vendors to remain for the duration of the event.

Also new this year, non-perishable products may be sold, and USDA-inspected meat may be sold, if handled properly. A certificate of insurance is required for all sales and needs to be received by the registration deadline. Electrical outlets are limited in the new space, but farms wishing to use them are required to bring extension cords. Event space is located on the first floor; there is a ramp entrance into the front of Scandling Center. Farms will also be invited to enjoy demo samples and water will be available.

Registration is $10 per farm; deadline to register is February 23, 2019. Visit the registration page. Check may be mailed payable to: Finger Lakes Institute at HWS and mail your check to: Finger Lakes Institute at HWS, Attn: Food Systems Program, S. Meyer; 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456 and must be received by February 23 to hold your spot. For facilities or registration questions, contact Sarah at 315-781-4382 or smeyer@hws.edu. The event is listed here, please share: https://www.facebook.com/events/219446235676841/. The registration link can be found there as well.

For farms wishing to sell product for the cooking demonstrations, please indicate so in your registration. Only product processed at a USDA inspected facility will be able to be sold to chefs. Once you have registered you will be contacted in a separate email about the procurement process for this year's event.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you have regarding this event.

Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Sarah A. Meyer
Cornell Cooperative Extension Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops, Nancy Glazier
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, Russ Welser
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Seneca, Judy Wright
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County, Caroline Boutard- Hunt


(PDF; 180KB)

Beginning Farmer/Hobby Farmer Workshop $5/pp, class size is limited, so pre-register by April 15th!

April 27, 2019
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Canandaigua, NY

This hands-on workshop is for beginning or part-time farmers who would like to improve their farm machinery skills, learn to properly and safely maintain their equipment to protect their investment. If you have been thinking about buying a tractor, new or used, two-wheel or four-wheel drive, compact or utility or more come join us. Topics include: selecting the right size/type tractor for the job; basic maintenance; staying safe around tractors and equipment; attaching implements properly; and information about ROPS and SMV's. There will be time for questions.

Pre-registration requested by April 15, 2019 email Amy with your name, address, and phone number or call 585-394-3977 x 429.
Fee: $5.00/person. Class size is limited.

2019 Pastured Poultry Seminar, lunch included so please register by May 10th! $25/person

May 18, 2019
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m.w/ coffee & donuts with the Program running from 9:00 a.m. - 5 p. m.
Attica, NY

The main speaker this year is Eli Reiff of Mifflinburg Pennsylvania. Eli raises broilers, turkeys, sheep, and beef, all on pasture. Topics to be covered will include the pasture, feed and nutrition, marketing, costs, and much more. As we grow as farm operators and get bigger, we may not pay as much attention to the basics as we should. So those areas are where we will start, and then expand to cover the group's interests.

Mike Badger, Director of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association will also be available for a round-table discussion. Plans are to have representatives from Farm Bureau, NYCAMH for farm health and safety, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County, as well as others.

Calling all 9th-12th graders! 4th Annual Precision Agriculture Day at Genesee Community College

May 21, 2019
9:00 am - 1:30 pm Register by Friday May 10th! $15/per person includes lunch
Batavia, NY

Calling all 9th-12th graders!  We have an exciting new program for students interested in technology, science, engineering, and agriculture!

Producers Previously Enrolled in the LGM Program Now Eligible for MPP

Dairy Producers Previously Enrolled in the Livestock Gross Margin Program Now Eligible for 2018 Margin Protection Program

Smart Farming Team Technical Assistance Grant Application

The Labor Ready Farmer Project is offering grants to provide up to 12 hours of Technical Assistance (TA) consulting services to farms who want to make improvements to their farm's processes in hiring, training, managing or evaluating employees. Applicants will choose from one of the following four areas for TA assistance and identify a specific project. If selected they will be matched with a "Smart Farming Team" of consultants who will provide one on one technical assistance.

• HIRING EMPLOYEES 101 - GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START
• ONBOARDING & TRAINING EMPLOYEES QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY
• FINE-TUNING & IMPROVING THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
• H2-A READINESS

Please complete this application and send to Nicole Waters, Beginning Farm Project Coordinator for the Cornell Small Farms Program. The form can be submitted by email, mail or in-person at the address listed below. Please feel free to call or email with any questions.

Nicole Waters - Beginning Farmer Project Coordinator
Plant Science Building, Room 15b
Tower Road, Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607-255-9911
Email: nw42@cornell.edu

Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

USDA Announces January Income over Feed Cost Margin Triggers First 2019 Dairy Sa

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2019 ? The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced this week that the January 2019 income over feed cost margin was $7.99 per hundredweight, triggering the first payment for eligible dairy producers who purchase the appropriate level of coverage under the new but yet-to-be established Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.

DMC, which replaces the Margin Protection Program for Dairy, is a voluntary risk management program for dairy producers that was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill. DMC offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last week that sign up for DMC will open by mid-June of this year. At the time of sign up, producers who elect a DMC coverage level between $8.00 and $9.50 would be eligible for a payment for January 2019.

For example, a dairy operation with an established production history of 3 million pounds (30,000 cwt.) that elects the $9.50 coverage level for 50 percent of its production could potentially be eligible to receive $1,887.50 for January.

Sample calculation:

$9.50 - $7.99 margin = $1.51 difference

$1.51 times 50 percent of production times 2,500 cwt. (30,000 cwt./12) = $1,887.50

The calculated annual premium for coverage at $9.50 on 50 percent of a 3-million-pound production history for this example would be $2,250.

Sample calculation:

3,000,000 times 50 percent = 1,500,000/100 = 15,000 cwt. times 0.150 premium fee = $2,250

Operations making a one-time election to participate in DMC through 2023 are eligible to receive a 25 percent discount on their premium for the existing margin coverage rates.

"Congress created the Dairy Margin Coverage program to provide an important financial safety net for dairy producers, helping them weather shifting milk and feed prices," FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce said. "This program builds on the previous Margin Protection Program for Dairy, carrying forward many of the program upgrades made last year based on feedback from producers. We're working diligently to implement the DMC program and other FSA programs authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill."

Additional details about DMC and other FSA farm bill program changes can be found at farmers.gov/farmbill.

New Guidance for Mortality Disposal Issued

NYS Department of Ag and Markets has posted guidelines on disposal of livestock carcasses, in response to reports that some rendering companies have halted pickups from farms.

https://nwnyteam.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=761&crumb=dairy|1