Blue Ribbon Task Force
Rensselaer County Farm Tour Heightens Awareness of Issues Facing Local Farms
On Tuesday, May 24th, County Executive and Blue Ribbon Task Force Member Kathy Jimino, Senator Roy McDonald, and the Farm Bureau hosted statewide elected officials for a tour of 3 Rensselaer County Farms in order to raise awareness of how statewide policies impact local farms. As a member of NYSAC’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Farming, County Executive Jimino has continued to work to improve the situation of local farms in Rensselaer County. Representatives from NYSAC joined statewide elected officials for these tours, intended to give legislators from urban areas a firsthand experience of how upstate farms operate. In attendance were Senator McDonald (Rensselaer and Saratoga Counties), Senator Stavisky (Manhattan), Senator Parker (Brooklyn), Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (Queens), Assemblywoman Annette Robinson (Brooklyn), and Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (Rensselaer, Columbia, Albany and Greene Counties).
Members first visited Herrington’s Farm, a medium-sized dairy farm, owned and operated by Rensselaer County Legislator Ken Herrington and his brother, Brunswick Town Supervisor Phil Herrington. There lawmakers saw how the farm works to comply with environmental regulations to ensure soil and groundwater are protected. Farmers across New York work within CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) regulations without financial assistance from the State.
The second stop on the tour was Duncan’s Farm, a small dairy and crop farm run by a husband and wife who recently entered the dairy business. With strategic marketing to New York City markets, Duncan’s has quickly grown, and they expect to double production this summer. Their greatest obstacles in startup were timely inspections by State officials so that they could begin selling their products. With recent budget cuts to state agencies such as the DEC and Ag and Markets, fewer inspectors are being hired to cover the hundreds of farms in New York.
Lastly, the group visited Goold’s Orchards, which grows a variety of apples and other fruits and has a farm market and fruit wine business. Goolds was recently able to expand and stabilize their business by making fruit wine, in addition to cider and other value added products. Farm labor issues as well as integrated pest management practices were among the items for discussion there.
At each of these meetings, members talked with farmers about the important role farms plan in the local economy by providing jobs and income, as well as preserving the rural quality of Rensselaer County. Also discussed was State funding for important programs such as farmland protection, integrated pest management, and soil and water protection programs and how these programs help farms stay in business. In 2007, Rensselaer County had 506 farms and 85,034 acres in farmland.