MALONE — After more than 10 years of work, a revitalization plan for the St. Lawrence River Watershed is nearing completion. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — While cheese curd sales are down, basic groceries are up at the Cheese Store, underscoring the multiple ways the longtime destination is adapting during life with COVID-19. Read More ⇒
LOWVILLE — Despite a court challenge and temporary injunction on last year’s state labor law, New York farmers are still pushing back against the legislation. Read More ⇒
SYRACUSE — The 52nd annual Butter Sculpture at the New York State Fairgrounds came down Friday, but it isn’t going to waste. Read More ⇒
CANTON — Food security organizations across the country have designated September Hunger Action Month, and the north country’s GardenShare is promoting awareness about hunger issues through its online resources and annual 5K fundraising event. Read More ⇒
ITHACA — Cornell University’s Milk Quality Improvement Program has awarded Stewart’s Dairy top honors in New York State’s annual fluid milk competition, conducted on behalf of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. Read More ⇒
The early morning fog sits just above the crops at Cross Island Farm on Wellesley Island as Dani Baker paces the rows. It’s 4 a.m., which is when she wakes every day to get started on the farm. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — Town officials plan to schedule a public hearing to make an addition to their zoning code. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — Walking up to Kaneb Orchards off Highland Road on any given weekend, August through November, the smell of freshly-fried apple cider doughnuts hangs in the air. Read More ⇒
China is set to buy a record amount of American soybeans this year as lower prices help the Asian nation boost purchases pledged under the phase-one trade deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Soy futures in Chicago climbed to a seven-month high. Read More ⇒
Taiwan’s government has finally yielded on a long-standing obstacle to a free-trade agreement with the U.S.: American pork and beef. Read More ⇒
As U.S. farm bankruptcies reach an all-time high and farmers struggle to survive through the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand urged federal officials Wednesday to make changes to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program to ensure small farms receive adequate relief. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — A Jefferson County dairy cooperative is set to approve a contract to sell its milk through the end of the year, underscoring a long-awaited break from instability and the end of an unpredictable market, at least for now. Read More ⇒
OSWEGO — The 4-H Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County officially wrapped up the Oswego County Fair 2020 4-H Remix, its version of an alternative county fair, on Sunday, Aug. 9. Read More ⇒
ALBANY — The state Department of Environmental Conservation this week impaneled an additional working group and six advisory panels under the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, also called the Climate Act. Read More ⇒
Deere & Co., the largest maker of agricultural machinery, increased its sales outlook for the year as farm equipment demand remained resilient despite an “uncertain” market due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read More ⇒
As the pandemic shut down restaurants this spring, California farmers and ranchers saw their markets drop by half, leaving many with fields full of crops but no buyers. And as millions of people lost their jobs, the state’s food banks needed to triple their food supply. Read More ⇒
SYRACUSE — Despite the coronavirus canceling The Great New York State Fair this year, American Dairy Association North East is teaming up with the state fair to bring the annual butter sculpture to life. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — A food and milk distribution will take place at Jefferson Community College on Tuesday, beginning at 11 a.m. Read More ⇒
HOUNSFIELD — The property surrounding the long-vacant Rusted Route Bar and Grill on Route 3, though now cleaned up and presentable, will not see new life as a farmers market until next year. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Two horses near LaFargeville euthanized last week after a third horse tested positive for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) have also tested positive for the virus. Read More ⇒
SACKETS HARBOR — Old McDonald’s Farm on Wednesday will be presenting a fun filled, action packed show for kids all about honeybees. Children ages 5 to 7 can catch the show at 11 a.m. and older kids ages 8 to 12 are welcome at 1 p.m. in the Gathering Barn. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — The Jefferson County Public Health Service has received word from the state Department of Health that a horse in the town of Orleans was positive for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and was euthanized. Read More ⇒
Statewide, most of the farmers who answered a New York Farm Bureau survey said COVID-19 has negatively affected them. Some went as far as to say the pandemic has very negatively affected them. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the agricultural industry, like many others, has had many challenges to face over the past few months, like a disconnect in supply chains and milk dumping. Read More ⇒
The National Pork Producers Council plans to campaign for a change in federal law that would allow the Agriculture Department to pay livestock and poultry farmers for healthy animals they euthanized because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More ⇒
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced $1.5 million in funding for Feeding New York State to support its network of 10 regional food banks, as well as local farms, to help provide milk and produce to food insecure New Yorkers. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Developer Michael E. Lundy is coming close to making a decision on whether to proceed with a proposed meat processing plant that would be built in an agribusiness park being developed on Route 3. Read More ⇒
MEXICO — Even though the 2020 Oswego County Fair was canceled, youth between the ages of five to 18 have the opportunity to share their projects and show their livestock this year through The 4-H REMIX, created by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County, (CCEOC). Read More ⇒
A new study examining how fish react to heat at different stages of their life process has revealed that warming waters could impede reproduction in up to 60 percent of species. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — The American Dairy Association North East, working with Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Renzi Foodservice, Jefferson Community College and community partners, will help facilitate the distribution of more than 4,000 gallons of milk and about 37,000 pounds of additional food through … Read More ⇒
ADAMS — The village’s annual Cheddar Cheese Festival has been canceled this year due to COVID-19, but a cheese drive-thru service will be held in its place. Read More ⇒
RODMAN — All nine hardware stores Stephen Winkler contacted recently were sold out of chicken wire, highlighting the evolution of local food production and increasing demand for homegrown gardens and poultry development. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Anyone driving down Coffeen Street in the city Friday would have noticed a long line of cars trailing into the grounds of Jefferson Community College, shining in the sunlight as their drivers waited patiently to collect produce grown at farms across the state. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — Plans for a soy processing facility are moving forward now that a suitable location has been found in the town of Massena. Read More ⇒
OSWEGO — With schools officially closed for the academic year and childcare centers shuttered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of families who rely on school meals to feed their children now face increased food insecurity. Missed meals can lead to fatigue, reduced immune response, … Read More ⇒
POTSDAM — Officials in the village are considering a proposed local law that would allow village residents to raise chickens. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Local seasonal traditions are coming back, in a new and socially distanced form. Read More ⇒
Deere & Co. shares rose after the top tractor maker navigated pandemic upheavals better than expected and surprised analysts by reinstating earnings guidance. Read More ⇒
CANTON — The joint town and village economic development committee is preparing to launch a COVID-19 recovery loan program for small businesses, an additional tract modified from the town’s existing USDA rural development loan program. Read More ⇒
Just as we were turning the corner on this coronavirus thing and flattening the curve, news came from out west this month that flew in on sensational news reports: “murder hornets” have arrived on our shores. Read More ⇒
Another type of hornet is of a more immediate concern for local beekeepers than the threatened invasion of Asian giant (murder) hornets. Read More ⇒
MALONE — More than 3,000 gallons of milk will be given away Sunday morning through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program. Read More ⇒
HOUNSFIELD — For years, as people purchased milk at the visitors center store at Old McDonald’s Farm here, a common question asked by customers grew on the farm’s owners. Read More ⇒
MEXICO — Here’s a story that’ll make you smile and maybe give you hope. A lot of people need some hope right now. Maybe this’ll remind you it’s always there. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — The Greater Watertown-North Country Farm & Craft Market also will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic when it opens for the 44th season on Wednesday May 27. Read More ⇒
LOWVILLE — Tractor Supply Co. will be adding a third location halfway between its existing Watertown and Lowville stores in the town of Denmark, just outside of West Carthage. Read More ⇒
There is perhaps no more dramatic an example of the destruction plaguing America’s food supply chain than this: Thousands of pigs are rotting on compost heaps as grocers run out of meat. Read More ⇒
HEUVELTON — When the Bennett family began cultivating a patchwork of mixed-type land on Route 184 two decades ago, the dream of providing “good food for all people” was seeded. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — A private investor is showing interest in financing a proposed meat processing plant that would be built in an agribusiness park being developed on Route 3. Read More ⇒
LOWVILLE — A second Dairy Drive providing 500 gallons of free milk donated by the American Dairy Association and other locally produced items to Lewis County residents will be held Friday at the Lewis County Fairgrounds from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., or while supplies last. Read More ⇒
