Charlie Elrod, Ph.D.
Vice-President NEAFA
As usual, Dairy Day at the Great New York State Fair was all dairy, all the time, kicking off with the Dairy Day Recognition and Awards ceremony on August 31. In addition to the many awards for dairy products (197 entries across 26 categories), a few of New York dairy industry’s top dairy leaders were also honored.
This column has often mentioned the need to keep our industry vibrant by making sure there is a robust pipeline of young people interested in pursuing careers in the dairy industry. For the last 25 years, Debbie Grusenmeyer, Senior Extension Associate in the PRO-Dairy Program at Cornell, has been doing just that. Debbie works tirelessly to coordinate with county and regional 4-H extension educators across the state to conduct the regional and state 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowls. Debbie was instrumental in reformatting the quiz bowl to reflect more about modern dairy management and reduce the emphasis on arcane dairy trivia. Debbie also coordinates youth cattle judging clinics and contests around the state in which over 300 students participate each year. Her singular achievement has probably been the creation of the Junior Dairy Leader program in which 16 to 19 year olds spend a year learning about dairy careers, leadership and professional development opportunities in the dairy industry. We can certainly attribute a full generation of New York’s dairy leaders having been impacted by Debbie’s programs. In recognition of her work, Debbie was honored with the NY Dairy of Distinction Distinguished Person of the Year award.
Sunnyside Farms, operated by the Rejman family, was also honored with one of the PRO-Dairy Agriservice awards for 2023. Neil and Greg Rejman received the award from Department of Ag & Markets Commissioner Richard Ball and PRO-Dairy Director, Tom Overton. Sunnyside Farms was recognized for decades of collaboration with Cornell programs, from years-long research studies with the vet college and animal science department, as a case study subject for nutrient management and animal welfare programs with PRO-Dairy staff and as a host for countless farm tours with visitors from all corners of the globe. The Rejmans themselves have been active leaders and advocates for the dairy industry in local, state, regional and national forums.
The second Agriservice award was presented to John Lehr of Farm Credit East. John was honored for his activity in farm business management programs and applied research for dairy farms and especially for his development of the Dairy Advancement Program. This program is run by NYS Department of Ag & Markets and Department of Environmental Conservation to ensure the long-term viability of NY’s dairy industry through adoption of sound, economically viable environmental stewardship practices. The program’s continuing success can be attributed to the outstanding collaboration between state government, New York dairies, Cornell’s Pro-Dairy program and agriservice professionals who work on implementation of the recommended practices.
This year’s Dairy Day awardees exemplify all three of NEAFA’s pillars of Advocacy, Collaboration and Education and really demonstrate how individuals truly can make a difference across an entire industry. Our congratulations and thanks go out to this year’s award winners.