Dairy Day, Image Courtesy NYS Assembly
By Bonnie Bargstedt, NEAFA Vice President
National Dairy Month activities have been happening across New York. Many organizations and farms have hosted consumers, legislators, neighbors and classrooms. There have been events at the State Capitol, family-friendly festivals, farm tours, educational programs, ice cream trails and county parades. These events highlight NY Dairy Farms, agricultural traditions, as well as the contributions of Dairy Farming to local economies and the environment. According to the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets New York has 2,730 dairy farms. Making the most out of these activities can benefit all farms and the allied industries that serve them.
Dairy Day was celebrated on June 2 at the NY State Capitol. Dairy farmers and industry leaders celebrated while sharing dairy’s story and the dairy industry's importance to New York. NEAFA, NEDPA, NYFB, NYAAC and other stakeholders collaborated for another successful day with Legislators from across the state.
The state budget extended New York’s Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for five more years, thanks to the leadership of our Ag Chairs and Ranking committee members Senator Michelle Hinchey, Donna Lupardo, Chris Tague and Senator George Borrello. The ITC extension, Cornell Pro Dairy and capital funding requests, along with many other budget approvals, help dairy farms and all of agriculture. Farms can continue to grow, innovate and make investments for the long-term survival of their operations. This in turn benefits rural communities and economies that depend on those farms. Thank you to everyone who attended and advocated for our industry.
The Mobile Dairy Experience continues traveling across NY making stops in urban areas to reach consumers and legislators. The factual messaging on modern dairy farm practices and demonstrating how milk gets from farm to fridge engages visitors in conversations with exhibit staff and volunteers. Sponsored by the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition, this engaging exhibit is our link to hard to reach consumers by taking our message to their front door.
They will be in the Hudson Valley the last weekend in June at the 10th anniversary of Zoe’s Ice Cream Barn in LaGrangeville – once a farming community, but now a developed area full of our targeted consumers. From there they will travel to the Jones Beach airshow on Long Island for the 4 day July 4th weekend. Talk about going into an area where we want to tell our story – Thank you to Eileen Jensen and her team for making this happen! They have visited multiple schools, the CNY Regional Market ON Farm Fest Kickoff and Evening Market, FFA events, the State Capitol and many other celebrations. If you have not seen it, I would encourage you to walk through next time it is in your area. This million dollar plus investment is doing exactly what we hoped – opening honest and transparent dialog with our consumers who otherwise would not meet a farmer to ask their questions.
The Ward W. O'Hara Agricultural & Country Living Museum in Auburn has Dairy-Themed Museum Exhibits throughout June. They have hands-on exhibits covering cheese-making, butter-making, and ice cream history.
I could write pages on the activities. Know that every single one makes a difference! There is still a lot going on to celebrate Dairy Month here in New York. If you have a chance to attend, volunteer or help promote any as we wrap up June, please reach out to any of the organizers. I am sure they would appreciate seeing you or having an extra pair of hands to help.
Cheers to Dairy!
Bonnie