HomeMy WebLinkAboutAG Minutes 2017-03-28 Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee Meeting
March 28, 2017, 6:00 pm
Final Minutes
Members Present: Debbie Teeter (Chair), Abbie Teeter, Russ Wedemeyer, Christianne White,
Lisa Ferguson
Town Representatives: Mike Smith (Senior Planner), Bill Goodman (Town Supervisor)
Guests: Michael and Ariel Casper, Matt LeRoux (Ag Marketing Specialist, CCE-Tompkins)
1. Matt LeRoux, SCNY Regional Ag Team, Ag Marketing Specialist, CCE-Tompkins
(607) 272-2292 ext. 159, mnl28@cornell.edu, spoke to us about the price calculator and Meat
Locker project. Matt writes the grant applications that fund his position, and covers five
counties. There are other specialists covering horticulture, Natural resources/forestry, non-dairy
livestock. He teaches strategic marketing. Consider who your best market is, who is the
specific audience? Your marketing plan needs to have a strategy and market research. The
Marketing Channel Assessment tool tracks marketing efforts for one week. It covers products
like vegetables, fruit, fresh cut flowers, mushrooms, and other perishable items.
Meat is different. Meat Suite ( t.� ://rneatsuute.corn/). The freezer trade is most efficient for small
producers; better than selling to restaurants or farmer's markets. After doing surveys of farms
and consumers it was discovered that they have an inability to connect with each other. Meat
Suite is a directory of meat-producing farms, with 195 farms listed in 22 counties surrounding
Tompkins County. It began in Steuben and Tompkins County. You can search by
characteristics. Description/pricing includes cost of processing so there are no hidden fees. 8 of
35 farms using the Meat Suite made a sale. Consumers need to learn the term HCW, hanging
weight. Their Facebook page is very active, and according to Google analytics they are getting
13,000 unique visits to the web site each quarter. He organizes events, banners, postcards
The Finger Lakes Meat Project has three components; the Meat Locker, the Meat Suite, and the
price calculator.
There's a basic assumption that there is more supply than demand, because farmers weren't
selling all they were producing. Most produced beef, pork, chicken, and some goat
meat. There was even a tilapia producer for a while.
Carcass weight is different than take-home weight. Good profitability could be found selling at
$4.50/pound and higher. Average price $4.19. This information tells consumers they can save
dollars over buying in the stores. The price calculator shows that pork price should be
$6.50/pound but it is $3.97. Other counties may have lower prices and bring the average
down.
The Meat Locker is in Press Bay Alley, Mother Zero and Baby Zero freezers, it costs $3/month
to keep a container in the freezer and $5/month to keep a freezer unit. 10 x 14 walk in,
supported by John Guttridge, owner of Press Bay Alley. It is open by appointment, and people
usually come by every 2-3 weeks to pick up something from their storage. They have about 25
renters, and are not at capacity. It's like a safe deposit box.
NY Farm Viability Institute is a resource. Matt worked on the premise that farmers should price
their product right and value the cost of their time.
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1) identify income and profit goals
2) understand production costs
3) develop a price for each channel
Launched in November of 2016, soft launch. By end of March they had 200 uses of the site
since November. Revisions are allowed, and the tool allows farms to understand the price they
should be charging. There are different cuts to consider. For instance, everybody sells their
ribeye right away. What about chuck?
Would like to focus on a channel for vegetables, for certified organic, and heirloom varieties.
The good thing about meat is that it is not perishable, and there's not an unlimited supply of
it. Finite supply and a predictable yield make it easy to work with.
There may be a future in Wagu beef. Vermont can't raise it quickly enough.
Farmers who can use excel charts can get into Whole Foods, because negotiation=education
for both parties.
2. Persons to be heard/Member announcements: Michael Casper - Casper's Farm is a new
agricultural enterprise in the Town of Ithaca, a bed and breakfast and microgreens, all organic,
off Bostwick Road, .t.tp://www.caspersfarm.coi"n/. Inquired about the status of industrial hemp.
They will be selling greens to local restaurants. Also growing organic corn and hay, this is
already sold to Jamie Baker, 19.8 acres. He's been doing a hotel in Danby at 1040 Comfort
Road, now selling to the Heights and Mercado, culinary herbs and microgreens. He's buying
grow lights. michael@caspersfarm.com.
Lisa Ferguson is (considering) using sprouted barley as fodder in winter. Lisa mentioned the
Chamber of Commerce's agritourism event at La Tourelle.
Would revolving loans for farmers be a good thing? Maybe Alternatives could fund
this. Jennifer Tavares is the president at the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, who
had worked with a lot of farmers in the Catskills. Empire Tractor has been good at issuing credit
to farmers.
3. Chair report: Debbie Teeter reports that there will be an Agstravaganza on April 1 on the
Commons, moved down from the mall. 4H animals, the Dairy princess, and Lisa Ferguson will
be there. The CSA Fair will be incorporated and present.
An Ag Summit was recently held at the Ramada Inn with 60 people present. Chris Denton, a
lawyer from Elmira, did a presentation on the solar farm installations being marketed to farmers
by big out of town companies like Delaware Solar. They have big Wall Street companies behind
their companies named to sound local. Renovus is trying to avoid using active farmland. Caleb
Scott, landscaper, tried sheep in his solar farm, and John McNamara, chief development officer
at Renovus is putting in a well to support the sheep in that installation.
4. Ithaca Town Board report: Bill Goodman reminded us that the Town got grant funding to do
an economic feasibility study for the area between Buttermilk and Treman State Parks. They
want to promote business, especially those with ag tourism components. Could be agri-
culinary. The Chamber of Commerce is interested in supporting and promoting ag culinary
tourism. Maybe restaurants would be good potential businesses.
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5. Minutes: The January 31, 2017 minutes were corrected - Groton HS Ag Program will begin in
fall of 2017. BOCES has animal science. George Junior Republic has an ag program. National
FFA is a resource, their national convention brought together 55,000 kids. Minutes were moved
by Debbie, seconded by Christianne, approved.
6. Regular reports & updates: The DEC came to the Ag and Farmland Protection Board, TMDL,
the southern part of the lake is impaired, the TMDL needs to protect the entire lake. A draft is
coming soon. May be very interested in hearing from farms about practices and
runoff. Torrential episodic rain events will be more common, and cause runoff of decades of
phosphorous applications into the lake. The Inlet is an area of concern, and the Enfield water
tributaries that feed into it.
Aaron Madden at FSA, Farm Service Agency, CRP pastureland, less than 200 acres, can apply
to get into CRP. 50-75 acres pastureland. We are unclear as to the program and the process
to apply and the criteria.
Tompkins County Soil and Water, Paul Gear, is located on the second floor of the Highway
Department offices on Bostwick Road, TC Soil and Water Conservation District. They have
grants backed by NYS funding for fencing, manure storage, farm stands. They are usually due
mid-September, one-time only. They do have a large pot of dollars at their disposal for grants.
TC Farm Bureau held a Farm Transition Program, given by Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide
has a team of lawyers who will help farmers do transition plans, for free, because their
leadership believes it's the right thing to do. They are not selling a product but they do
occasionally find the farm that should no longer be in business and find buyers for it.
7. Other Business: Bill mentioned that the Town's employee relations committee had been
buying a CSA share for employees. Now they can't locate a CSA provider in Town of
Ithaca! The Town could also be a pick up point for CSA's. Debbie will check on interest.
Debbie said that sales are down at the Farmers Market, and fingers are pointing at the CSA's.
Smaller farmers markets like East Hill, aim to reach those who don't frequent the downtown
Steamboat Landing site.
NYS commercial hemp is moving, but slowly (approved now in mid July 2017) 10 in state have
research licenses, including Cornell and SUNY Morrisville. Farms can apply to be sites for
research studies by paying a non-refundable $500 fee. (Deadline July 7)
ps://www.aq.�iqu.V.tur.e n.y.gray/FBI/f ear Research SeVectuon Creteria. df
The new water district in Town of Lansing is controversial. Water has been extended beyond
Buck Road/Conlon Road. Ag and Farmland Protection Board is involved. Town should identify
farms affected. Town will be funding it themselves.
8. Adjourn: 7:49pm
Minutes drafted by Christianne McMillan White
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