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Home My WebLink About3.25.25 AC meeting packet II TOWN OF ITHACA AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE 6:00 p.m.,Tuesday,March 25, 2025 Aurora Conference Room 215 N. Tioga Street Ithaca,NY 14850 (The rear entrance is handicapped accessible) 607-273-1747 Members of the public are welcome to attend in-person at Town Hall or virtually via Zoom (httys://zoom.us/i/6750593272). AGENDA 6:00 pm 1. Farmers Round Robin—What's happening on your farm?How the season is going/went? Issues/concerns?Announcements? 6:30 pm 2. Persons to be heard 6:35 pm 3. Chair(Matthew)and Coordinator(Mike)reports/updates 6:45 pm 4. Ithaca Town Board (Rich)report/update 6:55 pm 5. Approval of minutes—November 26,2024 7:00 pm 6. Other Business - Recommendation of Chair and Vice-Chair for 2025 - Approval of the 2025 Meeting Schedule - Training/Educational Opportunities 7:30 pm 7. Adjourn Please call (607-273-1747) or email (msmith(a townithacany.2ov) if you cannot attend Agriculture Committee Members and Associates(*) A.J. Teeter Farm(Matthew Stalker,Chair),Casper's Farm(Michael Casper),Der Rosenmeister Nursery (Lee Ginenthal),Forest Family Farm(Claire Forest),Indian Creek Farm/Cummins Nursery(Steve Cummins),Ithaca Equestrian Center(Russ Wedemeyer),Laughing Goat Fiber Farm(Lisa Ferguson),Steep Hollow Farm(Christianne White,Vice-Chair) Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee Meeting Tuesday,November 26,2024,6:00 pm In Person at Ithaca Town Hall(Aurora Conference Room) and via Zoom Video Conference Draft Minutes Members Present:Matthew Stalker(AJ Teeter Farm), Lee Ginenthal (Der Rosenmeister Nursery). Claire Forest(Forest Family Farm)& Christianne White (Steep Hollow Farm)via Zoom. Town Representatives: Mike Smith(Senior Planner). Guests: none 1.Farmers Round Robin—What's happening on your farm?H' the season going/went? Issues/concerns?Announcements? Matt reported selling the long-time bull on the A.J. Teeter Farm. Hay season finished strong.Apple festival was very successful with electronic payment options.Many people were in attendance,artisans and vendors despite the rainy weather. Beef is on hand for sale and the pigs will go to butcher soon. Eggs are sold from the chickens on the farm also. Good year overall on the Teeter Farm. Lee reported that his major wholesale supplier for Der Rosenmeister Nursery roses is retiring and there are not many other suppliers to purchase from. Larger corporations are buying out smaller nurseries and supply is limited.He is moving toward producing his own stock and producing vintage and it is hard to find stock of different varieties to sell. The gap in wholesale sellers opened up the possibility to expand within, so the timing may work out well.He talked about a program to save a particular type of rose, growing it from cuttings and portion of its sales going toward the program.He noted there does not seem to be many new rose nurseries coming into the business.He is not able to ship his stock to other countries although there has been international interest. Claire reported a normal year on Forest Family Farm, especially the peaches.Fragile crop without a lot of profit. She talked about a NYSEG contractor cutting trees nearby her farm and although it's appreciated, there is less privacy. Other trees are heathy around the farmhouse. She asked about the changes in Washington,what effects will it have on local farmers?Is there support from the incoming Federal Administration?Is USDA and NRCS still going to exist? All agreed those are needed programs and it would be unwise for the Federal Government to not continue financial support to them. The labor force being key for keeping NYS farms in production was also noted. Claire mentioned a problem she had with the paving of her road and she was encouraged to follow up with DPW. Christianne reported a good year at Steep Hollow Farm. She is thankful for the neighbor and farmer plants and harvests corn on the fields.A family member is helping with deer management during the season and shared that the forest pollinators thrive when there are fewer deer because the deer eat native plants but not invasive species.Native pollinators need native plants. She is on the lookout for baby Hemlock trees in hopes of regeneration and has seen a few. She noted receiving a notice from the County Assessment office regarding updates to the soil map and qualifications for the Agricultural Assessment exemption. Lee did not receive one nor did Claire,Matt will check with the main farm. She was not concerned about losing the exemption because more land is farmed currently. The maps will be updated with the help of Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District. She also noted concern after a recent fire at the neighboring farm. She was not onsite but was contacted by a state forester and the summary was that the first responders from 3 agencies did an amazing job controlling the travel of the fire from what could have been devastating to the forest and neighbors in the area. The long stretch of dry weather contributed to the rapid spread from the neighboring farm burn pit. 1 2. Persons to be heard-none 3. Chair(Matthew) and Coordinator(Mike) reports/updates: Mike reported the annual farm tour with the Town Board took place in late October and it was combined with a public works projects tour as well. Der Rosenmeister Nursery hosted the Town staff as well as Mehrabyan Nursery on Seven Mile Drive for the farm portion. The two new pending Ag conservation easements are still in progress.The Hayts Road g70 acers should be finalized in January of 2025 and the other one should also be finalized in 2025. There are natural streams and forested land along with open farms fields that will be protected from future development. A flier was passed around for the upcoming Tompkins County Safe Streets and Roads project(SS4A). A joint safety action was developed with the municipalities within and there are two upcoming public information sessions,one virtual and one in person at the Town Hall if anyone on the committee was interested in the project or attending.Mike also shared the website for more information and for feedback. Mike also mentioned the Town using the local Westhaven Farm at EcoVillage for its Town Hall and DPW employee CSA shares as part of the wellness p _� .All w pleased with the fruits and vegetables received. 4.Ithaca Town Board (Rich)report/update: Rich was unable to attend but he e-mailed updates.Mecklenburg Road solar project was mentioned as being in in the permit phase and construction activity beginning soon. He noted the farmer who leased the fields for crops invested for years into the land and was not aware that the owner had signed a lease with a solar company.For future solar projects,he questioned if it was possible to amend the law to require the owner and farmers who lease the land to be notified before the project is already approved to maximize the harvest and prevent loss of crops. The second update was about the sewer exemption process. Currently there is considered to be a Town- wide sewer district and those who wish to not connect(due to no lines being present or having an existing septic system) are required to request an exemption to remain unconnected if they have to replace their old system or if new construction is beyond the limits of the current lines and its too cost prohibitive to extend. The exemption process takes a lot of staff time and Board action as well, so the regulations are being looked into,to exempt certain areas from requiring exemptions and requiring connections only to the areas currently or closely served by the infrastructure already. The committee was in favor of requiring the farmers who lease the land to be notified if a major solar project comes in for approval and with adequate time to find new land. They asked how the Town supports Agricultural use of land versus solar use?Mike explained how the large scale map was created for the Solar law and how some consider solar as a temporary preservation of the land in the way that the equipment can be removed after its useful life and the land would be usable again for other uses.He noted the Town Purchase of Development Rights Program as well as Finger lakes Land Trust as other ways to preserve the Ag lands as well. 5.Acceptance of minutes—Claire moved to accept the March minutes;Lee seconded. The March 26, 2024,minutes were accepted. 2 6.Farm Identification Signs-Mike shared examples of signs to identify farms within the town which was previously brought up by the committee in the Spring.An intern that worked with the town came up with three basic designs using the Town Logo and colors. Printed copies of 3 different options were passed around, shared on Zoom and discussed. He recommended that the Town could send an offer to all the Town Farms to see how many would be interested and then have a final design completed by a graphic consultant before producing the physical sign.Most were not in favor of the "Welcome To" version of the sign,but the other two"We are a Town of Ithaca Farm" and"Proud to be a Town of Ithaca Farm" seemed reasonable or even just"Town of Ithaca Family Farm"or"This is a Town of Ithaca Farm" as long as there was it did not imply that it was a Town owned farm. Claire mentioned not wanting her farm marked with a sign for privacy reasons. Christianne mentioned how signage can confuse people if not worded correctly and her farm is not set up to engage the public either on an ongoing regular basis either. It was noted again that the signs would be optional,not mandatory. Some farms are set up for onsite farm sales and most likely the signs would be welcomed at those types of farms. Increasing awareness and promoting agriculture in and around the town is the vison of the signs. Matt mentioned how crossing the cows on his road is hard sometimes with all the traffic and no speed limit signs posted. Most were in favor of pursuing the interest and designing further for the signs to identify(optional) Town of Ithaca Farms. 7. Other Business: Lack of quorum for resolutions. • Recommendation of Chair and Vice-Chair for 2025. Matt was willing to continue until January or when a formal vote could be taken. Claire thanked Matt for doing a good job. • Approval of the 2025 Meeting Schedule. January 28t'is the next meeting, a formal vote on the full schedule would be taken at the that time if there is a quorum. Training/Educational Opportunities. Mike noted there was one member this year who took a town funded class and plans to summarize her learning to the rest of the committee at the January meeting. He will continue to share additional training/educational opportunities in the new year. Paula from Ithaca Equestrian Center contacted Mike about attending an Ag committee meeting to discuss Farm Bureau information.He encouraged her and will follow up for the next meeting. Next meeting January 28, 2025, 6:00 p.m. 8.Adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Minutes were drafted by Planning Admin Staff Abby Homer 3 PROPOSED RESOLUTION: Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee Schedule of Meetings for the Year 2025 Agriculture Committee Meeting, March 25, 2025 Motion by: Seconded by: BE IT RESOLVED, that the Agriculture Committee of the Town of Ithaca adopts the following schedule of meetings for the Agriculture Committee for the year 2025. The Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee will meet on dates and times listed below, in the Aurora Conference Room in the Town of Ithaca Town Hall. THE 2025 SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS: March 25 (6:00 p.m.) July 29 (7:00 p.m.) November 25 (6:00 p.m.) A vote on the motion was as follows: Ayes: Nays: Abstentions: PROPOSED RESOLUTION: Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee 2025 Agriculture Committee Chair and Vice-Chair Recommendation to Ithaca Town Board March 25, 2025 Motion by: Seconded by: BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee recommends to the Town Board that be appointed as Chair of the Agriculture Committee for the year 2025, and AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of Ithaca Agriculture Committee recommends to the Town Board that be appointed as Vice- Chair of the Agriculture Committee for the year 2025. A vote on the motion was as follows: Ayes: Nays: Abstentions: