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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-02-08Dryden Ag Committee February 8, 2017 Page 1 of 6 Dryden Ag Advisory Committee February 8, 2017 Members Present: Kim LaMotte, Evan Carpenter, Steve Foote, Doug Barton Liaisons: John Kiefer (Planning Board), Craig Schutt (Conservation Board) and Jason Leifer (Town Board) Guests: Debbie Teeter, Cornell Cooperative Extension The committee reviewed the Ag Plan with D. Teeter. - D. Teeter asked for photos for the front cover of the plan. - Jeremy Sherman was added to the list of Committee members on page 3. - On page 4 under the Farming Profile heading - D. Teeter indicated that she is waiting to get more information regarding the soil qualities in the Town. - K. LaMotte questioned whether the Town actually supports “51 farm businesses, etc”. D. Teeter stated that is from the list of farmers and landowners that was generated between herself, the Committee, and Monika Roth. o C. Schutt indicated that some of those on the list should come off based on the definition of agriculture that the Committee chose to use (the Ag and Markets definition) o D. Teeter responded that a lot of time has been put into determining the list of farmers. o C. Schutt recommended a different designation for those that are not getting ag exemption. o S. Foote pointed out that down the road, someone might see the 51 operations and think that a machinery shop or another business will believe they will be successful when in reality there is only about 15 cropping and dairy farms. The rest of the “farms” are consumer size. o D. Teeter reminded the Committee that some of the smaller operations such as Nancy Munkenbeck’s sheep operation don’t get ag exemption but isn’t she still considered a farm? o K. LaMotte believes stating there are 51 farm operations in the Town is misleading. Anyone who is not familiar with local ag is going to see that as 51 farms. D. Teeter said that the statement that there are 51 ag enterprises in Dryden is correct. K. LaMotte questioned how she defines a farming enterprise. D. Teeter responded that Ag and Markets will define ag enterprise. If the Committee wants to define it as only someone who gets ag assessment, that is fine but she doesn’t think it is a true reflection of ag in Dryden. It is not what other towns have done. o K. LaMotte asked about the folks that rent their farm land and get ag assessment even though they are not farming. Do they get counted as a farm? Dryden Ag Committee February 8, 2017 Page 2 of 6 o J. Kiefer stated that this was why he asked D. Teeter to do a re-write of the key findings because that section explains the different types of farms. It breaks down the “farms” so people will understand that the 51 farming operations are not all large dairy farms. He has written a suggested replacement for that section which is attached. - D. Teeter indicated that she understands what the Committee wants instead of “51 farm businesses” is the total number of farms that are ag assessed (there are 27 farming businesses that receive ag assessment and there are an additional x number of hobby operations)and a separate category for the other ag operations. - C. Schutt - Under the section called “Vision for the Future of Agriculture in the Town of Dryden”, the northeastern part of the town is not the only area that has good farmland; the entire eastern side of the Town is viable. - K. LaMotte shared the numbers provided by the USDA NRCS (C. Schutt got that information and shared it with the Ag Committee): the Town has 5,000 acres of prime soil and 34,000 acres of statewide importance. - C. Schutt believes more references are needed to identify where the information in the plan is coming from. - There was a discussion on the number of dairy farms in the Town. The plan indicates there are 6 but the Committee only came up with 5. The milk house has to be in the Town to count as a Dryden farm. - On page 5 – J. Kiefer debated the bullet point regarding rural sprawl and the cost related to residential and agriculture. He doesn’t believe the delivery of services for residential expansion costs as much as indicated because most rural homes have private septic and wells. D. Teeter explained that the number includes school services – farmers aren’t putting cows on the busses. o J. Kiefer looked for the 1996 study but was unable to find it. D. Teeter stated that information can be found in the 1996 County Ag and Farmland Protection Plan and indicated that she will send him a copy. J. Kiefer said he noticed that the same information is not included in the updated County plan and D. Teeter said that is because hundreds of these studies have been done across the nation and they all show the same thing so that information wasn’t included. - On page 9 – second paragraph from the bottom (under the heading of PURPOSE) which is talking about the Comprehensive Plan and the concern by farmers that “recommendations might be unreasonably restrictive”, J. Kiefer suggested listing what those particular recommendations are. They have to be identified to be mediated. D. Teeter responded that maybe there aren’t any that are unreasonably restrictive but that was one of the farmers concerns expressed through the survey done last year. - On page 10 – D. Teeter said she has the wrong information – George Frantz reviewed the zoning law, not the Comprehensive Plan. It was initially presented to the Ag Committee at the October 19, 2016 meeting. Dryden Ag Committee February 8, 2017 Page 3 of 6 - K. LaMotte questioned the definition of Agriculture “as a commercial enterprise or a hobby”. D. Teeter said that information came directly from Ag and Markets. - There was a question regarding the term “maple” as part of agroforestry. Should it be changed for purposes of clarity to maple sap, maple syrup, etc but D. Teeter said it would be better to leave the Ag and Markets definition alone. - Page 12 – Under POPULATION – it should be the Village of Freeville, not Etna. - She is still waiting for information for the HOUSING section. - Page 13 – She is leaving the maps in as placeholders until she gets maps for Dryden. - Top table regarding population, the Village of Dryden lost population but the Town and the Village of Freeville gained. The Committee agreed that made sense. She is going to talk to Scott Doyle (County Planning) to get a better view of the census. - The table regarding the number of homes built still has Lansing numbers while she waits for information from the Town of Dryden. She was hoping that one of the Code Enforcement Officers could provide her with that information. - J. Kiefer asked about the median value by year – is that in today’s dollars or reflective of the value in the time period referenced? For example, the median value for 1939 or earlier is $195,800. That is a high amount for that time period. Even if the value is a median, it is still quite high. - Page 14 – INFRASTRUCTURE – the part of about water is incorrect. The Village gets their water from Dryden Lake, the other water districts get their water from Bolton Point, and the Yellow Barn Water district is no longer private. - D. Teeter asked the Committee to look at the LAND RESOURCE BASE handout. Monika Roth asked for some help with this section by asking for some feedback from the Committee. - Missing soils from the list? Channery, arkport, lounsberry - How have the farmers dealt with the challenges presented by the soils? Plant the correct crops for the soil, plant a diversity of crops, work around spots, add compost, and tile drainage. - General impression of soil resources in the town? The soil is decent because the farmers know how to work it. Some areas are more expensive for certain crops (corn grown in certain areas of town is generates a higher yield) and the knowledge and efforts of previous generations have assisted. - Page 17 – C. Schutt recommended adding a map of the watersheds to make the information more relevant. The fact that drinking water in the City of Ithaca comes from the Six Mile Creek watershed means nothing unless a person realized the watershed is primarily in the Town of Dryden. - D. Teeter indicated that something needs to be included about the upcoming Cayuga Lake TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load). She doesn’t have much information yet but there is a meeting on March 8th at which that will be discussed with the NYS DEC. - Page 18 – the numbers in the chart are from Soil and Water and NRCS. Dryden Ag Committee February 8, 2017 Page 4 of 6 o Agriculture Waste Facility – there is more than one according to the Committee. The Shermans have one, the Stuttle farm has one, the Dedrick farm has a small one, the Becks have two and the Marquis farm has one. o D. Teeter asked if any of the waste facilities could be pasture management system. The Committee did not think so. o The re are more than 2 alternative watering source systems. - Page 20 – the second paragraph has 37 farm enterprises – K. LaMotte asked if that included all of the people that are getting ag assessment. It includes the farm operations that are getting the assessment – for example, the Sweetland land is rented by Alan Dedrick. That land is associated with the Dedrick farm not Ms. Sweetland. The ag assessment is based on the value of the soil. o The Committee still has questions as to what is being considered a farm enterprise. o D. Teeter agreed to send two lists to the Committee: one that has all the ag assessments and are farmers and one that has all the ag assessments that are leasing their land. o D. Barton asked how important it really is to come up with an accurate list. K. LaMotte said little parcel by parcel it probably doesn’t matter but having a good idea of that actual number of farms would be helpful. What constitutes a farm for the purposes of this plan? S. Foote recommended using the ag exemption rules ($10,000 or $50,000 on less than 7 acres) as one group and then here is how we see the Town overall. o D. Teeter indicated that she was good with that but urged the Committee to not sweep the niche guys under the carpet. - C. Schutt recommended adding information about AEM (Agricultural Environmental Management). He feels a definition should be included. There are also several good programs that are associated with AEM that could be noted. - On page 22 – in the box regarding Taxes paid by Dryden Farmers, the Committee members questioned the amount of tax paid to the Dryden School and the Fire District Tax. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9PM. Respectfully Submitted, Erin A. Bieber Deputy Town Clerk Dryden Ag and Farmland Protection Plan 2/10/17 John A. Kiefer Dryden Ag Committee February 8, 2017 Page 5 of 6 Key Findings • Large scale dairy farm operations have largely replaced the smaller family owned and operated dairy farms that used to dominate the rural landscape in Dryden. The commercial success of the large dairy farms creates competition for farmland resulting in higher rural land values, a strong market for rental of farmlands, and is primarily responsible for the 11% increase over the last 10 years in acreage used for agricultural purposed in Dryden. Large dairy farm operations are the predominant land use in the north west part of Dryden, owing primarily to the excellent soils in that part of the Town. • Smaller scale, family-owned and operated dairy farms have all but disappeared in Dryden. The dramatic reduction in small dairy farms resulted from a number of factors including competition from larger operations, the increased regulatory environment, increased taxes, the ability to draw income from acreage by renting their land to larger dairy operations, and the fact that dairy farming is an increasingly difficult and complex business and young people often choose to make their careers elsewhere. One result is the abandonment of aging and obsolete farm infrastructure which, unfortunately, gives an accurate impression of the state of this segment of Dryden's agricultural enterprises. • Dryden has a growing and diverse selection of smaller agricultural enterprises such as organic farms, livestock and equine operations, and locally marketed food products. Many of these farm businesses are operated on a part time basis and their owners have employment elsewhere. The high cost of farm land is a challenge to growth for these smaller enterprises. • New residential development in Dryden occurs primarily outside of the villages and hamlets. Even though residential development has slowed over the past 20 years, the Town remains a popular place for families wishing to "move to the country". Although the volume of land consumed by new residential development is not a direct threat to farming enterprises, the development affects farming in other ways - traffic, higher land prices and taxes, rural neighbors unfamiliar with and unhappy with farming activities, and trespass issues. The non-farming community is largely unaware of the extensive regulatory environment in which farming community operates. • Dryden's zoning ordinance is a key resource for protecting farmlands and farming enterprises. As noted in Chapter V, parts of the ordinance are weak in the areas of recognizing the diversity of agricultural activities in Dryden and in limiting land uses that place agriculture at a disadvantage. • Insert Debbie's item on development rights. Point out that the program is perceived to be overly complicated. Dryden Ag Committee February 8, 2017 Page 6 of 6 Priority Recommendations • The Ag Advisory Committee needs to work to insure local legislators are informed of their views of issues affecting the viability of agriculture enterprises of all sizes and types in Dryden. • Similarly, the Ag Advisory Committee members should take an active role in educating the non-farming public of the benefits and challenges to a vibrant agricultural enterprise. • The Ag Advisory Committee should work to develop initiatives to improve the image of farming to the non-farming community, for example, by helping figure out ways to clean up abandoned farm buildings, lands and equipment. • The Ag Advisory Committee should take the lead in recommending changes to Dryden's zoning ordinance such that it does a better job acknowledging and supporting Dryden's increasingly diverse agricultural enterprises. • The Ag Advisory Committee should pay close attention to the implementation of Dryden's new solar energy ordinance. Current language allows up to 3500 acres to be used for solar collectors. •