Farm Fest to be held at Conroys Organics

WEST CHAZY — On Saturday, Nov. 12, Conroys Organics will host a festival to celebrate local and organically grown foods and wines.

Conroys Farm Fest will be held at 8173 Route 9, West Chazy, from 12 to 4 p.m. The Festival will showcase a wine tasting featuring both red and white organic wines along with locally grown wine including Stone House Vineyards and Hid-In-Pines Vineyard. Also offered will be samples from The Bakery at Conroys Organics, raw and natural food samples of local organic cheeses, meats and juices.

An aerobatic demonstration will accompany outdoor activities including a petting zoo, hay ride and bounce house. Families can enjoy entertainment and ghost stories by Gordie Little.

Admission is free, and the event will be held rain or shine. Questions about grocery shopping for dietary concerns and common food allergies can be answered in an open forum with Mary Bushey and Danielle Giordano.

"It is nice to all be on the same page in support of our local movement," said Melissa Provost of Country Dreams Farm.

In 2004, Conroy Organics brought local organic and natural foods, Conroy natural beef, artesian breads and pastries, local crafts and imports to the North Country year round. Today, customers enjoy a wi-fi café, grocery and feed store, baked goods on-site and a wide variety of local, organic and imported spirits. Conroys Organics supplies local and regionally supplemented available products. For more information, contact Jenny Scotto at 562- BEEF or visit www.facebook.com/con roysorganics.

Scholarships to organic conference offered

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) is offering farmer-education scholarships to cover registration costs to its annual winter conference.

The conference will be held from Jan. 20 to 22 in Saratoga Springs. Through funding from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the Risk Management Agency of the USDA and NOFA-NY's Farmer Education Fund, NOFA-NY offers scholarships to aspiring, new and experienced farmers as well as to teachers and student groups.

Additional scholarships may be available on a limited basis to agricultural student groups and groups of farm apprentices from one farm. These scholarships are available through funding from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture and require an earlier application deadline of Nov. 21. These applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all funds are used.

Applicants for individual scholarships must apply by Dec. 1. Notifications will be sent Dec. 7, with a wait-list decision sent on Dec. 21. All applicants should use the online application form located at https://nofa.wufoo.com/forms/nofany-winter-conference-scholarship-application/; paper-based forms can be requested by contacting NOFA-NY.

October milk prices down from previous month

ALBANY — Prices received by New York producers for milk sold during October were down from a month earlier, according to King Whetstone, director of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office.

The price of corn, potatoes, and apples decreased also. The price of hay increased. Many previous month prices were revised due to more complete sales information.

Dairy farmers in the Empire State received an average of $21.50 per hundredweight of milk sold during October, down $1.50 from September but $2 more than October a year ago.

Grain corn, at $7.07 per bushel, was down 43 cents from September but up $2.07 from last year. Hay averaged $118 per ton, up $18 from September and $11 higher than prices received in October 2010. Potatoes averaged $15.10 per cwt., down $1.40 from September but up $2 from last year. Apples, at $38.40 per cwt., were down $1.20 from last month but up $9.20 from last October.

The preliminary All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by Farmers in October, at 185 percent, increased 6 points (3.4 percent) from September. The Crop Index is up 3 points (1.5 percent) and the Livestock Index increased 1 point (0.7 percent).

Producers received higher prices for cattle, eggs, hogs and sweet corn and lower prices for corn, milk, wheat and soybeans.

More aid to farms affected by Irene announced

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said an additional $851,553 in aid from the state's Agricultural and Community Recovery Fund (ACRF) will be distributed among 120 farms to help New York's agricultural communities recover from tropical storms Irene and Lee.

Including the three previous rounds of aid distribution, a total of 353 New York farms have now been granted more than $4.5 million in funds for rebuilding efforts.

"New York's farming communities were hit hard by Hurricane Irene, and this aid will help with the recovery process," Cuomo said. "I visited farms in the affected areas to view the damage first hand and assessed what could be done to help farmers get back on their feet. This aid from the ACRF will help agricultural communities rebuild and we will continue to ensure these recovery funds are distributed so that New York's agricultural economy can continue to thrive."

Darrel Aubertine, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Markets, said Cuomo created the fund to help farms rebuild quickly from the devastating flooding.

"This money will allow work to begin as soon as possible to help New York's farmland recover and help our state's robust agricultural industry rebuild," he said. "Together we will continue doing all we can to help New York's farmers return to life as normal."

The ACRF will provide at least $15 million to rebuild communities and the agricultural industry in hard-hit areas. The funds awarded to date are from the ACRF Conservation Program, which is designed to help farms recover, stabilize soils and stream banks, restore water control structures, and improve and protect water quality.

Field-crop meeting to be held

PLATTSBURGH — There will be an Advanced Field Crop Meeting for field crop dealers and farmers who want to learn the latest research results from 2011 Cornell trials on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office, 2064 Route 22 in Plattsburgh.

The program is from 9:50 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. and costs $10 plus lunch or BYO. The latest Cornell guidelines will be available as well.

The agenda is as follows: Corn Silage and Soybean Trials, Bill Cox; Grass Management for Dairy Cattle, Jerry Cherney; Can New York Farmers Afford to Manage Alfalfa Without Sulfur Addition, Quirine Ketterings; Weed Research Update, Russ Hahn; New Insights on the Epidemiology and Management of Wheat Scab, Gary Bergstrom; New Alfalfa and Small Grains Varieties for New York, Margaret Smith; and Using the Adapt-N Tool for Precise Nitrogen Management on Corn, Bianca Moebius-Clune.

There is ample time for questions of the researchers. Pesticide applicator continuing credits and certified crop adviser credits are available Preregister with contact Mary McKellar at 607-255-2177 or mem40@cornell.edu.