Press Conference to be held as follows:

Thursday, February 11th, 10am
East Area Family YMCA
200 Towne Drive
Fayetteville, NY 13066-1349
Contact:
  Becca Jablonski,
  315-684-3001 x 118
  Rb223@cornell.edu

February 1, 2010 – Assemblyman Al Stirpe, the Gifford Foundation, and the Gorman Foundation are pleased to announce the expansion of the CNY Bounty local-food, home-delivery system into Fayetteville and Manlius.  The press conference will be held at 10am, in the lobby at the East Area Family YMCA, 200 Towne Drive in Fayetteville, and will be attended by program participants and community leaders.

“Having grown up myself in a rural community, in addition to being a member of both the Agricultural and Economic Development Committees, I was immediately drawn to the Bounty concept,” said Assemblyman Al Stirpe.  “Not only does it stand to benefit Central New York’s economy, specifically its farmers and small business people, but it has the potential to make Central New York a healthier and more environmentally friendly place to live and raise a family. The expansion of Bounty into Onondaga County will make fresh, healthy, locally grown food more readily available to all of my constituents, while shrinking the carbon footprint generated by transporting our food from thousands of miles away. Central NY prides itself on producing great tasting nutritious foods. It’s about time we develop and promote a program that strongly supports that for all of us.”

Kathy Goldfarb-Findling, Executive Director of the Gifford Foundation, whose financial support made the hiring of a marketing director possible, commented: “the Gifford Foundation is pleased to provide support for CNY Bounty.  We believe that the project provides an impactful method not only for buying locally produced foods and produce, but also a way to increase markets for these products so that there is sustainability for the farmers and growers.  It’s a win-win for all of us.”

"The Gorman Foundation is proud to support CNY Bounty because the people in our region deserve to have easy access to the high-quality food that our local farmers and producers have been making for years.  Plus, as a customer of CNY Bounty, I can attest to the fact that the food is not only high-quality but it tastes great too," said Amanda Larson, president of The Gorman Foundation.

“It has been such a pleasure to work with the CNY Bounty over the past 8 months,” said Chris Nucerino, Executive Director, East Area Family YMCA in Fayetteville.  “Together we are improving the well being of many people in our community by providing fresh produce and other foods from our local farmers at the YMCA of Greater Syracuse.  We are so excited about Assemblyman Stirpes’ leadership in promoting this throughout our county.  The YMCA of Greater Syracuse is excited to continue our relationship with CNY Bounty and provide its over 30,000 members and the people of the communities we serve this wonderful opportunity to have access to healthy, local foods.”

“CNY Bounty’s staff and producers are very excited about the expansion into Fayetteville and Manlius,” said Steve Holzbaur, Program Coordinator, CNY Bounty.  “With the assistance of Assemblyman Stripe, his staff, and the Gifford and Gorman Foundations, our producers will now be able to access a much larger customer base.  This will have significant benefits for our rural, agricultural community.”

To facilitate its expansion into Fayetteville and Manlius, CNY Bounty welcomes new Director of Marketing, Jody Stokoe Horsman.  Ms. Horsman brings extensive sales and marketing background to this position.  She was a senior event coordinator with CenterStage Events orchestrating dozens of conventions, trade shows, corporate functions and festivals.  She enthusiastically supports local agriculture initiatives and is an active member of Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA). 

CNYBounty supports local farmers and producers by creating new markets for locally produced foods, thereby strengthening the local economy and providing healthy food to all citizens of Central New York in an environmentally responsible way.

Each week, Bounty staff coordinate weekly product availability with farmers and producers and upload the products, prices, photos and descriptions on the website.  Each farmer/producer decides on its own price, and Bounty staff mark that price up 30% to cover all of Bounty’s overhead costs.  Customers (currently individual households and restaurants) can go online to www.cnybounty.com before Monday at noon to place an order.  Orders are collected from the farm on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning by Bounty staff, taken to the shared distribution center in Sherburne, NY, and distributed by Bounty staff to customers’ doorsteps or strategically located drop off points on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon.  Delivery is free for orders over $35 or for orders of any size to drop off points. 

CNYBounty is made possible by the CNY Resource Conservation and Development, Chenango County Economic Development Fund, Chenango Agriculture Development Council, Madison County Agricultural Economic Development Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango, Madison, and Onondaga Counties, Greater Norwich Foundation, Gorman Foundation, CNY Community Foundation, New York Farm Viability Institute, Assemblyman Al Stirpe, and Gifford Foundation.

For more information on CNYBounty, please visit: www.cnybounty.com
To speak with Jody Stokoe Horsman, please call: 1-888-252-6106 x 4

Central New York was once the premier dairy region of the nation, especially for Holsteins. Gerrit Smith Miller of Peterboro, Madison County, kept the oldest purebred Holstein herd in the United States from 1869 to 1937. Many other notable dairymen called Central New York home at one time, including such pioneers as W. D. Hoard of Hoard’s Dairyman, Solomon Hoxie of the Advanced Registry system, Stephen Moulton Babcock of the Babcock test system, and Gail Borden of Borden’s Condensed Milk.

As a way to honor Central New York’s dairy legacy, we invite you to consider recovering your own family stories and that of other important dairy farms in the area. Though the focus of our on-going volunteer efforts will be on documenting the history of farm families that had Holstein herds in Central New York, all breed enthusiasts and others with stories about dairy farming are welcome.

Please join us for an informal gathering at 7:30 P.M., Tuesday evening, February 23rd in the Ag Center, 100 Eaton Street, Morrisville. Dr. Milt Sernett, professor emeritus of Syracuse University and a volunteer with the Smithfield Community Association, will present an image-rich history of Gerrit Smith Miller and his historic Kriemhild Herd of Peterboro. Discussions follow.

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Recent Field Crops Articles:

Late blight is a potentially very destructive disease that fortunately occurs very sporadically in most areas of the northeastern US most growing seasons.

• Late Blight Occurrence and Management in Potatoes and Tomatoes in the Northeastern United States
• Managing late blight in organically produced tomato

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The Agricultural Program in Madison County addresses the educational needs of a diverse group of farmers and land owners in Madison County. They include:

• Dairy Farmers
• Livestock Farmers
• Field Crop Farmers
• Commercial Vegetable and Small Fruit Farmers
• Farmers who are exploring and starting entrepreneurial pursuits in agriculture

Our staff includes Karen Baase, Extension Issue Leader, who oversees and manages the Agricultural staff including Kathe Evans, Steve Miller, Becca Jablonski, Darlene Curtis, and Lucille Farfaglia. Their respective duties are outlined below:

• Karen Baase – Full-time Agriculture Program Leader. Karen has been with CCE-Madison since 1991. She helps cover the dairy management program area, and currently oversees the work of the following program staff:
• Kathe Evans – Part-Time Field Crops Educator. Kathe has been with CCE-Madison since 1999 working almost exclusively in the commercial field crops area. She has been part of the CCE system statewide for many years.
• Steve Miller – Part-time Horticulture Educator. Steve works with both commercial and homeowners with horticultural questions and issues. Steve has over 25 years of Extension experience.
• April Winslow – Part of April’s full-time responsibilities is overseeing the Ag-In-The-Classroom program and editing the Ag Pulse, a bi-monthly newsletter with an agricultural theme. It’s designed for all municipal officials.
• Becca Jablonski – Full time Agricultural Economic Development Specialist in Madison County. Becca began her duties in Madison County in September 2007.
• Darlene Curtis –Part-time Administrative Assistant with CCE-Madison. Darlene specializes in desktop publishing.
• Lucille Farfaglia – Part-time Administrative Assistant and is the newest member of the Agricultural Staff.