February 20

ON this evening Farm Hour on WIOX we will be hearing from Catskill Mountainkeeper Agriculture Coordinator EMILY DEAN.  Emily was in Albany last week  at the American Farmland Trust No Farms No Food Rally  and she will be calling in to tell us about her day at the Capital.
And later in the hour, Farmer Wes Hannah, organizer for the National Young Farmers Coalition will be calling in to talk about the future of farming.  NYFC published a comprehensive report about the obstacles facing young beginning farmers and creative solutions for the future, download at Building a Future With Farmers: Challenges Faced by Young, American Farmers and a National Strategy to Help

February 6 Farm Hour

ON this evenings farmhour we have a guest in the studio with us,  Dave Holscher owner and operator of Roxbury Mountain Maple and later in the hour we will be receiving a call from Farmer Maureen Knapp, NorthEast Organic Farmers Association, has awarded Maureen Knapp the distinction of being the farmer of the year.  She will be calling in from her farm, Cobblestone Valley Farm.

January 23 Happy Chinese New Year

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An early illustration of the 3-point hitch designed by Harry Ferguson

On this evenings Farm Hour David Haight, the NY Director of American Farmland Trust will be calling into to brief us on the Governors recently proposed 2012 budget and what that means for NY Agriculture.  Also, we will be hearing from Jean Bonatall from the Cornell Waste Management Institute Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. we also have an on the farm interview to share with you from the Davis Farm in Margaretville where I had a informative discussion with Lauren Davis about the weather and stream management.   And as usual we have a couple of farm related events to share as well as a piece on TRACTOR HISTORY.

EVENTS

1. the EKLUNDS processing plant in Stamford is having  an open house to the public this Friday January 27 from 10am to 12pm. you can Tour Delaware County’s newest red meat processing facility which was Certified by USDA last November. The staff at Eklund Processing will detail their approach and techniques, review cuts sheets and discuss custom services they offer.  The facility is also
offering organic processing.  Carpooling will be available from Walton at 9 am
and Liberty at 8:30 am.  To register, contact Kim Holden at (607) 865 7090
or km…@cornell.edu

2. Farmers’ Tax School: The Farmers’ Income Tax School will be held on Thursday, January 26 at 1:00 p.m. at the Delaware County Resource Center in Hamden.  Registration will begin at 12:45. Cost is $5.00 per farm.This year the tax school will highlight new regulations. Tax forms and handouts will be available. Bring your questions and they will do their best to give you the answers you need.  Presenters will be Mariane Kiraly, Extension Resource Educator and Sandy Whittaker, Tax Practitioner. Call 607-865-6531 to register.

3. May 21-24, 2012.
“4th  International Symposium on Managing Animal Mortality, Products, By-Products, and Associated Health Risk: Connecting Research, Regulations, and Response”

4. No Farms No Food® Rally
Wednesday February 15, 2012 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM EST
Albany, NY

January 2, 2012

On this evenings Farmhour we will share and interview with Gwen Deysenroth at the Byebrook Farm and we have some farm related events to share with you as well a sample of the NOFA NY winter conference key note speaker John Ikerd.

Byebrook Farm
7531 County Highway 18
Bloomville, NY 13739
Phone: 607 538-9796

December 26

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On this evenings FarmHour we will hear a pre-recorded interview by Amber Karnes with Farmer, advocate and author Joel Salatin and a few local farm news and events.

Flood relief funding is currently available for Catskill region farmers through the Raise the Roof Farmer Flood Relief Fund.  Hundreds of community members and a dozen local organizations have contributed over $30,000 since September.  Small grants are available to farms that suffered flood damage or product loss during Hurricane Irene/Tropical Storm Lee.  A first round of $15,000 in funding was dispersed in early December. A second round of funding is open through January 15, 2012.  Applications can be downloaded from the Scholarships & Grants section of the Pure Catskills webpage online atwww.purecatskills.com or by contacting Challey Comer atccomer@nycwatershed.org or (607) 865-7090.

Small Farms Project, due January 12, 2012
The Cornell Small Farms Programs is accepting applications for projects that address livestock processing issues, local market access and growth, and grassland use/grazing for small farms in New York State.  Farmers, agriculture educators and service providers, community development groups, agricultural non-profit organizations, and community members in New York are eligible to apply.  Selected projects will receive $4,000.

December 19

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FRACKING
Ken Jaffe from Slope Farms called in to talk about what the impact of fracking would be on his farm.  He would lose most of his business.
New York State Senator Tony Avella, of the 11th senate district in Queens, NY, called in to talk about the bill he is sponsoring to BAN FRACKING in New York State.  He urged people to write their congressmen  and Governor Cuomo to express their opinions on this controversial process.  There was an extension until January 11, for public opinion.

December 12

On this evenings Farm Hour we are going to play a series of interviews from WFMU’s the The Dusty Show, produced and hosted by Clay Pigeon.  The interviews are from the Farmers Occupy Wallstreet MARCH, December 4th, 2011 at the La Plaza Cultural Farmer’s Garden (9th St. and Avenue C – Manhattan).  Thanks to Clay Pigeon for letting us share this piece on WIOX.

If you like what you hear and Im sure you do, tune into The Dusty Show, Thursdays 6pm – 7pm on WFMU 91.1 fm 90.1 fm wfmu.org