NORWICH – Like his family’s goat farm in Georgetown, 11-year-old Eli Stoltman says there’s a lot of things that make Chenango County Dairy Day great.
“Dairy Day is a lot of fun and you can do lots of cool stuff,” he said, listing walking in the parade, being around the animals, participating in the drawing contest and playing with other kids as his favorite aspects of the event. “It’s also lot’s of fun to do the maze.”
When asked what he liked most about living on a farm, Stoltman said everything – well, almost everything.
“You get to care for lots of animals, you’re never bored and there’s always lots of things to do. You have to get up early and do lots of chores, too, and then you come in and eat breakfast,” he said, adding that he loves it all, “except maybe for the getting up early part.”
Dairy Day – honoring all those who are late to bed and early to rise for the sake of producing our nation’s food supply – saw its best turnout to date Saturday, event organizers say. Following the 11 a.m. parade down East Main Street, all ages filled the Exhibition Hall at the county fairgrounds to take-in a little bit life – past and present – on the farm. Sheep shearing, wool-spinning, oxen-pulling, sheep herding and goat milking demonstrations were popular attractions throughout the day. There were also hosts of displays highlighting the dairy industry, local farm products, local farming history, conservation, health, equipment and technological innovations. Chenango County Dairy Princess Ashley Fagan and her court passed out milk and greeted passers-by, while local officials toured the grounds with New York State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker. Alan Proskin, who operates a farm off of Rt. 23 atop Tanner Hill, won the “I Love My Chenango County Farmer” Contest.
Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the moving crowds by the Grange Hall concession stand, Roger and Marjorie Bliss said Dairy Day is proof that there is both a rich farming history and future to celebrate in this county.
“I wish people would buy more local products, to keep Chenango County on the farming map,” said Marjorie, who has farmed with her husband for 56 years in the North Norwich area. “This (Dairy Day) is our highlight. It’s a very good turnout. It’s beautiful.”
New to this year’s event was a 5-K road race and a celebrity goat milking contest, which was won by crowd favorite Mary Weidman, the County Clerk and Fair Board Director. Also, for the first time in several years, the Cornell Cooperative Extension has compiled a Chenango County Guide to Locally Grown Products. The guide breaks the over 70 different products being grown and sold in the area, and where these operations are located.
“It bridges the gap between the farmer that grows the food and the consumer,” said Extension’s local products promoter Sophie Belanger, who said buying locally is a healthier, tastier and more environmentally conscious. “If we don’t want the industry to control what we eat, we need to support our local economy.” The guide is located the extension’s offices on North Broad Street and in the tourism kiosk in the East Park in Norwich.
Touching nearly the entire spectrum of agriculture, from business to history, Dairy Day means a lot of things to different people.
When asked what she liked best, Tess Greene, 12, from Greene, said it was the cows.
“I just love them,” she said. “They are very lovey – they are so sweet.”