NEW BERLIN – More than 40 of Chenango County’s agricultural leaders, together with state elected officials, gathered in New Berlin Tuesday for the second annual county farms tour, a day trip that highlights the local agricultural industry while also pointing to some of the challenges presently facing it.
“Last year’s tour was good, but this year has been great,” said Chenango County Agriculture and Farm Protection Bureau member Donald Franklin. Franklin originated the idea of an ag tour last year as a way of giving officials the chance to see the county’s ag industry first-hand.
“I wanted to get our state, local and federal legislators out here in the fields to take a look at it and what needs to be done,” he said. “It’s been a learning experience for me and I hope for everyone else too.”
This year’s tour – sponsored by NBT Bank, Reese-Marshall, Commerce Chenango, Chenango Agricultural and Farmland Protection Bureau, Chenango Agriculture Development Council, and the Deer Path Restaurant – welcomed a number of New York officials including NY Agriculture and Markets representative Geoff Palmer, State Assemblymen William Magee and Bob Reilly, and State Senator Tony Avella.
Attendees traveled by bus to farms surrounding the New Berlin and Columbus area. First stop on the itinerary: Hopestead Hill Farm in the Town of Columbus. The family-owned and operated sheep farm began as a struggling dairy farm 25 years ago, but has since evolved and grown over the last decade, marking its primary industry in the wool and meat market and becoming one of the largest sheep farms in the area with more than 500 sheep grazing on more than 250 acres.
While Hopestead Hill owners Bruce and Elizabeth Vermeulen showed their excitement about the recent growth of their industry, along with others in the Columbus area, a lack of rain this summer has been one of the biggest challenges thus far, said Bruce Vermeulen. The farm is able to feed its stock using methods of rotational gazing and if the dry spell continues, the Vermeulens say they are ready for more trials in the near future.
Following the visit to Hopestead, the bus made its way to the Postma Dairy Farm in Columbus, where Jim and Melanie Postma manage a 200 dairy cow operation.
The newly built, multi-million dollar facility began milk production in January, working with a modern milking parlor and the latest equipment that increases both efficiency and productivity.
The day wrapped up with a visit to the Chobani production facility just south of New Berlin, where the group toured parts of the plant, which is currently under construction and hasn’t stopped growing since the company bought it.
The success of Chobani since its inception has become a gem in the county. The group was briefed on the history of the company, from its beginnings as a contract yogurt maker to its current claim as the number one greek yogurt manufacturer in the country, maintaining approximately 49 percent of the greek yogurt industry and rapidly growing from 5 employees in 2005 to more than 1,200 today.
According to Chobani spokesperson Melissa Stagnaro, the company shows no signs of slowing down. In the recent year, it invested more than $250 million into its facility in Chenango County and currently, a 900,000 square foot manufacturing facility is being constructed in Twin Falls, Idaho to meet increasing production demands. More recently, the company looked to expand its market internationally, testing in Canada and Australia and in May, it announced that it would be an official sponsor of Team USA during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
“The purpose of this was for education for legislators,” said tour coordinator Shane Butler. “This has really shown what Chenango County farmers can do and what we have here.”