Danielle Cummins hopes that when folks drive down the rural roads of Genesee County, that they can take in all that goes into those rows of crops growing in the nearby dirt and how they are so integral to the makeup of the county’s number one industry, especially amidst the labor challenges of limited work hours and competitive pay from nearby states.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, C - Batavia) attended the New York Farm Bureau’s Taste of New York reception in Albany yesterday. The event was hosted in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and attended by county Farm Bureau members and public officials. During this time, Hawley met with local farmers and members of the Farm Bureau about the importance of New York agriculture. New York is one of the leading states for agriculture, the fifth-largest dairy producer in the nation and has roughly seven million acres of farmland. The industry has also created nearly 200,000 jobs, with the vast majority of farms in the state being family-owned. Hawley is proud to have attended this event and hopes it will bring more awareness to one of the state’s largest industries.

“It was great to meet with so many New Yorkers yesterday who share a passion for local agriculture,” said Hawley. “As a farmer once myself, I have a special appreciation for this industry. From the grocery store to the food in your pantry, we all rely on local farms like the ones we have here in Western New York. Holding this event in Albany will  shine a light on this vital industry and bring more attention to our family-owned farms.”

NOTE: This week, The Batavian is highlighting the annual Chamber of Commerce Award winners with a story each day through Friday. The awards dinner is Saturday evening at Batavia Downs.

Carrying on and expanding the farm operation started by their grandfather a half-century ago, Travis and Levi Offhaus are proud of the team they have put together at Offhaus Farms, Inc., 7892 Oak Orchard Rd., in the Town of Batavia.

“It has been a team effort, not just the owners or managers,” said Levi, during a sit-down interview with The Batavian in light of the 2,000-acre dairy/crop farm being selected as Agricultural Business of the Year by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce. “It’s an honor (to get this award). We all try to do our best day in and day out in every aspect.”

Bills that were passed in the Senate this year are now headed to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk, and Genesee County legislators made one more impassioned plea for her to veto the legislation, though perhaps in vain, during Wednesday’s legislature meeting.

Press Release: 

After standing with Upstate NY dairy farmers in Central NY, the North Country, and the Finger Lakes, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today revealed that he has secured an extension for the vital Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program dairy farmers rely on, that was set to expire this year, and which could’ve left farmers facing a “dairy cliff,’ cutting off payments to farmers and harming consumers by raising the price of milk. Schumer secured the extension of the Farm Bill in the Continuing Resolution budget deal which President Biden signed today.

“Our dairy farmers are the beating heart of Upstate, and when they came to me worried that this year we could be going over the ‘dairy cliff,’ I immediately started ringing the cowbell and promised I would churn up support to ensure these payments wouldn’t lapse. I helped enact the Dairy Margin Coverage Program in the 2018 Farm Bill, and I am proud to have secured this vital year-long extension while we work to develop a bipartisan Farm Bill in the next year,” said Senator Schumer. “Today our dairy farmers can breathe a sigh of relief and raise a glass of Upstate NY-made milk and more thoroughly enjoy this Thanksgiving.”

Schumer explained the “dairy cliff” refers to the expiration of the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, a risk management tool that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. The dairy industry would be the first impacted, as dairy farmers would lose out on monthly payments through the DMC, whereas farmers participating in other support programs are paid just once per year around harvest time. If we went “over the dairy cliff” that would have meant an end to monthly price support payments to dairy farmers who participate in the Dairy Margin Coverage program, supply chain disruptions causing increased milk prices, and potentially billions in wasted government spending as the federal government would be forced to make milk purchases at a highly inflated price.

Schumer fought tooth and nail to include a one-year Farm Bill extension in the Continuing Resolution budget deal and ensure dairy farmers were protected from going over the cliff at the end of the year. The extension keeps the vital Dairy Margin Coverage Program intact for another year to protect NY’s critical dairy industry while also giving members of Congress extra time to continue to work through the negotiations for the full Farm Bill.

The dairy industry is one of New York's largest contributor to the agricultural economy. According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Dairy statistics, there are approximately 3,200 dairy farms in New York that produce over 15 billion pounds of milk annually, making New York the nation’s fifth largest dairy state.

Plans are already underway for the 20th Annual Celebrate Agriculture Dinner which will take place on Saturday, March 16 at 6 p.m. at the Alexander Fire Hall. This annual event is a celebration of Genesee County’s #1 Industry, Agriculture!

The highlight of the night is a delicious meal using locally produced foods prepared by the Culinary Arts Students from the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center. Let by Chef Alberto Santos and Denise Kaus, Culinary Arts teacher aide, this will be the third year of this perfect collaboration between the Chamber’s Agricultural Committee & Culinary Arts Program. The dinner is open to the public.

Tickets go on sale Dec. 4 at the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, 8276 Park Road, Batavia. Tickets are $30 each or a table of 10 can be purchased for $275.

Sponsorships are also available which help support agriculture educational events in Genesee County. Only 400 tickets will be sold. Tickets must be purchased by February 24, 2024. For more information or to download the registration flyer visit the
Chamber’s Website www.geneseeny.com.

The Celebrate Ag Dinner is coordinated by the following partners: Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, Genesee County Soil & Water Conservation District and Genesee County Farm Bureau. 

Sponsors of the 2023 celebration included: Alleghany Farm Services, Arctic Refrigeration, Baskin Livestock, Inc., Batavia Muckdogs, Carolina Eastern Crocker, CPL, Farm Credit East. ACA, Farm Family Insurance, Fieldstone Private Wealth, Freed Maxick CPA, Junction Motor Freight, L&M Specialty Fabrications, LLC, Lamb Farms, LandPro Equipment, Lawley, L-Brooke Farms, LLC, Monroe Tractor, My-T Acres, National Grid, OXBO International, Perry Veterinary Clinic, Sackett Farms, Torrey Farms, Western New York Energy, LLC, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. William Kent, Inc. and Windy Acres
Farm. 

Farms and businesses that donated locally grown food for the 2023 dinner included: Dorman Farms, Farm Fresh First, Inc/Nortera Foods, Fenton’s Produce, Harrington’s Produce, SJ Starowitz Farms, Torrey Farms, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc., Kreher Family Farms, Daves Ice Cream, Doug & Peggy Torrey, Yancey’s Fancy. 

For ticket information or questions contact the Kelly B. at The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, 585-343-7440 or kbermingham@geneseeny.com.

Congratulations to the Genesee County 4-H members who were selected to receive an award for their excellent work during the 2022–2023 4-H Club Year.

Project Area Awards are a form of recognition for 4-H members who have excelled in a certain project area. 4-H members must be nominated in order to receive this award. 

Award criteria include the 4-H member’s accomplishments in the project area, the length of time the 4-H member has worked in the project area, and the 4-H member’s leadership.

Project Area Awards Recipients:

• Arts & Crafts: Kasey Pagels
• Beef Cattle: Cody Carlson, Makayla Sugg
• Cavy: Layla Baker, Evan Winspear
• Citizenship: Amelia Brewer, Justin Hart, Maggie Winspear, Evan Winspear
• Dairy Cattle: Rachel Best, Amelia Brewer
• Gardening: Brook Pagels
• Goat: Ellie Hudson, Liam Baker
• Livestock: Madison Lowe, Maggie Winspear, Bing Zuber, Chase Zuber
• Poultry: Mildred Kendall, Clare Mathes, Kasey Pagels, Brook Pagels, Alyssa Pimm, Raelyn Pimm
• Rabbit: Layla Baker, Amelia Brewer, Nico Faulks, Mae Grimes, Maura Grimes, Brook Pagels
• Sheep: Katelynn Rumsey, Colten Sugg
• Swine: Jillian Weaver
• Waterfowl: Brook Pagels, Kasey Pagels

The Genesee County 4-H Program is a youth development program for youth ages 5-18. New 4-H youth members, adult volunteers, and clubs are always welcome to join.  For information about how to join the Genesee County 4-H Program, please contact the 4-H Office at genesee4h@cornell.edu or (585) 343-3040 ext. 101. Enrollment information is also available on our website at http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu

The Erie County Agricultural Society hosted the Harvest Classic Cattle Show on the Erie County Fairground this past weekend. In its third year, the event hosted nearly 200 cattle and competitors and prize premiums totaled over $8,000. Exhibitors came from New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Results:

Charolais Heifers

• Grand Champion, Charolais Heifer – Evie Groom, Lyons
• Reserve Champion, Charolais Heifer – Lisa Compton, Ovid

Hereford Heifers

• Grand Champion, Hereford Heifer – McKenna Broughton, Attica
• Reserve Champion, Hereford Heifer – McKalynne Helmke, Philadelphia, OH

Maine-Anjou Heifers

• Grand Champion, Maine-Anjou Heifer – Lincoln Giebner, Canton, PA
• Reserve Champion, Maine-Anjou Heifer – Simon Spoth, Lewisburg, PA

Maintainer Heifers

• Grand Champion, Maintainer Heifer – Kalya Lippert, Sinclairville
• Reserve Champion, Maintainer Heifer – Lana Miles, Jasper

Shorthorn Heifers

• Grand Champion, Shorthorn Heifer – Makayla Sugg, Alden
• Reserve Champion, Shorthorn Heifer – Jenna Weixlmann, Arcade

Shorthorn Plus Heifers

• Grand Champion, Shorthorn Plus Heifer – Broughton Cattle Company, Springs
• Reserve Champion, Shorthorn Plus Heifer – Chelsea Lippert, Alexander

Simmental Heifers

• Grand Champion, Simmental Heifer – Addy Rae Bozeman, Naples
• Reserve Champion, Simmental Heifer – McKalynne Helmke, New Philadelphia, OH

Sim-Solution Heifers

• Grand Champion, Sim-Solution Heifer – Chase Gerhardt, East Aurora
• Reserve Champion, Sim-Solution Heifer – Gavin Palmer, Springboro, PA

AOB Heifers

• Grand Champion, AOB Heifer – Evie Groom, Lyons
• Reserve Champion, AOB Heifer – Emily Smith, Marion

Crossbred Heifers

• Grand Champion, Crossbred Heifer – Gavin Palmer, Springboro
• Reserve Champion, Crossbred Heifer – Tyler Strub, East Concord

Supreme Champion Females

• Supreme Champion Female – Gavin Palmer, Springboro, PA
• Reserve Supreme Champion Female – Kayla Lippert, Sinclairville
• Third Overall Champion Female – Chase Gerhardt, East Aurora
• Fourth Overall Champion Female – Addy Rae Bozeman, Naples
• Fifth Overall Champion Female – McKalynne Helmke, New Philadelphia, OH

Market Heifer

• Grand Champion, Market Heifer – Lincoln Giebner, Canton, PA
• Reserve Champion, Market Heifer – Sarah Wilson, Dansville

Shorthorn Plus Steer

• Grand Champion, Shorthorn Plus Steer – Kayla Lippert, Sinclairville
• Reserve Champion, Shorthorn Plus Steer – Maddilyn Durfee, Attica

AOB Steer

• Grand Champion, AOB Steer – Payson Southers, Millmont, PA
• Reserve Champion, AOB Steer – Molly Decker, Scenery Hill, PA

Light Weight

• Champion, Light Weight – Carson Wojciechowski, Springville
• Reserve Champion, Light Weight – Gavin Palmer, Springboro, PA
• Honorable Mention, Light Weight – Jenna Weixlmann, Arcade

Medium Weight

• Champion, Medium Weight – Amelia Hintz-Strub, Springville
• Reserve Champion, Medium Weight – Cody Carlson, Byron
• Honorable Mention, Medium Weight – Romey Slick, Edinburg, PA

Heavy Weight

• Champion, Heavy Weight – Shelby Schrader, Ghent
• Reserve Champion, Heavy Weight – Lydia Covert, Lakewood
• Honorable Mention, Heavy Weight – Savannah Palmer, New Castle, PA

Supreme Champion Market Animals

• Supreme Champion Market Animal – Payson Southers, Millmont, PA
• Reserve Supreme Champion Market Animal – Lincoln Giebner, Canton, PA
• Third Overall Champion Market Animal – Shelby Schrader, Ghent
• Fourth Overall Champion Market Animal – Molly Decker, Scenery Hill, PA
• Fifth Overall Champion Market Animal – Sarah Wilson, Dansville

A complete list of results can also be found online: The Harvest Classic (the-fairgrounds.com)

The show is presented by the Erie County Agricultural Society. Since its founding in 1819, the mission of the Erie County Agricultural Society has been to preserve and enhance, by educational endeavors, the agricultural and historical legacy of New York State.

Crystal Casper said she and her family love what they do -- farming, raising cattle and hogs ethically and providing customers with healthy, natural foods.

"When you come here, what you're getting is true farm-to-plate goodness," Casper said. "You are meeting the farmers who are raising it. It's right here. I mean, it's my husband and myself. That's my daughter-in-law, my son. And then we have my other three sons and my daughter, who are all part of what we're doing here. So when you come here, you see us. This is the face of what you're getting. And if we tell you, you know, that this is what it is, then this is exactly what it is."

And it is meat raised in pasture, hay, and additive-free feed. That's what the Capsers mean by "All-Natural," which is part of their logo.

"I truly believe that our cows -- we've got cows out here in our pasture that are 15 years old -- so we firmly believe that as we raise our animals as stress-free as possible. We raise them natural. The cows have their calves out in the pasture. We raise the calves on the moms and through November, and then we wean them off their moms where we put them in our feedlot, and then we feed on choice feed. We have fans on them in the summertime. We do everything we can to keep cows comfort to a high point."

The Caspers hosted an open house on Saturday to help introduce the community to what they offer in their retail shop right on the property, which is at 6671 East Main Street Road, Stafford.  Regular hours are Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with availability the rest of the week by appointment.

"Last year, we opened up in June, and we really didn't have an open house or a grand opening, so we wanted to do something special since we won the GLOW award for the best farm in the GLOW region and we got third for the fresh meat," Casper said. "We wanted to do an open house to showcase our farm and let everybody see what we have available."

The event featured vendors that serve Casper Farm meat -- such as the Carve'n Curbside food truck -- or that the Caspers carry in their retail shop. That included Blue Groove Coffee, Petals & Flour, and Black Creed Cidery.

"This is a grand opening for people who don't know we're here," Casper said.

The focus is clearly on the meat the Caspers sell, which isn't just beef, but also pork and chicken, all with the goal of raising animals in stress-free environments.

With pork, especially, stress affects the flavor and tenderness of meat.  Stress lowers the PH levels in the animals' muscles. Higher PH levels are desirable, so the pork sold by Casper farms is raised close to the meat processor in Penn Yan so the animals need not be trucked to another location, which increases a hog's stress level.

All of the meat sold by Casper is processed in Penn Yan and Romulus, where the processors are USDA-certified and inspected.

"Everything here has to be USDA inspected," Casper said.

Their meat is also hormone-free.

"When you have your animal processed, if people are using hormones, the internal organs are usually no good," Casper said. "There are a lot of people who want to buy liver, kidney heart, those products -- if our animals were being fed hormones, those products would not be good. We've never had a kidney or a liver refused or come back to our processor."

Because it's a family operation, Casper said, customers can be sure about the quality of what they're buying.

"You know exactly what you're getting," Casper said. "It's coming right from here, right from the processor's freezer right to our freezer. There are some people who have a fresh case. When it's in that fresh case, and it's not frozen, you don't know, you, the consumer, how fresh it is.  With our meat, it goes, like, boom, boom, boom. You know exactly what you're getting. If you pull it out of our freezer, then it's going to be right."

J. Randolf "Randy" Starr, 73, a fifth-generation farmer in Pavilion with an affection for running his family farm in some old-time ways, using older equipment, passed away on Sunday.

The Batavian wrote about Starr in 2011, and he explained his preference for older equipment (not that he rejected everything new) and taking a common-sense approach to farming.

"I always thought the old-timers knew what they were doing, Starr said. "Work hard, keep your nose clean, and you’ll be all right. This is just the way we go. It’s the way we do it. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody else in the world, but it seems to work for us all right.”

Starr was born in Batavia in 1949, the son of George and Isabelle Rudgers Starr.

The Starr Farm on Starr Road in Pavilion celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2018.

The farm was started by Noah Starr, Randy's great-great-great grandfather, a Dutch immigrant who bought 270 acres in Pavilion from the Holland Land Office in 1818.  He built a log cabin on the property when he first settled it.  His son started construction on the first part of the current Starr home in 1890.

Randy was born to be a farmer.  

After graduating from Pavilion High School, as did his wife, Cindy, he attended Alfred College in order to earn a degree in agriculture.

"For some foolish reason, I wanted to be a farmer all my life, and now here I am." Starr said in 2011. "I’m 61 years old. Was that the right move or not? Who knows?"

At the time of the article in 2011, Starr farmed 125 acres, growing wheat, barley, hay, oats and black beans. He also raised about 80 head of cattle.

Starr said he found the older equipment less of a hassle than a lot of modern equipment farmers use.

"My tractor breaks down, and their tractor breaks down; theirs is maybe a $50,000 fix, and mine is a piece of baling wire and something I can keep it going with."

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Cindy Wellman Starr; his children, Christopher Starr and Sarah (Timothy) Kingdon; grandchildren, Evan and Collin Kingdon; sisters-in-law, Debbie Starr, Ann (Duane) Stehlar; special friends, Judd (Janet) Ewell, along with many nieces, nephews and dear friends.

For his full obituary, click here.