The barn doors are open!

A few members of the flock at Heather Ridge Farm in Preston Hollow.

There's lots of great stuff happening this weekend. Of particular note are the three farm tours coming up. Whether you're interested in dairy, mixed livestock or horses, you can learn about these types of farming with our member businesses!

Saturday, August 20th

Farm Tour

Calkins Creamery

Honesdale, PA

8 am to 12:30 pm

Tour the farm, see cheesemaking and enjoy a cheese tasting with a catered lunch.

$40 per person - prepay online!

Saturday, August 20th

Farm Tour

Heather Ridge Farm

Preston Hollow, Greene/Schoharie County

Starts at 10:30 am

A walking tour of the farm with a diversity of livestock and lush pastures.

$5 per adult

Saturday, August 20th

Farmstock Farm Tour

Presented by the Sullivan County Farm Network

Oak Ridge Farm

Youngsville, Sullivan County

12 to 3 pm

Phone: (845) 482-4686

Adults $6, children $4

Satuday, August 20th

Wool spinning demonstration

Catskill Harvest Market

Liberty, Sullivan County

12 to 4 pm

Learn about turning wool into yarn and meet a sheep.

Free!

Sunday, August 21st

Blackberry Preservation Workshop

Channery Hill Farm

Presented by Slow Food Upper Delaware River

1 to 4 pm

Raid the blackberry patch and then learn how to preserve the bounty!

$25 for members, $35 for non-members

Dont' forget that the Delaware County Fair in Walton continues through Saturday and the Little World's Fair in Grahamsville continues through Sunday.

Senator Gillibrand comes to the Delaware County Fair

Sally and Jake Fairbairn of Lazy Crazy Acres in Arkville with Senator Gillibrand at the Delaware County Fair.

DAY/DATE: Thursday, August 18
TIME: 1:30-3:00 pm
PLACE: Delaware County Fair Grounds – enter through A Gate
Tent in Agriculture Awareness Display Area
Walton, NY

Senator Gillibrand will host an economic development roundtable with federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Earl F. Gohl, and local business and community leaders to discuss the latest economic development efforts for Delaware County and how they can assist and promote local growth. They will discuss ways to better access ARC programs in business development, job training, infrastructure and telecommunications, as well as other efforts to increase business opportunities and create jobs.

ARC is a regional economic development agency that helps grow local economies by improving water and sewer systems, increasing school readiness, expanding access to health care, investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, assisting local communities with strategic planning, and providing technical and managerial assistance to emerging businesses. New York is one of 13 states covered by ARC, with 14 counties qualifying for their programs. Since 2006 in New York, more than $12.9 million in ARC funds have helped leverage about $86.9 million in private investment, helping create or retain over 2,100 jobs.

A summer blockbuster

Vegetables from Shaul's Farm on display at the Schoharie County Sunshine Fair.

This weekend's shaping up to be a summer blockbuster of farm and food events. We can hardly keep up!

Batavia Kill Stream Celebration
August 6th
10 am to 4:30 pm
Country Suite B&B
Ashland, Greene County
Come celebrate the beauty and wonder of the Catskill Mountain streams through interactive exhibits, display booths, guided stream walks, and a host of activities for children and adults alike!

Art & Soul of the Catskills
August 6th
10 am to 5 pm
Courthouse Square
Delhi, Delaware County
A fine art and craft festival featuring literary presentations, music, dance and locally sourced food, wines and beers.

From the Ground Up!
August 6th
12 to 4 pm
Domesticities & The Cutting Garden
Youngsville, Sullivan County
Sixth Annual Festival celebrating grown, created and produced in Sullivan County.

Catskill Mountainkeeper's Barnfest
August 6th, 3 pm
The Hills Country Inn
Callicoon Center, Sullivan County
RSVP here.
Featured speakers include Anna Lappe, Fred Kirschenmann and Dave Pasternack.

Not to mention county fair season! The Ulster County Fair, Schoharie County Sunshine Fair and Otsego County Fair have full event schedules throughout the weekend!

Interested in what's happening beyond farm and foodie events? Check out the This Weekend feature on the Watershed Post.

Summer news round up

It's the peak of summer and Pure Catskills members are all over the regional news!

Here's the latest round up of coverage:

Callicoon Calling - New York Post

Berrying in the Far Northern Catskills - Village Voice

Local couple making ice cream down on the farm - Catskill Mountain News

Farmers are the New Artists - Edible Manhattan

Road Trip: New York's Catskills - Travel & Leisure Magazine

Weddings big business in the Catskills - Catskill Mountain News

August CRAFT visit at Lucky Dog Farm

On Monday, August 8, the Catskills CRAFT group will meet from 5 to 7 p.m. at Lucky Dog Organic Farm in Hamden, NY. Catskills CRAFT, or Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, is an educational networking group for beginning farmers. Farm interns, employees and operators of recently established farm enterprises are welcome to attend the event.

In fewer than ten years, Lucky Dog Organic Farm has grown to encompass a farm store, wholesale operation, community supported agriculture (CSA) program, farmers' market sales and two on-farm restaurants. With this growth, staff size has expanded to include seasonal and year-round employees. Farm staff will discuss their approach to planning for and adapting to the growth of a farm business. The first hour of the farm visit will include this discussion of planning for and adapting to growth. Following the discussion, the group will share a potluck meal.

Catskills CRAFT brings a national model aimed at developing beginning farmer networks across the country to the region. More details on the group and the monthly farm visits planned throughout 2011 can be found at www.catskillscraft.org. Contact Sonia Persichilli at info@catskillscraft.org or 914-720-1020 for more information.

From June through November, beginning farmers are invited to gather at a farm for an instructional visit. There are six Monday evening visits planned for the 2011 season. Each visit includes an overview of the farm as well as a hands-on demonstration of one or two specific topics. The end of the season closes with a final farm visit and planning session for the following year's tours. You can read about at the group's first farm visit with Willow Wisp Organic Farm here on the blog.

CRAFT host farms demonstrate the growing diversity of agriculture in the region and address a range of relevant agricultural challenges and techniques. A full schedule and host farm background can be found at www.CatskillsCRAFT.org. Catskills CRAFT is made possible with leadership support from Catskills region beginning farmers, financial support from Farmhearts, and administrative support from the Watershed Agricultural Council. For more information on Farmhearts, please visit www.farmhearts.org.

The Food and Health Network comes to Delaware County

A Walton Community Garden photo from its Facebook page.

Please join us! The Food and Health Network (FaHN) of South Central New York will be holding its meeting in Delaware County next Thursday, July 28 from 2:00-4:00pm. We will first convene at Lucky Dog Farm for a tour and after a short "business" meeting, we will move on for a tour of the Walton Community Garden. This meeting is open to the public, and we're always eager to see some new faces in the group. Please RSVP or direct any questions to the FaHN Coordinator, Rose Zonetti, at rhsc-rf@rhnscny.org or (607) 692-7669.

FaHN is an eight-county network (Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, and Tompkins) that aims to create food secure communities and improve the quality of life in South Central New York by supporting practices, projects, and policies that lead to increased use of nutritious and locally produced foods. We hold a monthly meeting to gather people from all sectors of the food system throughout our region as a means of generating dialogue, sharing projects, and finding ways to collaborate across sectors and counties. Our primary meeting location is Binghamton, but in an effort to engage all areas of our region, we hold an off-site meeting every other month. www.foodandhealthnetwork.org.

2011 Product Development and Marketing Grant Recipients

Once again, strong member interest in the Agricultural Development Grant Program resulted in over 40 competitive proposals submitted, requesting assistance totaling over $165,000. As with much of our work, funding for this program is provided by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

The 12 grant awards—ranging between $2,486 and $5,000 for a total of $50,000—were awarded for product development, marketing and educational activities.

Recipients of the 2011 grant program include:

Black Willow Pond Farm, Cobleskill – $5,000 for on-farm poultry and rabbit processing

Cowbella Dairy Productions, Jefferson – $4,500 for dairy processing equipment enhancements

CYRE, Inc. (dba, Pika’s Farm Table), Big Indian – $3,500 for nutritional fact labeling

Delaware Phoenix Distillery, Walton – $3,450 for labeling and packaging diversification

Diehl’s Maple Syrup, Callicoon – $4,675 for granulated maple sugar equipment

Heather Ridge Farm, Preston Hollow – $4,155 for marketing and signage enhancements

Horton Hill Farm, Jefferson – $2,486 for honey and bee’s wax processing equipment

Maggie’s Krooked Café, Tannersville – $4,000 for storage and distribution enhancements

Majestic Farm, Mountaindale – $5,000 for on-farm livestock processing equipment

Neversink Farm, Claryville – $5,000 for post-harvest produce handling equipment

R & R Farm, Bovina – $3,234 for poultry production equipment

Stoneledge Farm, South Cairo – $5,000 for product and online marketplace development