Grant recipients announced!

The Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC), with funding from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, has awarded $50,000 to 15 farm and food Pure Catskills member businesses through the Sustainable Agriculture Development Program. Part of the Pure Catskills Buy Local Campaign, this program works to support the economic viability of regional agriculture.

The 15 grant awards, ranging between $945 and $5,000, were awarded for product development, marketing and educational activities. The highly competitive grant offering received 60 project proposals requesting $307,000 in funding. By category, this year’s funding allocated $34,885 to product development, $3,170 to marketing and $11,945 outreach and education. Recipients of the 2010 program include:

Delaware County:

• Byebrook Farm, Bloomville – Marketing: farmstand improvements $1,200
• Fable Restaurant at Stone & Thistle Farm, East Meredith – Product Development: seasonal, local, organic meat specialty products $2,740
• Farm Catskills, Delhi – Outreach and Education: “Food for Thought” farm-to-school events $5,000
• Good Cheap Food, Delhi – Product Development: local soup $5,000
• Lucky Dog Farm, Hamden – Product Development: salad green improvement $5,000
• Riverdale Farm and Forest, Delhi – Product Development: maple syrup $1,200
• Sherman Hill Farmstead, Franklin – Product Development: aged goat cheese $3,692
• Thornwood Farm, Sidney Center – Product Development: poultry processing $5,000
• Taste of the Catskills, Delhi – Outreach and Education: 2-day local food event $5,000

Otsego County:

• Greater Plains PTO Garden, Oneonta – Outreach and Education: Local Food Festival $945
• Painted Goat Farm, Garrattsville – Product Development: semi-hard goat cheese $3,767

Schoharie County:

• Elderberry Herb Farm, Sharon Springs – Product Development: elderberries $5,000

Sullivan County:

• Bethel Farmer’s Market at Kauneonga Lake, Kauneonga Lake – Marketing: farmer’s market and local restaurant promotional campaign $1,970
• Farmstock, Callicoon Center – Outreach and Education: eight farm tours $1,000

Ulster County

• Neversink Farm, Claryville – Product Development: livestock processing $3,486

May Day Festival at Stony Creek Farm

A newborn Belted Galloway calf at Stony Creek Farm.

Celebrate spring at Stony Creek Farm this coming weekend. There will be a lot happening - hayrides, a farm tour, kids’ farm games, samples of local foods, baby animals to be held and fed, and dancing to live folk music!

Don't forget about the great food -

• soups and bread from Lucky Dog Farm Store, Hamden, NY
• goat cheese from Sherman Hill Farm, Franklin, NY
• quiche with our eggs and vegetables from local farms
• pulled pork from our own pasture raised pigs
• and other delicious treats!

The festivities are May 1st from 1 to 5 pm. The farm is located at 1738 Freer Hollow Road in Walton. All are welcome to the event with donations suggested.

Questions? Contact Kate or Dan Marsiglio at (607) 821- 4089 or info@stonycreekfarm.org.

Local sources for raw milk

Grazin' ladies at Byebrook Farm.

We're pleased to see the recent article on raw milk from Edible Hudson Valley contributor Anne Dailey.

New York Magazine is also reporting on the, "Rise of the Raw Milk Revolution."

Here in the Catskills, our opportunities to purchase from farms licensed to sell are expanding with each coming season!

In Delaware County, find raw milk at:

Byebrook Farm

Pick up in the farmstand

Products: raw cow's milk, farmstead Gouda cheese, eggs and hydroponic lettuce

7531 County Highway 18

Bloomville, NY

Contact Gwen or Paul Deysenroth at (607) 538-9796

Moo Juice Farm

Pick up from 7 - 10 am and 5 - 7 pm daily

Products: raw cow's milk

Otego Road

Franklin, NY

Contact Ronan Robinson at (607) 829-3420

Stone & Thistle Farm

Farm store open 7 days a week

Products: raw and pasteurized goat's milk, grass fed meat and poultry, goat milk yogurt and on-farm dining at Fable Restaurant

1211 Kelso Road

East Meredith, NY

Contact Denise or Tom Warren at (607) 278-5800

In Sullivan County:

Dirie Dairy Farm

Pick up in the milkhouse any time

Products: raw cow's milk, free-range eggs

1345 Shandelee Road

Livingston Manor, NY

Contact MaryAnne or Richard Dirie at (845) 482-4301

Mark your calendars for Foodstock

WJFF RADIO and CATSKILL HARVEST MARKET present FOODSTOCK

a festival of fine food and wine

Saturday, May 8, 11AM – 3PM

Golf Clubhouse, Villa Roma, Callicoon NY

Tickets: $20 ($15 without wine)

Join WJFF and CATSKILL HARVEST MARKET for a celebration of fine food and beverages as you feast on samples from dozens of local farmers, growers, purveyors, distributors, restaurants and wineries. Taste, sip and savor the very best our region has to offer!

Click Here for Directions!

A partial list of the FOODSTOCK who's who —

more and more are joining every day!

Anthill Farm

Apple Pond Farm

Aroma Thyme Bistro

The Bake House

Bake You Happy

Bashakill Vineyards

Beach Lake Bread

Blue Earth Local Natural Foods

Brimstone Hill Vineyard

Buddhapesto

Café Devine

Calkins Creamery

Callicoon Wine Merchant

Cascade Mountain Winery

Catskill Harvest Market

Catskill Mosaic

Catsmo Artisan Smokehouse

Dutch Desserts

Flour Power Bakery

Formaggio Italian Cheese Specialties

Hahn Brothers Farm

Halloran Farm

Hilly Acres Farm

Inn at Starlight Lake

Jam Thyme

Jill's Kitchen

Journey's End Farm

Justus Asthalter Maple Syrup

Kacer's Homemade Kielbossa

La Bean Coffee

Lantzsch Farms

Lazy Beagle Pub & Grill

Lenny Bee Smoked Fish

Lucky Chocolates

Main Street Café

Monique's Boook Boutique

Narrowsburg Roasters

Pampered Chef & More

Pazdar Winery

Pine Island Herb & Spice Co.

Platte Clove Naturals

Popie's Olives

Rolling Hills Farm

Rolling River Cafe

Samba Juice Bar

Sara's Gourmet

Sara's Sugar Shack

Sherman Hill Farmstead

Slickepott Fudge Sauce

Snowdance Farm

Sonoma Falls Cider Mill

Tea Thyme Herb & Fruit Farm

Tonjes Farm Cheese

Two Birds in the Kitchen

Verde & Company

Willow Wisp Farm

It's time to Get in the Guide!

Memberships are now being accepted for the 2010 Pure Catskills Guide to Farm Fresh Products!

Farms, farmers markets, restaurants, retailers and community organizations that are connected to buying local farm and food products in Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster Counties are invited to join the Pure Catskills Buy Local Campaign before May 26th. Now actively enrolling business members for the sixth year of publication, this economic initiative is well known for its annual Pure Catskills Guide to Farm Fresh Products.

Benefits to membership include:

• a listing of business contact information and product descriptions in the Pure Catskills Guide,

• an online listing at purecatskills.com,

• discounts on Pure Catskills events throughout the year,

• eligibility for product development and event grants,

• access to the Pure Catskills logo for use in marketing materials and point-of-purchase branded materials.

Membership fees are just $35!

The 2009 Guide included 200 regional businesses. In July, 30,000 copies of the Pure Catskills Guide will be distributed to hundreds of locations across the region.

Members are encouraged to enroll online at purecatskills.com or to contact Challey Comer at (607) 865-7090 or ccomer@nycwatershed.org for materials. Members are encouraged to support the publication by taking an advertisement through our project partner, Luminary Publishing. Eva Tenuto of Luminary may be contacted at eva@chronogram.com or (914) 299-2363 for details.

Pure Catskills Photo Contest - post your photos now!

Highlight your business or photography skills in upcoming print and online Pure Catskills publications by entering our photo contest. Up to a dozen winners will receive a gift basket and recognition with each use of their photo.

Each photo entered will:

• Feature a local farm and/or food theme

• Feature a location or a business in Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan or Ulster County

• Be submitted electronically through the Pure Catskills Flickr group. Photos must be tagged with ‘PhotoContest-PureCatskills’

Deadline for photo submissions is May 10th. All entrants should provide photo caption, name, email and phone contact information. All entrants retain the ownership right to their images, but grant Pure Catskills the right to use images in future publications for free.

Finalists will be selected by members of the public using voting on the Pure Catskills Flickr account and Facebook group. Community members are also encouraged to enter!

Questions? Contact Challey Comer at ccomer@nycwatershed.org.