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Crop Update - 2/15/2007
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UPCOMING EVENTS REMINDER: On February 19 and 20 we will be hosting mechanical pruning meetings per the below schedule. Tom Zabadal will be bringing out a "new" modified Pellenc pruner to demonstrate, and we have invited Rammelt's and LaPorte's to also bring their machines. 2/19/07    3PM    Bill Beckman Farm on Avis Drive in Harborcreek 2/20/07    9AM    Michael Jordan's Farm on Rte 20 (Green Hoe), in Portland, NY Wineries Unlimited March 6-9, 2007 Valley Forge Convention Center - King of Prussia, PA The largest wine and vineyard meeting and trade show east of the Rockies moves to the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA this year. Sessions cover a wide range of viticulture, enology and wine marketing topics. A one-day seminar “Managing a Winery Laboratory” will be led by Dr. Barry Gump from CSU-Fresno. News, information and registration for the conference can be found at http://www.vwm-online.com/

Building Inspections by Towns Started January 1, 2007

The New York Department of State recently issued new regulations governing the inspection of all non-residential buildings by town officials. Under these new regulations, which went into effect on January 1, 2007, all non-residential buildings, including farm buildings, will need to be inspected every three years for compliance with the property maintenance code and certain aspects of the fire safety code.

While historically farm buildings have been exempt from the building code, they have had to adhere to the property maintenance code and fire safety code provisions dealing with general safety methodologies and practices. Unfortunately, the recently revised versions of these codes were intended for non-residential buildings such as office buildings and do not recognize the unique nature of farm buildings. They therefore have a series of requirements that could prove to be quite costly to farmers. Beyond that there has been no clear guidance given to farmers about which aspects of the fire code they need to follow.

New York Farm Bureau has been actively engaged with the Department of State over the past few months to address this situation. While the Department has committed to addressing this issue, a formal solution will not be possible until after the regulations are in place. With that in mind, the Department is advising towns to NOT inspect farm buildings until after a formal solution has been reached.

If you are visited by a building inspector: Recognizing that not all towns may receive this position from the Department, we are advising farms to politely request that any building inspector intent on inspecting the farm first contact:

Cheryl Fischer, P.E. Assistant Director of Code Interpretations
New York State Department of State Code Enforcement and Administration
41 State Street, Suite 1130, Albany, NY 12231
Tel: 518-474-4073
FAX: 518-486-4487

Additionally, in order to protect your livestock, building inspectors should be adhering to appropriate biosecurity protocols when entering the farm. A list of Best Management Practices for farm visitors can be found on our website: www.nyfb.org. Inspectors who have questions should again contact Cheryl Fischer.

Please be assured that New York Farm Bureau is committed to finding a solution to this issue and will keep you updated on the progress. If there are building inspectors that are not understanding of the unique position of agriculture, please let us know and the Department of State will discuss the issue with them.

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Farm Business Management

Barry Shaffer

Concord Day at Viticulture 2007 Highlights

Friday, February 9, 2007 was Concord Day at Viticulture 2007 in Rochester. While one person couldn't get to all the breakout sessions here are some highlights. The plenary (general) session featured three speakers shedding light on Challenges and Opportunities in the Juice Grape Market.

Greg MaGill, from Joseph W. Ciatti Company, gave a cautiously optimistic take on the global juice market. Volumes of California Grape Juice Concentrate (GJC) are unlikely to rise back to the levels of a few years ago. Exports from Argentina are a significant source of white GJC. China is still the 800 lb. gorilla with Apple Juice Concentrate (AJC) which can used as a juice filler in a lot of products. There still is no indication that Concord is being planted in China in any significant amounts. Brazil and Chile are only minor players in the U.S. market.

George Lamont, former President of NYS Horticultural Society, gave a similar talk to the one he gave to the Lake Erie Regional Grape Growers' Conference in March 2005. The New York apple industry basically needed to concede the lowest end (juice) of the apple market and do more on the high end (fresh).

Jeff Bercuvitz entertained and expanded our mindset with a interactive talk of moving from vision to action. One well-known grower from the Lake Erie Grape Belt got a shower of Hershey kisses! Jeff's tips included:
When Life Gives You Garlic, Make Garlic Bread
Thing Big, Start Small
Never Have a Meeting When You Can Have a Party!
Make a New Mistake!

We then had a choice of breakout sessions. I was in the Five Factors for Success in Growing Bulk Juice Varieties first. Terry Bates gave an excellent talk and his overriding message is if you want big yields, grow a big vine! Our grower panel featured three sharp operators from the Lake Erie Grape Belt. Bill Beckman, Jamie Militello, and Kevin Powell all shared ways that they have become better managers including boosting yields, having quality hand labor, and cutting costs where appropriate. I finished with what to expect for juice grape growers in the future and I said that single-curtain vineyards needed to average 8.5 t/a in the future.

All this before lunch! We had a total of 12 breakout sessions in 3 time slots. This is one time when having multiple people from a single operation is really helpful in order to cover more breakouts. For instance, the Soil and Roots breakout session was informative dealing with one of our biggest constraints to production and yet few Lake Erie growers attended.

The trade show was another good reason to come to Viticulture 2007. One highlight for me was seeing a tracked vineyard tractor. I imagine that most growers would have liked that during this past harvest! Plus with the grape processors generously subsidizing the bus to the conference, we should have seen you there!

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Sustainable Viticulture Workbook Project

We have heard from MANY volunteers already! But we are still looking for more volunteers to assist us with the refinement phase of a sustainable Viticulture Workbook developed through a cooperative effort of growers, processors, the Finger Lakes Regional Grape Program, Long Island Grape Program and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program.

At this point in time we are asking for help from growers to go through the workbook, answering the questions that pertain to them (and let us know what questions do not pertain to their operation). If you participate what you will end up with is a scorecard with scores from 1 (best practice) to 4 (should look at this practice to see if it can be improved). In the Lake Erie Region there will be a follow up visit from Tim Weigle and hopefully a member of the SWCD from your county (they have the money to help with cost sharing) to discuss how you might be able to move the practices that received a rating of 4 to a rating closer to 1.

If you are interested in working with us on this project please send Edith an email at emb35@cornell.edu or give her a call at 716.672.6830 so she can schedule an appointment with you.