Leaders assessing drought damage in New York counties

Sep 09, 2016

Commissioner Ball will visit various farms in the state

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

New York Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball and officials representing the USDA are touring farms throughout the state to get a firsthand look at the damage caused by drought.

At Hemlock Haven Christmas tree farm in Oswego County, the owners lost at least 10 per cent of their trees.

“Perhaps even more because we don’t know what the ramifications will be farther on,” farm owner Michele Forsyth told WRVO news. “We just need more rain and unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about that. There’s no way to irrigate 125 acres. We don’t have that kind of capital.”

A total of 24 counties in NY, including Erie, Niagara, Cayuga, Allegany and Broome, were designated natural disaster areas by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Corn drought
Getty

Commissioner Ball said his office is working to bring all available resources to farmers that need it.

“There’s some low-interest loans for people to help get through the year, but there’s also some funding available to develop water resources on the farm,” he told WRVO.

“Our hearts go out to the farmers and ranchers affected by the drought in New York,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a release.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.