Farms, Food, & Family in
2018
Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County USPS-525-100
EXTENSION CONNECTION
VOLUME XC No. 1
JANUARY 2019
Annual Report Sneak Peek! Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County rings in the new year with this sneak peek of our 2018 Annual Report to the Community celebrating what we love most about Sullivan County: Farms, Food, & Family. Explore snapshots below of stories from our report, to come in lieu of February’s Extension Connection magazine. Check in with Executive Director Colleen Monaghan on the back page and tack up the inner program calendarat-a-glance for the next few months. Our goal is to be your gateway to knowledge, life skills and experiences for better living. We exist as an outreach mechanism of Cornell University, putting knowledge to work at the grassroots level. Make the Extension Education Center your home away from home this year; take advantage of science-based resources and friendly, technical assistance - just a call (or click) away. Look for a free class card on the back cover of next month’s Annual Report, your start to lifelong learning!
Farms F
Food F
Familyy
Opportunities for Dairy Farms
Growing New Food Businesses
4-H True Leaders in Service
In collaboration with dairy farms and partners like Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corporation (HVADC), Sullivan County Funding Corporation (SCFC), Agricultural and Community Development Services LLC, Sullivan County Government, and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther’s office, CCE is working on new opportunities for the dairy industry in Sullivan County. The process includes developing a feasibility study and business plan for value-added niche dairy products.
Ten users produced sauces, baked goods, and prepared foods in the Catskills Kitchen Food Business Incubator Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County’s state-ofthe-art commercial kitchen facility. New this year, we now have a food truck renting the space. CCE provided technical assistance through in person consultations, email, and phone calls regarding regulations, food business start-ups, labeling, marketing, and business planning to over 800 people!
This year, 72 individuals and four 4-H clubs representing an additional 46 youth, turned in over 420 records of service for the 2017-2018 program year. The record submissions illustrate a wide range of youth service experiences from litter plucks and community beautification to hands-on intergenerational activities. One specific project involved a 4-H club which planned and implemented the “Live, Love, Serve: 4-H 5K” race in Sullivan County, a first of its kind, which will raise money annually for a scholarship fund.
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Just like last year, we’re working with our program staff and design J team to bring you highlights of the 2018 p progra m year in next month’s Extension Connection Annual Report to the Community. Last year’s report w national recognition, and so it’s a tough act to follow! Once won it’s ready, we hope you like what you see. F Fortun ately, 2018 was a successful year for Extension, and for Sullivan County in many ways. We’ve seen a increase in New York State investments to opening new agricul an tural markets and tourism opportunities, u upwar d trends in local educational and economic indicators that contrib ute to the overall health of the c county , increased jobs and tax revenue, and in the proposed 2019 budge t, perhaps a small, but symbolic, reprieve for property owners. But 2018 also brought challenges for the Sullivan County agricultural community. With falling milk prices and demand, costly new ag waste regulations, increased costs of living, and stagnant wages, many of our constituents have an uphill climb in 2019. CCE Sullivan is committed to walking with you through these challen ges. With support from the Sullivan County Legislature and our community partners, we’re going to keep bringing you vetted, trustworthy information from Cornell University, the larger land grant system , and other experts, in the fields and industries that matter to Sullivan County residents, visitors, and businesses. We’re going to keep working to inspire a new generation of farmer s to keep us fed and to preserve the beautiful landscape that is a cornerstone of why tourism still matter s in Sullivan County. Our work with schools and businesses to make healthy choices, easy choices will continue, as will the Caregiver Resource Center, ensuring our friends and neighbors caring for an ill, frail, homebound or otherwise mobility impaired loved one, have the support they need to keep on going. With the help of the CCE Program Advisory Committee, we’re going to reimagine what our community horticulture and 4-H programs look like, and consider how to keep bringing educational articles and information to you in cost effective and environmentally sustain able ways. We’ll stay with you, and look forward to doing so. Until next month , stay warm, and ap appr apprec prec ecia i te each iate eac ach ot othe other. herr All my best, All bes est, t,
Colleen Monaghan, Executiive Director | cm638@cornell.edu
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