by Julie Cushine-Rigg Within the beautiful Helderberg Mountains in the town of Knox, NY, Cheryl and Dale Frantzen operate their family farm, Frantzen’s Scenic Acres. The farm was bought by Dale’s parents in the 1940s as a working dairy farm, though like many dairy farms from the early and mid part of the last century, it has transitioned from dairy to growing crops and raising animals for meat. Today, the Frantzens, along with their children Sarah and Adam, are raising a variety of vegetables, poultry, and beef cattle on 135 acres. “Both Dale and I were raised on farms. My grandparents owned a dairy farm in Vermont, and Dale’s family was running the dairy farm here. Several years ago we decided not to continue with the dairy end of the farm,” said Cheryl. So instead of selling or subdividing the land, the couple branched out into growing and later beef cattle. What the Frantzens do differently than some other farms is that they specialize in heritage breeds — as part of their mission statement/pamphlet says, “We focus on sustainable breeds so that in the future we will not be dependent upon hatcheries and other breeders for our stock. We have been incubating and hatching our turkey poults since we began.” How the Frantzens decided to raise heritage breeds comes from memories of Cheryl’s grandparent’s farm in Vermont. On a visit there, Cheryl recalls, “My grandfather always raised a Charlet for beef every year. I remember we had the most delicious roast beef for dinner when Dale and I went to visit them once and thinking, ‘I can raise beef like this too’.” Up until 1998 the Frantzens were raising a couple of different breeds for beef cattle, including the Charlets, and finishing them on grain. From there they researched other breeds for producing cattle and started raising Scottish Highlanders for their adaptability to the hilly terrain and climate of the Heldeberg Mountains. It was a great choice to breed for the Franten’s partly because there was an otherwise unusable and overgrown field on the farm. A steep slope and overwhelming shrubbery were obstacles in that field, but the Frantzen’s used the Highlanders to manage the unruly vegetation. That, together with the Highlander’s ability to maneuver the terrain in the hilly Heldebergs has been a good match so far. “They’ll go and clean up that whole area. Plus, their meat is lean, as low in cholesterol as the white meat of
chicken,” Cheryl states. What the Highlanders lack in marbling, they make up for in taste. A customer of the Frantzens had even placed an order for a share before their first cow was raised. “They heard about what we were doing and placed an order to us through e-mail.” The heritage breeds don’t stop with cattle. The farm is also raising heritage breeds of chickens, goose, duck, turkey, and most recently, rabbit. Cheryl says of their new additions, “The Silver Fox Rabbit is only the second breed of rabbit to be created in the United States and is very rare. They are very docile, have a higher survival rate and a higher meat-to-bone ratio than other meat rabbits. Rabbit meat is the highest in protein of any meat and very lean; therefore, very nutritious.” Chickens raised by the Frantzens include Freedom Rangers, a breed raised in France out on pastures. What has become a reflection of what consumers are buying, the farm now sells whole birds and has phased out selling halves, which was very popular for a long time. Most customers don’t realize the breed of chickens that are raised for meat, but seems be changing as farmers like Cheryl and Dale reach out to the food buying public who are eager to learn about where their food comes from. Turkey breeds being raised on Frantzen’s Scenic Acres include Regal Reds and they are becoming more and more in demand for farm customers, especially around the Thanksgiving holiday. “The Regal Reds have a more true turkey flavor, it has a little longer to develop that kind of nuttiness to the taste,” Cheryl reports. She also says that customers really have taken a liking to the breed and that the farm has sold out of turkeys for the past few years that they’ve been raising them. In 2009 the farm sold over 50 turkeys to customers from all around the Capital Region including Saratoga. The following year was even better for the family — selling over 60 turkeys. In addition to animals, the farm grows tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, onions, shallots, carrots beets and potatoes. Perhaps their most popular variety comes in the potato crops — they grow fingerlings, Adirondack blues, and red new potatoes. “The colors are really intriguing to the children. When they see a blue or a red potato they’re more likely to try it,” said Cheryl. Frantzen Scenic Acres — bringing heritage breeds back.
Turkeys have proven to be a successful flock at Frantzen's Scenic Acres.
Part of the herd of Scottish Highlanders at Frantzen's Scenic Acres. Photos courtesy of Cheryl Frantzen
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Senator Casey will introduce The Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act of 2011 While we were in Washington, D.C., [the week of Sept. 26], staff members of Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), announced that the Pennsylvania Senator will be introducing the Federal Milk Marketing Act of 2011 [hopefully the week of Oct. 3]. Senator Casey along with former Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, had introduced the original version of the Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act. Presently we are seeking other U.S. Senators to co-sponsor the proposed bill. Dairy farmers, agri-business people and all interested parties should be contacting their U.S. Senators and urge them to co-sponsor the proposed bill. In our opinion the Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act of 2011 is the only proposed dairy legislation that will allow the average dairy farmer to cover their cost of operation and return a profit to his dairy farm. The continued decline in the value of manufactured dairy products, which will result in substantial lower prices to dairy farmers clearly indicates that dairy farmers deserve a new pricing formula to cover their continued increase in operating their dairy farms. Another important reason for a new pricing formula: In the past we have printed out several reasons why all dairy farmers deserve a new pricing formula. Now we have another reason. When Congress passed legislation that implemented the Milk Income Loss Contract payments (MILC) on Class I milk, they established the Class I target price (for the MILC program) at $16.94 per cwt. The $16.94 price actually was the same Class I price that was used in the former Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact. After a few years of the $16.94 Class I target price, the U.S. Congress implemented a feed adjuster which resulted in a higher Class I target price. Some people are estimating the target price could reach $22 per cwt this fall. This could call for MILC payments to be made later on. However, for the time being let’s forget about the MILC payments. More importantly the probable $22 target price for Class I milk, (again
for MILC payments) means there will be a $5.06 per cwt increase in the dairy farmers cost of production for the cost of feeding his dairy animals. However, what about the remaining cost of production on the dairy farmers operation? These costs have also escalated. As I observe the cost of production figures issued by the USDA, it appears that approximately 50 percent of the dairy farmers’ cost of production figures are related to feed costs and 50 percent for all other costs of production. With this in mind, then if the target price for Class I milk (again for the MILC payments) raised $5 per cwt because of the increase in feed costs since the beginning of the MILC program, than all other costs also raised approximately $5 per cwt. With these calculations then the true value of Class I milk in Federal Order Number 1 should be approximately $27 per cwt. Is this too high? I don’t think so. The highest Class I price in Federal Order Number 1 was $25.16 per cwt in September 2007. In Pennsylvania, the PA Milk Marketing Board had a premium on fluid milk of approximately $2 per cwt over the $25.16 which meant a total Class I price of approximately $27.16. In order Number 1, if you subtract the $3.25 per cwt differential it would leave a manufactured price of $23.75. Isn’t this strange; the USDA’s cost of production figures indicate the National Average cost of producing milk for June of 2011 was $23.62. This is only $0.13 per cwt different from calculating the price through the MILC payments of $27 per cwt for Class I milk. No matter how you analyze it, by using USDA’s figures, every dairy farmer must realize by now exactly why things have been tough and unrealistic to the average dairy farmer. These figures should convince the dairy farmers that the only way they can cover their cost and realize a profit on their dairy farm is to support the Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act of 2011. Give us a call or e-mail Pro-Ag. We need your help. Phone 570-833-5776 or e-mail: progressiveagricultureorg@gmail.com Arden Tewksbury, Manager, Progressive Agriculture Organization
Page 5 - Section A • Let Them Know You Read COUNTRY FOLKS • October 10, 2011
Heritage Breeds at Frantzen’s Scenic Acres