Our farms are getting grayer, smaller, and while dairy is still number one, more diverse.
Those are just a few of the facts consultant Nan Stolzenburgh shared with about 50 farmers nearly as varied as their crops Thursday in Cobleskill.
The session, which was to be repeated last night, Tuesday, also at Cornell Cooperative Extension, was the first step in updating Schoharie County's 2000 Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan.
"We've got to give the county direction," said John Radliff, one of a handful of dairy farmers in the crowd, president of the Schoharie County Farm Bureau, which sponsored the event, and a member of the Ag & Farmland Protection Board.
"Agriculture is still the economic engine of Schoharie County. What we need to ask is this: Where are we going and what will our destination be when we get there?"
Ms. Stolzenburgh spent about a half-hour explaining the process for gathering farmers' input before dividing the group into two for ease of discussion.
"There are no wrong answers here", she said, but the focus of the plan, which is funded in part by State Ag & Markets, should be on agriculture and economic development.
"If we don't know where we're heading, we might wander around and not get anywhere," she added, echoing Mr. Radliff.
According to 2012 census data, Ms. Stolzenburgh said, farming's impact on the economy is worth $39.1 million in sales a year, with dairy topping all sales.
"That's a big number and one we should be shouting from the rooftop," she said.
"It's really significant."
Also according to that statistical snapshot, in the county there are:
-532 farms.
--98,369 acres in farmland.
--55 percent of that farmland in cropland.
--A diversity of crops with increases in the number of farms with vegetables, fruit, beef, hogs, sheep, goats, and chickens, and a decrease in farms with grain, nurseries, and dairy.
-The average age of farmers is increasing; it's now 58.4 years.
"That's a little higher than the rest of New York State," Ms. Stolzenburgh said. "What's the next generation going to do?"
-Fifty one percent of farms have less than $10,000 in sales and 14 percent have more than $100,000 in sales.
-There's an increasing number of small farms-one to nine acres-and a decreasing number of large farms.
Ag & Markets would like to see the county come up with two or three priorities to implement, Ms. Stolzenburgh said.
To that end, farmers-who said they raise everything from bees to beef, horses, dairy, chickens, sheep, goats, and greens--went around a circle, discussing opportunities and challenges.
Opportunities identified included new markets for value-added products, diversity, location, and SUNY Cobleskill.
It's also more affordable to farm here than downstate, said Carrie Edsall, a small, diverse Cobleskill farmer, who listed taxes as an advantage.
"I don't like my taxes either, but compared to downstate..."
Challenges-"What are the things that keep you up at night?" asked Ms. Stolzenburgh-include over-reaching by the state and federal governments, animal rights groups, and the difficulty in finding part-time, knowledgeable help.
Additional steps for updating the 2000 Ag & Farmland Protection Plan will include interviews, focus group meetings, and at least one public hearing.