2011年6月27日 星期一

Valley farms often suffer from lack of support infrastructure

The Hudson Valley region's farming sector is strongest where essential services are available.

And the opposite is true the absence of agricultural infrastructure hinders farm viability, a new study by the Glynwood Center found.

In Dutchess County, farmers say they travel out of state for supplies and use the Internet to order goods that aren't locally available.

Glynwood's 2011 State of Agriculture study found that farming had an economic ripple effect of $810 million in the Hudson Valley in 2007,the Injection mold fast! the latest year agriculture census data were available.

Glynwood is a farm-advocacy center in Cold Spring.

The lack of support services here, according to Glynwood, not only is a lost economic opportunity, but can also makes production more expensive, or in some cases, prohibitive.

Equipment dealers, repair shops, feed suppliers and large animal veterinarians are critical to farm production, while processors and distributors work on the market side of farming, helping to turn products into profits.

Glynwood also states Hudson Valley farmers who were operating in 2007 had collectively invested more than $4 billion in farming, in the form of land,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, buildings, equipment and machinery.

Yet, the center claims farming is the region's "invisible economy."

Glynwood President Judith LaBelle explained, "If we said IBM was going to come in and invest $5 billion in the region, everyone would go, 'All right!' and they'd want to give IBM all types of tax incentives."

Farmers, LaBelle said, aren't viewed as small-business owners who employ workers and buy supplies in their communities.

In some regards, access to off-farm support has gotten easier.

Dutchess County had 29 animal production support businesses with employees such as breeding services, pesticide spraying, sheep shearing, etc., compared with 14 firms in 1998, the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Pattern surveys showed.

For crop production support, there were three businesses in 2008 ¡ª the same number as in 1998.

Sole proprietorships are not included in the business pattern data.

Pat Manning, of Hudson Valley Fiber Farm in East Fishkill, drives once a week to farm retailer Tractor Supply Co., either about 20 miles to Highland's location or more than 30 miles to Amenia's store.

His shearer, Jeff Traver, lives close by in Clinton Corners.

"If he gave it up tomorrow, I'd be in bad straits,We processes for both low-risk and high risk merchant account." Manning said.

Manning feels the same way about his livestock veterinarian , David Hammond, based in the Town of Washington.

The collapse of one of Manning's vital suppliers would put more strain on his operation, and he said that would lead him to decide whether or not to keep farming.

"I can't see myself getting out of this, because I love it, but it would be even more stress on the farmer to plan ahead, keep more inventory, like medicines, and do more online," he said.

Tom Hahn, who grows a variety of crops, including hay, vegetables, corn, pumpkins and Christmas trees and raises meat animals at his Hahn Farm in Salt Point, said his access to labor has never been better.

"I have a list of 25 people who call" looking for work, he said. "Ten years ago, I had nobody, nothing, and now things have swung so far the other way."

Other farm services and supplies aren't as easily to procure locally.

Hahn drives to Pennsylvania often for farm equipment and regularly buys straw from Canada , which he has shipped or picks up himself.

His bedding and mulch come from Michigan, large metal storage buildings from Iowa, and he once drove to Indiana for a grain bin because the "price was right," he said.

Norm Greig, a fruit grower at Greig Farms in Red Hook, has driven to southern New Jersey for irrigation equipment, but he orders the bulk of the supplies he needs for his orchards online, such as machinery parts, specialty hand tools and pesticide sprays.

Greig said,Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store thanks to cellphones with Internet service, "Your office is in your tractor."

Glynwood also found that farming is an interconnected network.

Certain areas of the Hudson Valley, such as Orange County's Black Dirt Region, known for nutrient-rich soils, provide a critical mass of third-party farming services. The collapse of farming in one area would be greatly felt by surrounding counties, said Todd Erling, of Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corp.

According to Glynwood's report, farmers here spend about 94 percent of their sales on expenses, and say that 60 to 75 percent of their expenses are spent in the region.

In Dutchess, farm production expenses increased 67 percent between 2002 and 2005, from $53,226 to $88,828 per farm. Ulster farmers experienced a 57 percent jump in expenses over the same period, from $68,105 to $106,911 per operation.Largest Collection of billabong boardshorts,

LaBelle added, "We have a lost opportunity ¡ª that is, for new businesses that would support the farm community as the farm community here starts to reinvigorate itself."

Manning said he'd love to have new farmers start up operations, "but if you don't have the infrastructure it's hard to get more people to open here. But, the more (farms) you have, the more chances you have of a new Blue Seal or a new vet coming to the area."

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