Adirondack North Country Association
March 2011
Building Vibrant Rural Communities and Resilient Local Economies
ANCA news Did you know? TUG HILL TRIVIA:
15
Percent of Tug Hill area land that’s under state ownership
1796
The year Floyd, the oldest Tug Hill town, was enacted (March 4, 1796)
50
Number of years Remsen Highway Superintendent George Worden has been a local official, the longest tenure of any in the region
414
Record number of snow, measured in inches, that fell in Town of Montague during the 1996-1997 winter season (according to snow spotter data compiled by the National Weather Service)
158
Number of years the Boonville Herald has been publishing, making it the region’s longest-running weekly newspaper Facts compiled by the Tug Hill Commission, www.tughill.org.
INSIDE:
Maple sugaring season is here again. ANCA photo
Agriculture is key part of State’s future growth Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of an essay by David Haight of the American Farmland Trust, reprinted by permission of Empire State Future. The full essay can be found here: http://www. empirestatefuture.org/2010/12/ grow-food-grow-new-yorkseconomy.html
F
arms remain critical to New York’s economy. The state’s 30,000 farms sell over $4.5 billion annually — milk, fruits, vegetables, meat, flowers, plants and so much more. And farms buy much of the goods and services they need to survive from other local businesses. There is a network of connections between farms and thousands of New Yorkers employed at hardware stores, banks, farm equipment dealers and other enterprises. The economic opportunities for growing, processing and marketing food and farm products in New York are vast and diverse. New York is a national leader in the production of more than 20 farm products -—recently, we were second in the nation in the produc-
ANCA updates, 2
tion of apples, maple syrup and pumpkins and third in dairy and wine and grape production. This abundance of food production in close proximity to 19 million state residents and millions more in neighboring states makes New York a desirable and strategic place to locate food processing businesses. When you add together the businesses that sell goods and services to farmers, farm jobs and food processing businesses, these enterprises generate a combined $30 billion a year in economic activity in New York. Yet there is potential for growth. New York City residents alone spend more than $30 billion a year on food.
Program News, 3-5
But agriculture is often overlooked by mainstream economic development programs, and as a result, we don’t adequately protect or promote farmland, farms, and agricultural heritage as we strive for prosperity. Protecting and investing in agriculture supports an intricate and extensive network of small businesses connected by farming and food. And the ‘smart growth’ advocated by Empire State Future-- that focuses development on our cities, villages, town centers, and hamlets--is a critical complement to the protection of our agricultural land and enterprise. What’s more, farms provide the scenic working landscapes that define so much of New York.
ANCA Applauds, 6-7