New York Farm Viability Institute Website Press Releases
Date: July 13, 2007
Contact: Rebecca Schuelke, public relations specialist
(315) 453-3823 extension 103
(315) 427-2714
rschuelke@nyfvi.org
New York Dairy Industry Task Force Identifies Opportunities in Dairy Farming
Employee training, use of business benchmarking tools and environmental
stewardship are among the key issues facing New York’s dairy farming industry
that were recently identified as priorities by a task force of farmers,
agribusiness representatives, researchers, government officials and others who
have been meeting as part of the New York Center for Dairy Excellence.
The New York Dairy Industry Task Force, comprised of a cross section of
representatives of the dairy industry, met for the third time in June to
continue the work embodied in the group’s vision statement: “Creating a unified,
goal-oriented dairy industry focused on profitability and industry growth.”
The Task Force serves as an advisory board to the New York Center for Dairy
Excellence, which was launched earlier this year by the New York Farm Viability
Institute to facilitate collaboration, information sharing and maximum use of
resources among those working on dairy issues.
The New York Dairy Industry Task Force had formed several committees to develop
proposals for projects that address barriers facing dairy farmers, as well as
capitalize on opportunities to advance the industry. The committees were set up
as follows:
- Business and Production Management, co-chaired by Tom Overton of Cornell
University and Jamie Zimmerman of Dairy One;
- Human Resource Development, co-chaired by Sheila Marshman of Morrisville State
College and Barry Putnam of Genex;
- Environmental Stewardship, co-chaired by Karl Cyzmmek of Cornell University;
and Connie Patterson of Patterson Farm in Auburn;
- Economic Development co-chaired by Ed Gallagher of Dairy Marketing Services
and Chris Nellis of Nellis Acres in Fort Plain;
- Communication and Outreach, co-chaired by Julie Berry of the New York Animal
Agriculture Coalition and Rebecca Schuelke of the New York Farm Viability
Institute.
At its June meeting in Syracuse, the Task Force committees discussed some of
project proposals that could be administered under the New York Center for Dairy
Excellence. To be implemented, proposals require the approval of the New York
Farm Viability Institute board of directors.
Also at the meeting, the group met Mark Kenville, the newly hired director of
the New York Center for Dairy Excellence. Kenville’s background includes serving
as director of members relations and communications at Dairylea Cooperative for
11 years.
``We are pleased to have Mark onboard,’’ Tom Sleight, Executive Director of the
New York Farm Viability Institute. ``The Center for Dairy Excellence director
will be a driving force in this organization that is committed to bringing
people together from all aspects of the industry to work on building a viable,
more profitable dairy farming sector in New York.”
The New York Center for Dairy Excellence – an initiative of the New York Farm
Viability Institute – works to coalesce and coordinate the various elements of
the dairy industry in New York to improve the profitability of dairy farmers,
while promoting industry growth in the region. It is modeled after the
Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence and was formed with leadership from
Gary Heckman, who headed the Pennsylvania initiative.
The New York Farm Viability Institute is a nonprofit organization that directs
on-farm applied research to foster a vibrant, profitable and renewable
agriculture system that includes New York’s diverse farm sectors, commodities,
farm sizes, production practices and geographic regions. The Institute is funded
through a legislative appropriation to the New York State Department of
Agriculture and Markets. For more information, visit
www.nyfarmviability.org