Expanding value-added dairy opportunities in central New York

Expanding value-added dairy opportunities in central New York

Summary

2007 saw a number of accomplishments in the project. The project hosted a hands-on workshop from Dec. 6-8 at the Agri-Business Center (“Dairy Product Incubator”) at Morrisville State College. This program featured hands-on instruction in various cheese-making techniques from Elmond Clark, then plant superintendent at the Dairy Incubator. Additionally, Clark provided an overview of size-specific dairy processing equipment that a beginning farmer might use, including operation, cost, maintenance, and etc. of cheese, ice cream and milk processing equipment. In the same workshop Ed Staehr of NY Farm Net spoke about the value of business planning to new businesses or new enterprises within existing businesses, as well as informed the class of the business planning services available to NY residents. NY Farm Net is a program of Cornell University Department of Applied Economics and Management; Farm Net trains business consultants to provide free, confidential and on-farm assistance in farm business planning. Also, an inspector from New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets milk quality attended the course to get ideas about working with farms that have or are considering on-farm dairy value-added enterprises; a particular interest was inspecting small-scale dairy manufacturing equipment.

Work is underway on the second hands-on workshop to be held in the fall of 2008. Staff changes, specifically Elmond Clark leaving the Dairy Incubator at Morrisville, have delayed our original plans to hold the workshop earlier in the year.

In addition, we are working on fact sheets to provide assistance to farmers newly interested in producing cheese, and we have prepared a draft of the survey that will be sent out to participants of our previous cheese making classes to get a clearer picture of their needs as the project continues.

Objectives/Performance Targets

We held the first of our two promised workshops on cheese making and it was very successful. Twelve participants attended the three-day workshop at Morrisville State College and learned a great deal about cheese making. This class was also our Introduction to Cheese Making.

We have also made progress on our other objectives:

Fact Sheets: To help provide assistance to farmers newly interested in producing cheese, we will produce a packet of cheese making fact sheets that will include: “How to get started in Cheese-Making,” “Cheese Making Tools and Equipment,” small-scale cheese maker case studies, sample budgets, sample cheese business plans and worksheets, and sample cheese marketing plans and worksheets.

The committee had agreed to develop 6-8 fact sheets/farmer profiles related to value-added production, including equipment, facilities, business planning, marketing, etc. Later, we discussed the idea that developing factual information and lists of resources to help farmers, information to be posted on the ADC website, would offer longer-term and greater access to the material. We anticipate the fact sheets being completed and distributed by September 2008.

Participant Evaluation: The final element of our proposal will be to conduct a study of participants who have previously participated in one of our cheese making workshops. The ADC has been hosting workshops for two years, through previous grants, and has had over 75 participants in its classes. Students have come from throughout New York State, and many have traveled from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Virginia, Missouri and California. We would like to see if they feel the classes helped them and how far along they are with their cheese-making business. The results of the survey will help us sculpt the workshops we be will hosting with this grant, as well as help provide information for case studies and the other worksheets we are developing.

A draft survey has been completed and is under review for final changes. Once it is ready it will go out to our previous participants and we will take their suggestions to finalize the second workshop and the mini grant process. The database has been developed.

Mini-Grants: A mini-grant process will be set up for small-scale cheese makers in the greater Chenango Area, or people who have taken an ADC cheese-making class, to apply for funds to help with the costs of developing a business plan, marketing plans or products, or for rental time at a dairy incubator or creamery. All mini-grants will require a 100% match from the producer. These mini-grants are intended to help the small-scale cheese maker succeed in the long-term through thoughtful planning and quality products.

This part of the process is on hold until after the participant evaluation is completed so that we can determine who will need assistance. We are currently developing a process to advertise for and select participants.

Accomplishments/Milestones

As noted above, there have been a variety of accomplishments over the course of the first year of the project.

Introduction to Cheese Making: We will also host the day-long workshop “An Overview of Cheese-Making” for potential or current producers who are looking for information on cheese-making, business plans, marketing, and equipment. We will bring in experts to present information relevant to cheese-makers and provide opportunities for participants to ask questions and discuss their plans.

This workshop was held in December 2007 as part of our three-day workshop at Morrisville State College. Twelve people participated and came from a wide variety of backgrounds. Of the twelve
participants, three were from large dairies of over 500 head and six were from small dairies. Two people were goat farmers interested in goat cheese and a third was in the process of purchasing goats. One person was in the process of purchasing a farm to begin a dairy operation.

The participants came from all over New York including the towns of: Boonville, Schevevus, Cazenovia, Worcester, Schuylerville, Morrisville, Pen Yan, Bradford, Newport, Perry and Hudson. One participant came from Fleetwood, PA.

Hands-on Cheese-Making Workshops: Two hands-on cheese-making workshops will be held at the Morrisville State College Dairy Incubator and Evans Farmhouse Creamery. These three-day courses, presented by a professional cheese maker, go over the ins and outs of cheese-making. Participants try their hand at creating soft and hard cheeses, review and practice with equipment and tools, and get a feel for the complex chemistry that is part of the cheese-making process. Past cheese-making courses sponsored by the Agricultural Development Council of Chenango County have included lectures in marketing, food and plant safety, packaging, and equipment purchasing schedules. Participants in these workshops have frequently identified the value of the sessions, especially in terms of understanding startup costs, equipment costs, the amount of labor required for a successful dairy value-added venture, need for business and marketing plans and more. Several “graduates” have gone on to make and sell cheese; others determined cheese making was not for them, before the large commitment of building a plant.

The first workshop was held December 6th -8th, 2007. The class brought in twelve participants from New York and Pennsylvania. During the three-day session Elmond Clark, the plant manager and cheese maker for the Morrisville facility, explained the ice-cream-making process and students were able to create their own flavors.

The participants had a thorough run through of the different stages of cheese making. By the end of the session they had made paneer, Monterey jack, mozzarella, and fresh curd. Ed Staehr from Farm Net, Vicky Pederson from Ag and Markets and Amanda Hewitt from Nelson Farms also provided some valuable information. All in all the participants received a wealth of information on the various options to value adding on their farm. This was a good networking session and we hope to see many of them return for the advanced cheese making class during the fall of 2008, which will feature many different presenters from the first class.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Of the participants of the class, two have since followed up with NY Farm Net for assistance in developing business plans, marketing plans and budgeting for equipment purchases. Due to the confidential nature of the Farm Net program, we cannot report the names of the farms at this time. However, Staehr reported that both farms are currently developing plans to implement on-farm value-added dairy processing.

Collaborators: