BALLSTON, N.Y. — On Tuesday evening, August 14th, the Saratoga County Agricultural Promotion Committee hosted its first Twilight Tour and Discussion at Wm. H. Buckley Farm in the Town of Ballston, NY. The event was supported by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County with additional support from Saratoga PLAN, the Saratoga County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Saratoga County Planning Dept. This event was a departure from the ‘Sundae on the Farm’ event that will return in June of 2019 on Clear Echo Farm in the Town of Northumberland.
About 60 attendees were given a short tour of the farm by owner Mark Sacco. The farm was recently enrolled in the State Purchase of Development Program with the assistance of Saratoga PLAN in October 2015. Afterwards the group which included State and National lawmakers, local leaders, community and business leaders, gathered inside the event barn space at the farm and enjoyed a locally catered light supper featuring Cabot cheeses, chocolate milk and lemonade from King Brothers Dairy. Dessert was provided by Smith’s Pies and Stewart’s Ice Cream served by the Saratoga County Dairy Princess, Libby Swatling and her dairy ambassadors.
Before the panel discussion began, Michael Horn, Conservation Director from Saratoga PLAN, updated the attendees on the NY State Farmland Purchase of Development Program and gave an overview of the numbers of acres of farmland in Saratoga County already conserved. The panel consisted of local farmers, Charles Hanehan of Hanehan Family Dairy in the Town of Saratoga, Laurie Griffen of Saratoga Sod in the Town of Saratoga, Mark Sacco of Wm. H. Buckley Farm in the Town of Ballston, Holly Rippon-Butler from Butler Farm in the Town of Northumberland and with the National Young Farmers Coalition, Shelley Smith from Smith Pies and Bake Shop in the Town of Charlton, and Jeremy Knight from Knight’s Orchard in the Town of Ballston. Neil Peck of Welcome Stock Farm in the Town of Northumberland gave the introductions and closing remarks and Jessica Ziehm of Tiashoke Farm in Washington County and Director of the New York State Animal Agriculture Coalition acted as the moderator and led the discussion.
The discussion covered a range of topics and highlighted the diversity of farms in Saratoga County. For more information or to receive a summary of the evening’s discussion, please contact: Ashley Keatley, ak2439@cornell.edu
–Saratoga County Agricultural Promotion Committee
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