SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Each January agricultural industry leaders gather in Syracuse, NY at the NYS Agricultural Society Annual Meeting & Forum to discuss issues and recognize peers for outstanding leadership, innovation, stewardship, consumer outreach, and safety efforts. At the historic 189th Annual Forum conducted virtually on Thursday, January 7th, two Western NY farms were honored including Marquart Farms of Gainesville and Howlett Farms of Avon, NY. Mary Ellen Burris, the former VP of Consumer Affairs at Wegmans Food Markets, received the Distinguished Service Citation.
Business of the Year
Sponsored by the Northeast Agribusiness & Feed Alliance and Gold Star Feed and Grain, LLC, the Business of the Year Award recognizes an agribusiness for the quality, leadership and innovation they demonstrate that enhances the integrity of the agricultural industry. Located on the eastern border of Wyoming County, the Marquart Companies is a collection of diverse enterprises including industrial hauling, potato and crop farming, a commercial truck repair facility, a dairy farm, and most recently, the New York Chips brand. NY Chips is a potato chip manufacturing company dedicated to producing a 100% NYS grown product using natural avocado, corn and vegetable oils.
Launched as a small dairy by the first generation in 1943, Tom and Ed Marquart expanded their parents’ farm several times over. They currently have 7,000 acres under cultivation, including potatoes, corn, wheat, snap beans, and hay. The farm’s potato storage and conditioning facility houses over 50 million pounds of potatoes annually to supply to a variety of customers. Constantly upgrading equipment and technology, the Marquarts have positioned themselves as one of the foremost suppliers of quality potatoes in North America. Currently the company’s day-to-day activities are managed by Tom and Sandy’s sons Adam, Alex, and Aaron.
Next Generation Farmer
The Next Generation Farmer Award, sponsored by Freed Maxick and the Voss Group, recognizes long time agribusinesses and industry newcomers who are farming in new and vibrant ways.
Michael Howlett is the fifth generation of family involved at Howlett Farms based in Livingston County. He returned home to focus on grain merchandising after pursuing a career at the Chicago Board of Trade. Michael received his MBA in 2019 from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business.
Howlett Farms dates back to 1880 when Charles Fredrick Howlett began farming in Henrietta, NY. Mike’s father Bruce purchased land in Livingston County in the late 1980s and transitioned the operation to cash crops. The family vertically integrated the business to specialize in grain production, trucking, grain handling and marketing.
With a state-of-the-art facility located in Avon, NY, Michael has expanded the grain merchandising business to work with over 1,100 local farmers supported by additional facilities in York and Groveland. In 2019, the family expanded into the ag risk and data management arenas with the launch of Clover Ag Risk Management. Michael was also the driver in the acquisition of Pat O’Brien Grain & Feed. The Howlett operation partners with over 50 end-use customers including exporters, ethanol plants, feed mills, flour mills, pet food plants, fish food makers, cattle feeders, poultry farms, and distilleries.
Distinguished Service Citation
After a successful career spanning nearly five decades, Mary Ellen Burris retired from Wegmans Food Markets in 2020 as Senior Vice President of Consumer Affairs. She has been one of the most valued, dedicated, and impactful employees in the company’s history. Her commitment to the public and the food and agricultural industry has earned her the NYS Agricultural Society’s Distinguished Service Citation which has been awarded annually since the 1930s.
Mary Ellen began her distinguished career as a Cooperative Extension educator. In 1971 she joined Wegmans as its 918th employee. Today the chain has grown from 33 to 100 stores located in seven states, and 50,000 employees. In her tenure dotted with achievements in food safety, quality assurance and sustainability efforts, she diligently promoted the value of farm fresh produce to consumers. She established a “Strive for Five” educational program that communicated the importance of eating fruits and vegetables for good health and advocated for buying local produce where and when possible. Marked with logistical hurdles at the time, including smaller farm trucks using traditional distribution docks, Wegmans has built a reputation for purchasing locally produced fresh foods.
Established in 1832, the mission of the NYS Agricultural Society is to foster, promote, and improve the NYS food and agricultural industry through education, leadership development and recognition programs. The Society has 800 members representing all segments of the supply chain.
–NYS Agricultural Society
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