The Final Leg of the Finger Lakes Beef Tour

We left the hotel this morning and there was a definite chill in the air, but it was comfortable nonetheless and we were excited about what the day would bring.

We arrived at Marjim Manor Winery, which turned into a relatively short stop because, shall we say, the hostess was not the mostest. But even her temperament didn't dampen the sprits of this Alabama crowd - we were headed for Niagara Falls!

The scenery was delightful on the trip. There were numerous farms of all types, and of course everything was green. We enjoyed an occasional glimpse of Lake Onterio as well.

We stopped for lunch at a park in Olcott and following a discussion about all the apple orchards we'd seen on the trip, decided to make a brief detour to visit one.

We enjoyed an impromptu visit at Murphy's Orchard in Burt, NY. The owner, a local historian named Carol Murphy, welcomed us with open arms as if we were long-lost relatives. She gave us a quick history lesson about her farm, which was established before 1812. She still lives in the home there that was built before 1850. The home and the barn behind it were an integral part of the underground railroad during the civil war when slaves fled the United States to Canada.

Our members purchased some of the local fruit including apples, peaches, pears and tomatoes (I think L.O. Bishop, our resident tomato addict, was the only one who purchased tomatoes). The orchard's shop also included dozens of homemade jellies, jams, preserves, honey and dried berries.

The Murphy's also have a lovely tea room in the historic house that is quite charming. The view of the farm is spectacular - fruit trees everywhere, a huge cabbage field across the road and a dairy just off in the distance.

By the way, they grow LOTS of cabbage up here in New York - I think it's the "world's supply" of cabbage based on all the fields we've seen. And just like everything else these farmers touch up here, the crop looks fantastic.

Carol was just our type of hostess. When she boarded the bus to greet us, she had no idea we were a farming group, but she proceeded to tell us just how big agriculture is in this state. She said one reason there aren't more beef producers here is because of the amount of land it takes to graze cattle. The state has the highest agricultural property tax in the country, she said. Even in Niagara County, where the famous falls are located, agriculture is the largest industry.

The tour of the falls was even more wonderful than expected. Delle Bean of Calhoun County said touring Niagara Falls was on her "bucket list" and now she can mark it off. The Maid of the MIst boat tour was exciting and gave us a close up view of one of nature's most spectacular shows, not to mention a slight shower of glacier water.

After the boat ride, we stopped by to see the top of the falls (again a spectacular view) before we headed out to do some souvenir shopping before dinner.

We enjoyed a delicious prime rib dinner at the Red Coach Inn and as we loaded the bus for home enjoyed a fantastic fireworks display over the falls. What a perfect ending to the Empire State Beef Tour.

Augie, our bus driver, steered us home safely to the Double Tree and while in route we enjoyed the last leg of "Lonesome Dove."

Our tour could be summed up by a famous quote in the movie when Gus McCrae says: "By God, Woodrow; it's been one hell of a party."

Safe Travels to all as we make our way back to Alabama.

A tour of Niagara Falls

What our farmers do when the women go shopping.

Blogging On The Beef Tour - Got Milk?

Our first stop this morning was at Baskin Livestock in Batavia, NY where the owner Bill Baskin said, "Corn is a four-letter word."

The company picks up food waste from about 40 companies in the area - 13,000 to 15,000 tons a week. Today, we watched them unload a tractor trailer filled with cereal from the Kellogg's plant. Bill brought a box right out of the trailer - it was Frosted Flakes, no less - They'reeeeeeeee GREAT! He also purchases dough from a pizza company, stale bread, corn chips, potato chips and candy from the Nestle plant. But wait - there's more! He also purchases wet items such as peas, carrots and yes - corn. The corn was a recent purchase from a Frito plant that flooded from Hurricane Irene. Nothing goes to waste in these parts - at least not if a cow can eat it.

Bill uses a drying system for the wet materials, then grinds/blends them, and screens the materials. He sells to local feed companies. He once sold feed directly to farmers - mostly dairy farms in the area - but found it more profitable and less worrisome to sell to the feed mills who eventually sell it to farmers. His product is sold by the ton and is priced very close to corn.

It's a busy place which employs 40 people. Bill refers to it as "organized chaos" but to the casual observer, it appears to run like a well-oiled machine.

Baskin's does feed quite a bit of his own cattle, too - up to 1,000 head. He buys mostly dairy cows, some of them heifers that he breeds and then sells to an overseas market. Turkey and Russia are in great need of dairy cows so these heifers are shipped on a "cow cruise ship." During their three-week sea excursion, the cattle typically gain weight and leave the ship in better shape than they started. Sort of gives a new meaning to "ship shape," I guess.

Bill is passionate about what he does - both as a feed producer and a cattleman. His statement that "cattle are the perfect renewable resource" drew cheers and applause from our bus!

On the way to our next stop, we passed through ALABAMA, New York! Yep, there's a little village up here called Alabama. We saw the Alabama Inn, Alabama High School, Alabama Fire Department and the Alabama Cemetery. And of course we are affectionally known as the "Alabama Tour Group".

As a side note, we have traveled through or close to Auburn, Geneva, Elba and now Alabama.

Our next stop - and our lunch- was at SK Herefords in Medina, NY, owned by David Schubel and Philip Keppler, two of the nicest fellas you'll ever want to meet. They fed us hamburgers made from farm-raised beef, hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad, fruit salad and apple crisp with ice cream. What a spread!


David and Philip are cattlemen first and foremost, but also are true environmentalists. They work closely with their local NRCS office to protect their soil and water on their farm.

"Our soils here are relatively new, only 12,000 years old, formed by the glaciers," Philip said. "So we do everything we can to protect it."

SK has a tight 60-day calving season that runs from March through April. They have both a registered Hereford herd and commercial cattle. Their horned Hereford bulls are really nice and were raised there on the farm (they are dehorned). Their angus bulls are top notch and offer some terrific genetics as well. SK also operates a small feedlot and utilizes a Temple Grandin design for handling their cows - creating less stress for their animals. The farm also has zero tolerance for ill-tempered animals.

Philip and David also are God-fearing men - they appreciated the fact we said the blessing before leaving the bus to join them for lunch. They truly are good stewards of the land and just downright good folks.

An interesting note: The reason most farms up here DON'T have barbed wired fencing or woven wire fence is because the snowfall weighs down the fence, and it eventually causes it to sag. The high-tensile wire we've seen at most every farm doesn't have that problem and has heavy-duty springs to help keep it tight. Who knew?

Our final stop of the day was at Oak Orchard Dairy in Elba, NY. (Elba - another south Alabama town - I would have never guessed!)

The farm is owned by the Norton brothers. Curt Norton manages the diary and his brother Chris manages the buildings and maintenance. Their brother Dean is president of New York Farm Bureau. Another employee, Jonathan Taylor, is a district director for NYFB. Curt and Jonathan were great tour hosts. Our group split up and while some toured the barns, others toured the milking parlor where they milk up to 1,000 head a day. The farm has a parallel double-20 parlor milking 40 cows at the time. The set up allows one man to milk 500 cows right by himself. Amazingly efficient, these dairy farmers. And hard workers - milking two or three times a day, 365 days a year, it's got to be the hardest job in agriculture, day-in and day-out.

Find Oak Orchards on Facebook. Really impressive dairy.

As we head back to Rochester, about a 45-minute drive or so, we have dinner on our own tonight and we're all ready for our trip tomorrow to another vineyard, a windshield tour of Lake Ontario then we're off to Niagara Falls! It is supposed to be slightly chilly tomorrow but we're all excited. Lynn Cook of Destinations has a great day planned - including a boat ride under the falls!

A Splendid Day Around Seneca Lake On The Beef Tour

Our fearless leader Nate Jaeger was kind enough to let us sleep in this morning. We didn't leave the hotel until 8 a.m. We headed out to Huffines Custom Feedlot and Cattle Co. in Lodi, NY.

The owner, Brad Huffines, a native of Ohio, greeted us as we left the bus and welcomed us with open arms. He answered questions about nutrition, retained ownership and various breeds. An interesting note about his ration is that he feeds no hay to his cattle. His rations contain a pellet that provides all the required fiber for their diet. Brad says he will join us for dinner tonight, where he wants to hear more about OUR farms in Alabama.

The next stop was Wagner Vineyards in Lodi. A tasty tour of the winery, which opened in 1979, was interesting. We learned how the grapes are grown, harvested, fermented, aged and bottled. Touring the wine cellar was interesting as well - lots and lots of beautiful wooden barrels. And of course we saw huge vats of grapes being crushed. They smelled very much like our scuppernong grapes back home, and personally, they smelled lots better than the actual wine. I'm not much of a wine drinker - okay, I can't stand the stuff - but I was a good sport about it, sipping several varieties. Lucky for the winery there ARE members on our trip who enjoy the fruit of the vine. They liked the samples so much they purchased a few bottles to take with them. Medicinal purposes, I'm sure.

Today, the winery was crushing Niagra grapes, a local variety. An interesting fact - from 2 tons of grapes you get 155 gallons of wine.

The tour was followed by a wonderful lunch with a spectacular view of Seneca Lake - simply gorgeous. We could have been in the south of France just to look at us. Lunch on the terrace overlooking the vineyards and the lake - wow!

On the way to Lisa Compton's farm, we noticed some Amish farmers working in their fields. Such hard working folks and neat farms. I admire then, but don't aspire to BE them. No air conditioning - are you kidding?

Arriving at Compton Charolais Farm in Ovid, NY it was easy to see we were at the right place - beautiful white and smoky cattle were grazing on lush green pasture with the Seneca Lake as a picturesque backdrop. Breathtaking.

Lisa and her dad, Richard, were so hospitable. Their farm boasts the largest CoverAll building I've personally ever seen. It was 60 X 220 feet - a monster! It was erected in 2006 and still looks brand new, however Lisa said it was still a work in progress. Their cows were so gentle that even with our crowd they were curiously friendly and for the most part kept right on grazing. Some of their cattle are HUGE but the Comptons say they try to moderate the cows' large frame by breeding to smaller frame bulls. One of their herd bulls is an American International Charolais Association Top-10 show bull. Quite impressive.

Lisa does a lot of the work on the farm, so a gentle disposition is a must in their herd, she said. "I'm not that big so if one of these guys challenges me, I don't stand a chance," she said. "If they act the least bit upity, they're out of here."

A special note on the Compton farm, right across the road from their driveway is a deep gorge. At the head of the gorge is a tall waterfall - the tallest on the lake, according to Lisa. It was spectacular!

The all-natural farm of Tina and Bob MacCheyne of Trumansburg, NY was our next stop. At High Point Farms, they specialize in grass-fed beef, pasture pork, free-range chicken and eggs and turkeys. They have a small herd of mixed breed cattle that includes Scottish Highland Cattle. It was a warm afternoon and evident some of these long-coated cows were quite hot, but I imagine when there's three feet of snow on the ground here, they are the most comfortable of the herd. They also were very gentle, but then again they are handled at least three times a day when they are moved from cell to cell. The farm has one 15-acre pasture that is divided into 45 - that's right 45 - cells for about a dozen cows and calves. A simple system of black plastic pipe laid along the electric fence lines provides water to the cows for drinking.

The MacCheynes are very involved in Community Supported Agriculture. For those not familiar with CSAs, participants pay a monthly fee and for that they get a selection of meat and eggs each month. Cuts and weights vary, but the farm has a waiting list of participants. They sell a dozen eggs for $4 but in New York they receive $6 a dozen.

The MacCheynes also have a portable fence system that holds about 1,200 chickens. The fence system allows them to move the birds to various pastures. A chicken coop on wheels provides them shelter. By the way, a mature, pasture-raised hen sells for $15 to $20 each and the demand is good, they say.

Their all-natural beef averages $7.50 per pound (that includes all cuts). The all-natural hamburger meat fetches $6 per pound. They don't raise any of the pork on the farm, instead it's purchased from another local farmer who has a similar operation to the MacCheynes. They also purchase all-natural beef from other farms to meet consumer demand.

Our group was a little funny looking as we tromped through the pastures at High Point Farms because each of us were wearing bio-security boots (plastic covers over our shoes). Because we had been to other farms on our tour, the MacCheynes wanted to make sure we didn't bring anything to their farm from the others we visited. Photos will be posted to the Alfa Farmers Facebook page.

Read more about High Point Farms at http://highpointfarms.net.

We enjoyed a delicious chicken barbecue dinner with the Seneca Beef Group in Ovid, NY. It was quite a spread. The food was only surpassed by the great hospitality - believe me, you hear a lot about Southern hospitality, but these northerners can hold their own when it comes to making someone feel right at home.

There were two presentations by one of the Seneca Beef Group members following dinner- one on DNA benchmarking that was funded by a state grant - where nearly 700 head of cattle were identified for markers of feed efficiency, marbling and tenderness. The second presentation was a statistical comparison that proves the importance of measuring performance in beef cattle, particularly herd sires.

Angus, Indians and a Feedlot, Oh My!

This morning on our first stop, we visited Equity Angus of Montezuma, NY, which is owned by Rich Brown. He has a small herd, about 30 head of registered black angus that must think they wake up in heaven every morning cause what else could a cow want besides lush green grass and fresh water?

Rich grew up on a dairy farm. He said when he transitioned to beef cattle he discovered that if he did exactly the opposite of what he THOUGHT he should do (as a dairy farmer) that would be the correct thing to do for his beef cattle. He said it took him about two years to figure that out - and apparently he has figured it out pretty well, judging by the look of his cattle. Nice!

Rich also is a good spokesman for agriculture overall. He allows ATVs to park on his land to ride nearby trails. He has TV stations that often use his cattle and farm for stories about beef. He has a nature trail that he opens to the public - no fee, just donations. His latest venture will be a dude ranch of sort - sans the horses. He will allow city slickers to come and work on his farm - drive a tractor, haul hay, build a fence - you get the picture. And yes, he's familiar with Tom Sawyer and even mentioned that in his talk. But, in addition to getting some help on the farm, he's building an important relationship with members of the non-farming public. Smart logic, if you ask me.

The next tour stop was Fleur-De-Lis Farm, a registered black angus farm in Seneca Falls, NY steeped deep in history and filled with beautiful black cows. The farm is run by Robert Groom who likes black Angus but openly appreciates all breeds of cattle - he even owns a couple of Herefords. The owner Rita Partee was so gracious. She prepared a barbecue beef lunch that was delicious, but before that we snacked on local cheese (a scrumptious sharp, white cheddar) and beef sausage made from beef grown there on the farm. A fun story the owners shared was that the Amish young men from the area will go into town, rent a tv and then party in the nearby woods with the local girls from town on the weekends. Apparently, it's a common occurrence and one that is fairly well tolerated by the locals. Who knew the Amish liked to party?

It's a little after 2 p.m. and we just finished a tour of the brand new Lake View Cattle Co. facility owned by the Cayuga Indians, in Seneca Falls, NY. The tribe has just purchased land in this area that was once tribal land. The previous owners ran a dairy there years ago but until the tribe purchased it (or repurchased it, whichever is correct) it was pretty much grown up in weeds. Brian, the farm manager and herdsman, is a local fella who in his own words "has the best job in the world." The tour participants were all envious that all the farm's equipment is brand spanking new and the tribe has purchased some of the best genetics in the world. The farm raises registered black Angus cattle and in addition to a holding barn that rivals just about any facility any where I've been, it has a top-notch medical barn with handling facilities and office space - again, all new. The manager said we were the first guests ever at the ranch.

Our final stop of the day was at a small feedlot owned by Ed Primrose and Matt Slegel of Conquest, NY. Currently, They run about 550 calves through the lot, but can hold more than 900. There is an expansion underway that will increase the one-time feeding capacity to more than 1,400 head. However, with the current number of cattle, the feedlot is classified as a small CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation). The expansion will move it to a large CAFO classification, but the owners say they aren't worried and the fees aren't that much more here in New York.

As for the cattle purchased for the feedlot, crossbred cattle with black hides are preferred. Not to offend any seed stock farmers, Ed said, "but the last thing I want here is purebred cattle. They just don't perform as well."

Most of the cattle are purchased in small lots - usually 10-15 head at the time - sometimes less, from individual farmers. That's a far cry from the tractor trailer load lots that most feed yards prefer (usually 60 head at the time), but this works for him and his young partner, Matt, pretty well apparently.

It's shortly before 4 and our ever-faithful bus driver, Augie, has us headed back to the Double Tree Hotel in Rochester. Winds have kicked up and it's a less than smooth ride. But we have a pit stop planned for the big rest area/store we saw yesterday. They sell sweat shirts there - the weatherman says we'll be needing them tomorrow! Today's high was 83 - warmer than I thought it would be. But tomorrow, the forecast is for a high of 69 and a low of 47! Thursday is predicted to be even colder - a high of 58 and a low of 42! Fall weather - hooray!!! Real Fall Weather!

Cows With A View

We had a delicious lunch at New Penn Angus Farm in Truxton, New York. Talk about a beautiful working farm - they have it! Mr. Carl Hinkle is the owner and his cows have one of the prettiest views you can imagine.

The farm is located along the foothills of a mountain in a valley with pastures so green they almost look fake. Black cows, green grass and blue skies - nothing much prettier.

Our hosts served us a delicious lunch of barbecue beef sandwiches, Great Northern baked beans, pasta salad, green salad and fruit salad, and brownies and cake for dessert. These folks can put on a spread.

We also met one of the oldest Angus breeders in the state. He's been in the business for 71 years and is still sharp as a tack. I had the good fortune to sit next to him at lunch. A humble man, who was so hospitable, it was like talking to your grandaddy. I can see why he's so popular around these parts - you immediately feel like you can trust everything he says and he dispenses wisdom with every word.

Friendly folks, these New Yorkers - not really what I imagined.

This Afternoon

Following a bus ride through some surprisingly rolling hills of southern New York state. We arrive at our next stop - a tour of the Cornell University Teaching and Research facility with Dr. Michael Baker, the beef extension specialist for the state of New York. The facility is nice and he has done some good work on feed conversion for grass-fed beef. Although beef cattle make up the smallest head count for the facility (dairy and sheep have the highest population here) Mark wears jeans and a cowboy hat - he looks like a cattleman - not a sheep herder.

The next stop was a registered Simmentol farm in Groton owned by Ken and Jeanne White. Simme Valley Farm - Oh my goodness what beautiful cattle. Absolutely some of the prettiest cows I've ever seen and nice folks to boot!

Talk about a small world, when I posted a comment about the Simme Valley Farm on my Facebook page, my phone rang a few minutes later. It was my daughter Kellie - she knows Jeanne - they've chatted on the Cattle Board on occasion. Kellie spoke very highly of her - "She knows her stuff," Kellie said.

I agree - all you have to do is look at their farm - she definitely knows her stuff.

We're headed back to the hotel and then dinner. More beautiful cattle tomorrow. On with the adventure!

And We're Off in the Empire State

After a breakfast buffet at the hotel, we loaded up on the bus with our driver Auggie who definitely has a strong New York accent, but is a pleasant fella. Our first stop is just 30 minutes away but in the mean time, our Beef Director Nate Jaeger orchestrated a trivia game designed to educate our group about New York and agriculture in the state, specifically.

For example, did you know the number one agricultural industry in the state is DAIRY? Yep, New York is third in the nation in diary production behind California and Wisconsin. Pretty impressive! There is so much grass here - our farmers are amazed and it's amazingly green. Auggie thinks the grass is fescue, but seriously, he is much more likely to be able to tell you where a nice Italian restaurant is, than what kind of grass is growing.

Our first stop is in Canandaigua, at Tamberlane Farms. It is a Charolais cow calf farm and Dr. Jake Martin, a semi-retired dentist is the owner. Can't wait to meet him.

My favorite quote so far today:

As we approaching our second toll road in less than 10 minutes, Bill Lipscomb said "We ain't got nothing like this." To which I said, "That's probably what Auggie as thinking when he saw you this morning."

Gonna be a great day.

Safe Arrival, Now On With The Tours

Despite all the anxiety about flying today, the trip could not have been more perfect. Every newspaper I saw today, every radio station, every TV station had something about the 9-11 attacks. It did sort of give me butterflies as the plane took off, but I was never really scared. It did cross my mind that the people who were on the planes that day were just like me - going about their business on what they thought would be a routine flight.

The Montgomery to Atlanta flight was uneventful.

The leg of the trip from Atlanta to Rochester was a bit interesting. The young lady seated next to me had a slight anxiety attack as we left the gate for departure. She was fighting back tears and rocking in her seat. I tried to make her feel at ease by telling her this was probably the safest day she could ever be on a plane. Our conversation helped take her mind off it, I think. Her name was Xena and she lives in Rochester. She is originally from South Africa. I told her I had a horse named Xena one time - our conversation turned to horses and away from her fear of flying. The trip was uneventful and pleasant after that.

We had a welcome dinner at the hotel. This, after all, is the Beef Tour, so we had....you guessed it - STEAK! Everyone in the group introduced their self and told what county they were from. There are 45 of us from all around the state, most of them I've come to know personally over the last 13 years. I'm the only person here from Pike County and one of only three staff members attending. Nate Jaeger, our beef division director, and Lynn Cook of our in-house travel agency Destinations, are the other staff members. They have put together a wonderful program for us this week.

Tomorrow, we will visit Cornell University, among other stops. The bus leaves the hotel at 7:30 a.m. Gonna be an exciting, fun day. Monday is supposed to be the warmest day this week - a high of 78! A nice change from south Alabama.

Watch for photos on the Alfa Farmers Facebook page tomorrow.

Through the Baggage Check

I made it through the checkin process quite easy this morning. Not too many people flying today - go figure. The security guy even cracked a joke as I removed my boots going through security. I am wearing my caiman skin boots (they are MUCH easier than dealing with lace-up shoes). He jokingly said "I might have to confiscate these" and shot me a big grin. His way of admiring my favorite boots, I think.

There was a very sserious moment, however, as I was drinking my coffee. About 8:45, over the airport PA a lady asked each of us to participate in a moment of silence to remember those who were killed and died 10 years ago this morning. For more than a minute, all of us - hundreds who have no connection other than we are at the same airport this morning - lowered our heads and prayed in silence. I admit, I did sneak a look around - not to the break the moment or my thoughts and own prayer, but to soak in this moving event as Americans paused together to remember those special people. Very moving. Made me so proud to be an American.

Now off to the gate, Atlanta and then Rochester.

Getting Ready

While most of my family and friends are watching SEC football today, I've been busy trying to pack for my trip to New York state tomorrow. Yep, that's right, I'm flying to New York on Sept. 11. I am not really worried, however, cause some members of my family are worrying enough for us both. My sister Deedie, who works as the advertising manager for the Troy Messenger, just flat out told me she didn't want me to go. I hope I convinced her that I will be safe. She told her coworker, and my friend, Janie Treadwell, about my trip. Jaine is a reporter at the Messenger and called and interviewed me about my trip.

Here's that story:
http://www.troymessenger.com/2011/09/09/a-nation-changed/

For the record, I'm flying into Rochester, New York. I can't imagine there's a terrorist plot for that city. My biggest worry about the trip, if you call it a worry, is what to pack. The temperatures are more fall like and I'm really looking forward to that - highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s - ahhhh - now that's fall weather!

If I can figure this blog thing out, I will be posting some comments all along about my trip. I am taking my iPad and have a new Zagg keyboard that greatly improves my typing speed. I will post photos as much as I can, too.

I will be attending the annual Beef Tour with the Alabama Farmers Federation. There's about 45 of us on the trip. We will be visiting some of the nicest beef operations in that state, along with stops at Cornell University and Niagara Falls. It should be a great trip.

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed. I promise I will be safe.