Cattaraugus County Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism organized an Agribusiness Tour that was held on September 10, 2019.
The purpose of this tour is to highlight the agricultural achievements and showcase the diversity of agriculture in Cattaraugus County. Everyone is welcome on these annually scheduled tours.
Agricultural organizations visited:
Ron and David of R&D Adams Farm located in the Town of Randolph, NY
R&D Adams Farm is a 4th generation farm founded by the late Burton Adams in 1946. The farm was purchased by Burton’s son Ronald Adams in 1961, which at the time consisted of 38 milking cows.
Ron continues to be an integral part of the daily operation of the farm today, along with Ron’s son David and grandsons Bryan and Bradley. The farm has evolved extensively over the years, and today consists of around 1750 milking cows and 2800 acres of working cropland. The farm recently installed an entirely new barn and milking center, consisting of a rotary milking parlor that can milk up to 80 cows at a time.
R&D Adams Dairy has actively implemented a number of practices on their farm to minimize environmental impacts from their operation. The farm works closely with the Cattaraugus County Soil & Water Conservation District and various partner agencies and organizations through the Agricultural Environmental Management program to identify and address potential environmental concerns. In addition, they work with the Western NY Crop Management Association to balance nutrient applications such as livestock manure & fertilizer to maintain & improve soil health and reduce the potential for nutrient runoff and leaching into surface and groundwater. Practices implemented include barnyard runoff management, manure storage, silage runoff control & management, cover crops, and numerous others.
Jacob of Valley View Cheese located in the Town of Leon, NY
Back in the early 1960’s, the present building was constructed as a cheese factory to process Amish milk. Over 70% of the population in the Town of Leon is Old Order Amish, making this a perfect location for the plant to utilize their milk.
Over the past years, several companies operated the building. The Amish are now controlling the use of the facility, recently refurbishing it for both cheese and yogurt production. Renovation was completed over the last two years, with brand new equipment being placed into service near the end of August 2019.
The “Store” is open for business Monday-Saturday, with over 40 varieties of cheese, yogurt, drinkable yogurt, butter, cheese curd, and other dairy products available for purchase. Other Amish made goods are also available at the shop, including quilts, toys, furniture, and more. Valley View Cheese is a hub for the local Amish community.
Learn more about Valley View Cheese Co.
Jenna of Eden Valley Creamery located in the Town of Leon, NY
After several years of planning, Eden Valley Creamery (EVC) was established in 2017. The drive and determination to perfect the proper layout, location, recipes, and business plan has taken time, but the result has been well worth the wait! Six local farms supply the milk needed for all cheese production, helping these farms to retain more value of their fluid milk by processing it and selling a retail product.
EVC’s Grand Opening was July 18, 2019. We are excited to be producing four different types of cheeses; Gouda, Havarti, Cheese Curds, and a Young Swiss. We are also adding different seasonings to create different flavors of Havarti and Cheese Curds. We are developing retail markets in Buffalo and surrounding areas. We also sell from our on-site shop and on-line.
Our farms are all organic, certified through the Pennsylvania Certified Organic Cooperative. We continue to sell a portion of our milk to Upstate Niagara Cooperative, and from there they bottle our milk and take it to stores for you to enjoy. Our cows are able to roam around the pastures throughout the spring, summer and fall months enjoying the beautiful weather and eating delicious grass.
Organic is more than the cows being out on pasture and not giving the animals any antibiotics. Organic farming practices aim to reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, as well as increasing soil fertility. Farming without the use of pesticides creates a better environment for nearby animals and people. Organic milk and dairy products are richer in certain nutrients like the omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 Fatty acids have a lot of health benefits such as, lowering elevated triglycerides, lowers inflammation for asthma, reduce the symptoms of ADHD, and can help protect against Alzheimer’s just to name a few.
We are thrilled to be one of the newest additions to agri-business in Cattaraugus County! Learn more about Eden Valley Creamery.
Jessica and Chris of Hi-Y Farm located in the Town of Mansfield, NY ...
Hi-Y Farm is located in Little Valley and is operated by Judy Golley, Chris Golley, and Jessica Golley-Halftown.
Hi-Y was originally established by parents/grandparents, Stub & Maggie Yehl, in 1950 and was once a dairy farm and then a fully functional beef farm.
With a goal of rejuvenating this once active farm, the family of Stub & Maggie applied for the NYS Hemp Pilot program and were approved as official research partners in 2017. They are currently in their 2nd year of growing industrial hemp and are glad to be working with others in the region to help this industry grow.
They are members of the New York Chapter of the Hemp Industries Association, the New York State Farm Bureau, and serve on the board of the Cattaraugus County Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Their overall goal is to honor the memory of Stub and Maggie by continuing their tradition of integrity, hard work, and strong family bonds with the modern version of Hi-Y Farm.
To follow the Hi-Y Farm story in the industrial hemp industry, visit www.HiYFarm.com
