View some of the photos taken at the photo booth and by photographers at the 2026 Farmer-Neighbor Dinner on April 15, 2026. (Will be near the bottom of this page).

Welcome to the 14th Annual Cattaraugus County Farmer-Neighbor Dinner!

This event is coordinated by the Cattaraugus County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board.

Brought to you by:

Cattaraugus County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board
Cattaraugus County Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism
Cattaraugus County Soil and Water Conservation District
Cattaraugus County IDA
The Pillittere Group
Farm Credit East, ACA
Milliman Firkel Land & Cattle

Music at the event by Homemade Jam.

Program

5:30 Welcome

Vendor Tables & Hors d'oeuvres
Music - Homemade Jam

6:45 Dinner

Buffet with locally grown foods, prepared by the West Valley Fireman's Auxiliary

7:45 Presentation of Awards

Farm of the Year
Friend of Agriculture
Ag Legacy

Event Donors

Ford Brothers
Canticle Farms
CCIDA
Merritt Winery
Wilean Farms
Peaches n' Cream
Jeff Goodyear
Upstate Milk
Car-Bu Farms, LLC
*Maple Candy from Dave Zilker
Native Offerings

Thank You to our Exhibitors

Farm Credit East, ACA
Cornell Co-op Ext. of Cattaraugus County
ERA Team VP Real Estate
Allegany Insurance Group
Erie & Niagara Insurance
Cattaraugus County Soil & Water Conservation District
Wild Acres Family Farm
M&T Bank
Nannen Arboretum Society
Farm Bureau
Dairy Ambassadors
Randolph FFA
Cattaraugus County Economic Development, Planning & Tourism
Ellicottville Distillery
Ellicottville Farm Shop
Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance

Agriculture Advocates

Cattaraugus County Economic Development, Planning & Tourism
Blesy Farms, LLC
Gerwitz Family
Milliman Firkel Land & Cattle
Benz' Sugar Shanty, LLC
Nannen Arboretum
Ellicottville Distillery
Cattaraugus County Attorney's Office
Ashley Smith for District Attorney
Perfectly Blended Farm
Maple Ridge Bison, Inc
Telaak Farms, LLC
Cattaraugus County Soil & Water Conservation District
Cornell Co-op Extension of Cattaraugus County
Pillittere Group/West Valley Cleanup Alliance
Wild Acres Family Farm
WNY Crop Management Association
Cattaraugus County Dairy Ambassadors
Cattaraugus County Department Heads
Cattaraugus County Legislatures
Hill's Valley Farm
Andrews Cattle Co.
HBC Bailey, LLC
Ashford Small Engine

Special Thank You to:

West Valley Volunteer Hose Company and the West Valley Firemen's Auxiliary

Awards

Farmer of the Year: Brendan O'Gorman

Brendan’s career in agriculture began on a replacement heifer farm in Eden, where he first developed an interest in livestock. He went on to further his education at Cornell University, earning both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Agricultural Economics before returning to production agriculture in 2006 as the farm manager for the Mammoser brothers’ newly started organic dairy operation in South Dayton, Eden Valley Organics, LLC.

In 2012 Brendan entered the business as a partner in Eden Valley Farms alongside Jerry, Ron, and Rick Mammoser. He was later joined by his brother Conor, and together they eventually purchased the business from the retiring partners. Today, Brendan and Conor work as a team, making the strategic decisions required to manage their dairies and a cropping business covering acreage across Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Erie counties.

Their partnership has led to significant diversification; while the original dairy is a conventional operation, they have since added three organic dairies, Eden Valley Organics in South Dayton in 2006, Chautauqua Hilltop Organic in Cassadaga in 2012, and Southern Tier Organics in Sinclairville in 2018. Also, in 2018 the partnership formed Eden Valley Creamery, a creamery which processes a portion of the milk from Eden Valley Organics into a variety of cheeses and creamline regular and flavored milk.

Currently, Brendan is focused on a new joint venture in Cherry Creek between Eden Valley Farms and Nobles Farms. This project—a 6,000-cow conventional dairy featuring a 120-stall modern rotary parlor—is a major step forward for the operation which has allowed for their conventional herd to begin expanding and move into a state-of-the-art facility which will provide continuing opportunities for future generations.

Brendan is a member of Upstate Niagara Cooperative where he serves on the Membership committee. He is also a NYS Farm Bureau member and a long-term participant in Cornell's dairy discussion groups.

At its core, the business remains a family-run operation with brothers Brendan and Conor heading it up. Brendan is joined tonight by his wife, Anne Wheeler, and their children, Kevin and Quinn. We are proud to honor Brendan for his steady commitment to the industry and his family.

Friend of Agriculture: Katie Hill

Originally from the Midwest, Katie Hill grew up on her parents dairy farm, Voelker Swiss Farm in Perryville, Missouri. After her high school graduation, she obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Animal Science with a minor in Agriculture Economics. While in college, is when she met her husband Darin Hill. Katie moved to Cattaraugus, New York in the fall of 2010 and joined Hills Valley Farm. Darin and Katie were married in 2012 and have four very active kids, Blake, Garrett, Averi and Chase. Together they own and operate the dairy farm and are currently going through a renovation to incorporate the Lely robotic milking system.

Growing up, Katie always had a passion for agricultural, being an active member in 4-H and FFA. It was within those organizations, where she developed her leadership abilities and her passion for teaching children about agriculture. After relocating to Western New York, she was asked to be a part of the Pro Ed Committee for Cattaraugus Farm Bureau. There she met some very inspiring individuals who helped her get more involved in agriculture in our county.

Katie began reading in local schools during Ag Literacy week in 2014 and in 2015 she was asked to take on the Agriculture Discovery Tent at the Cattaraugus County Fair. It was during this project when she really got to know more about the variety of agriculture in our county. She was the leader of the Ag Discovery Tent through 2025.

In 2020, some childhood friends of Darin’s were looking to form a 4-H club. Katie took on the responsibility of being club leader, and the Variety Pack 4-H Club was established. Growing from 10 kids the first year to nearly 40 today, it has been a great group of kids and parents to work with over the years. She has a club with kids of all different farm backgrounds and they enjoy learning from each other and watching everyone grow. And the kids seem to always let Katie know when they have gotten taller than her!

The dairy industry has always been at the forefront of Katie’s passion and in 2021 she was asked to take on the role of the Dairy Ambassador Program, formerly known as the Dairy Princesses. Without hesitation she accepted the role and started learning what she had to do. In 2022 she hosted the first Milk and Cookie Ceremony, asking as many local dairy farmers for their support for the program. With the growth of the program, and the unwavering continued support from our local dairy farmers, Katie has encouraged many kids to join the program and promote the dairy industry in our county! These kids attend many events and are always at the fair handing out dairy products and talking about the goodness of dairy!

Aside from these two roles, Katie previously served Cattaraugus County Farm Bureau as a board member and Pro-Ed Co Chair, on the State Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers committee, the State Farm Bureau Pro-Ed committee, and the New York Brown Swiss Association President. Currently she is serving as a school board member for Cattaraugus Little Valley School, Secretary/Treasurer for the New York Brown Swiss Association, on the Youth Committee for the National Brown Swiss Association, a member of the dairy committee for Cattaraugus County 4-H, and a board member for Cattaraugus Little Valley Youth Football and Cheerleading.

Agriculture Legacy: Marcie Furl

Marcie (Belscher) Furl is a life-long resident of East Otto, New York. She purchased her family home back in 1999 and as a single mother, raised her two boys, Hunter and Gage Furl there. Both boys currently reside in East Otto with Hunter recently buying a home of his own! While Marcie considers being a mom her greatest achievement, she is also grateful to have had the opportunity to serve her community through her career at the Farm Service Agency.

Marcie was allowed the opportunity to work at ASCS, through a work/study program while she was a student at Cattaraugus County BOCES. She was hired full-time immediately after high school. Marcie worked in the Erie County office, running all the Dairy Programs and Farm records, amongst many other programs, for 13 years. In October of 2004 she was able to come home to Cattaraugus County when she transferred to the Ellicottville office where she ran many of the same programs. Marcie remained in Ellicottville until her retirement in January of this year. In addition, throughout her time with the Farm Service Agency, Marcie was able to work with neighboring County offices and people residing in them.

If you asked Marcie what she enjoyed most during her 34 years at the Farm Service Agency, she would tell you without hesitation that it was working with and helping the farmers. She loved her co-workers, but it was the farmers who gave her the most joy and purpose, and she is proud to have served both them and her community for her entire career.

Marcie would also like to acknowledge and thank Jean Davis. Jean was instrumental in Marcie’s life and career. She was the one who directed Marcie to apply to Erie County, and she also brought Marcie back home to Cattaraugus. Jean was not only a boss and mentor, but she is also a cherished friend. Thank you, Jean!

In retirement, Marcie is looking forward to relaxing, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and finding new ways to serve her community.

Cattaraugus County Soil & Water Conservation District is proud to honor Hinsdale Central School's Environthon Team

Envirothon is a competition which was started in 1979 by various conservation districts in Pennsylvania, then known as “Environmental Olympics”, as a way to foster interest in conservation and natural resources management amongst high school students. Through field-based knowledge and skills testing, the competition challenged students to work as a team and think critically while learning about topics typically not taught in the traditional classroom setting. Almost a decade later in 1988, the Pennsylvania competition grew to host a national competition including teams from Massachusetts, Ohio, and Maine – hence the Envirothon was born.

Cattaraugus County hosted its first Envirothon in 1992 where Randolph Central School became the first champion. Now in its 33^rd year, the Cattaraugus County Envirothon still hosts various teams made up from school districts across the county for the competition. Students today are tested in five categories: aquatics, forestry, wildlife, soils, and a current issue scenario which changes every year. This year’s prompt, “Nonpoint Source Pollution: It Starts at Home”, will present students with an opportunity to create a comprehensive plan to assist a fictitious community with addressing various nonpoint source pollution concerns as they rapidly develop while also trying to protect existing natural resources and agricultural spaces. Students must present their plan to a panel of judges where they are scored and ranked against other teams.

Two-time consecutive Cattaraugus County Envirothon champion, Hinsdale Central School Team #1, has represented Cattaraugus County at the New York State Envirothon Competition held at SUNY Cortland the past two years. Made up of students Brett Bergstrom, Kaleigh Buckles, Robert Childs, Amaya Russell, and their advisor/science teacher, Mr. Warren Schulze, they placed 7^th amongst all the teams across the state. Hinsdale Team #1 is looking for their third-consecutive title at this year’s competition being held on Wednesday, April 29^th in the Red House Area of Allegany State Park.

This program is entirely funded by volunteers and donations from businesses and members of the Cattaraugus County community. We graciously thank and appreciate all the support that has been given to the program throughout the years. Without this, the competition would not be what it is today. If you are interested in supporting the program, please contact the Soil & Water Conservation District at (716) 350-4018.