For the passerby, a farmer tilling his field may entrap one to feelings of a simpler, more nostalgic time period. However, as 13 kids from Wyoming County 4-H in upstate New York recently learned, farming is nothing like a Norman Rockwell painting. The 4-H’ers were part of a Teen Leaders trip to three agribusinesses in Wyoming County.
The Marquart potato storage facility is fitted with sate-of-the-art equipment that allows for long-term potato storage. This allows the farm to store and distribute potatoes from August to June. The Marquart family stores and distributes millions of potatoes yearly from its Gainesville, N.Y., facility. According to owner Tom Marquart, the company’s goal is to see potato distribution grow to be a year-round endeavor.
Following the potato farm, the teens toured McCormick’s Diary Farm in Bliss. The company not only showed the kids the rotary milking parlor, they got a sneak peak at the brand new manure processing facility. Although the facility is not yet complete, this facility will allow for the separation and utilization of manure components for multiple farm purposes. The McCormick Farm will be the first farm in New York to implement said system.
The tour concluded with a visit to Blue Seal Feed Mill in Arcade. Blue Seal turns raw materials into usable feeds through a milling process. Blue Seal not only makes a variety of feeds for a multitude of animals, they also produce specialized feeds for manatee.
The agriculture tour gave the teens the opportunity to explore other fields of work within agriculture. McCormick’s farm officials honed in on that point, stating that their new facility is going to need staff with education and experience in biology and chemistry.
For more information on Wyoming County 4-H programs call (585) 786-2251 or visit www.wyomingcounty4H.com.
Source: Wyoming County Free Press