Malone, NY, Jul 11, 2011 — It used to be dairy farmers in the North Country didn't think too much about marketing their product or who would be eating or drinking it at the kitchen table. A truck owned by your co-op rolled up and emptied the bulk tank. Off went your milk to be processed by someone else.

That's still the case on many dairy farms. But in today's diversified mix of organic and vegetable and pasture-raised livestock farms, things are changing. And Bernadette Logozar says young farmers are leading the way. Logozar is the regional local foods specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension.

She told David Sommerstein farmers under 40 are using new tools like Facebook and Twitter and good old-fashioned word of mouth to market their own products.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Jul 05, 2011 — With the legislative session wrapped up, state leaders are assessing where they've come and where they plan to go.

Agriculture commissioner Darrel Aubertine has been on the job for little more than half a year, after losing his Senate seat to Republican Patty Ritchie.

Aubertine is a lifelong farmer from Cape Vincent in Jefferson County. He's shifted from dairy farming to raising beef cows. And he tells David Sommerstein his sons are taking over.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jun 07, 2011 — A fun new book presents 34 men who proudly take charge of the family kitchen.
It's called A Man With a Pan, with the subtitle Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for Their Families.

According to the publisher's press release, fathers now account for nearly a third of family-cooking time. That's up from 5% in 1965.

The book is edited by John Donohue of the New Yorker magazine. He does most of the cooking for his own family, his wife and two daughters.

There are big names among his 34 contributors: chefs Mark Bittman and Mario Batali, as well as authors Stephen King, Jim Harrison and Mark Kurlansky. But the book also includes interviews with lower profile guys, regular fathers across the country.

Brett Thacher, a cooking Dad from Canton, is one of them. He was in the NCPR studios this morning to talk with Martha Foley.  Go to full article

Sackets Harbor, NY, Jun 06, 2011 — It's a challenging year, no doubt about it, for gardeners and commercial growers -- and the plants they're tending. There may be too much water in some places, but not enough in others, after a series of dry, sunny and windy days, and a couple of nights in the 30s. Cornell Cooperative extension horticulturist Amy Ivy has some reminders about garden TLC in her weekly chat with Martha Foley.
And they preview workshops on using local food, homegrown or not, starting next week in Sacket's Harbor, Canton and Plattsburgh.  Go to full article

Hardwick, VT, Apr 04, 2011 — Tonight and tomorrow, community leaders from around the region gather for the 9th Annual North Country Symposium. They'll try to learn lessons from a hardscrabble town in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

About ten years ago, people in Hardwick started opening businesses related to local agriculture. Today, there are community-supported restaurants, a tofu maker, a seed company, fruit, vegetable, and meat growers, a food coop, and a not-for-profit composting agency. Hardwick's been featured on national TV, in the New York Times, and many other newspapers.

Author Ben Hewitt wrote about the Hardwick revival in his book, The Town That Food Saved. He's the keynote speaker at the Symposium.

Hewitt told David Sommerstein part of Hardwick's success is owned to a spirit of collaboration and a diversified entrepreneurial economy.  Go to full article

Brattleboro, VT, Mar 08, 2011 — Farmers markets have seen huge growth in the past three decades. They give consumers access to local food, sometimes at a lower price. And farmers can sell without a middleman getting a cut.

A growing number of markets now run through the entire winter. The state agriculture department says New York has 75 markets that run December through March. None of those, however, are in the North Country. Check out today's related story to find out why.

First, a visit to a winter farmers market, from WNPR's Nancy Cohen in southern Vermont.  Go to full article

Plattsburgh, NY, Nov 22, 2010 — Thanksgiving can be a great opportunity to savor a real harvest meal, even given the North Country's growing season. Martha Foley and Cooperative Extension's Amy Ivy inventory the menu possibilities. (And it isn't all root vegetables!)  Go to full article

Oct 12, 2010 — Community Supported, or Shared, Agriculture - CSAs for short - are growing, spreading even into cities, where garden space is at a premium.

Customers typically sign up to buy shares of the season's production. They get fresh, local produce while growers get improved financial security. Sellers and buyers often enjoy getting to know each other on a personal level too.

A landless CSA in Ottawa has just finished its third season. Using a website, social media and word-of-mouth publicity, VegetablePatch founder Jesse Payne has found a ready supply of urban homeowners with yard space they're willing to share. Payne says there's real excitement about combining good eating with better land use.

Lucy Martin got an on-site tour to learn more.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jul 23, 2010 — NCPR and TAUNY, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, have been keeping track of gardens across the North Country in a project we call The Garden Plot.

At midsummer, our plot has grown, just like the gardens we've been watching. Martha Foley talks with TAUNY's Jill Breit about what we've learned from gardeners about growing vegetables and collaborating on the internet.  Go to full article

Ottawa, ON, Jul 21, 2010 — Last week, David Sommerstein reported that a shortage of meat cutters and slaughterhouses is a limiting factor in the growing trend to eat local. He visited New York State's only certification program for butchers, at SUNY Cobleskill. (see link below)

Turns out Americans across the country are learning the details about how their meat is butchered. Many self-described foodies are taking classes where they work with experienced butchers, donning aprons and using cleavers, saws and hatchets to cut up slaughtered pigs and other animals.

Organizers say the classes indicate the public's growing interest in how the food they eat affects their health and the planet. They say that interest is driving more people to shop at farmers markets and even raise chickens in their backyards.

Canadian chef Steve Mitton, co-owner and head chef of Murray Street Restaurant in Ottawa's Byward Market, is part of that broad culinary movement.

Mitton's kitchen combines creativity with efficiency, using techniques he learned from butchers in Germany, where eat local is nothing new. He told Lucy Martin his apprenticeship was kind of an accident.  Go to full article