Dairy Farmers Talk of Industry on Verge of Collapse

Jeremy Verratti from Verratti Farms in Gasport.

BATAVIA — Dairy farmers from across upstate took their complaints about lack of competition and disparity in milk prices Monday to the federal government's top antitrust prosecutor. Christine A. Varney, the Assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, listened as farmers from Gasport to Saratoga warned of an industry on the verge of collapse.

"Like David and Goliath, the family farm is at a competitive disadvantage," said Jonathan Taylor, a Genesee County farmer and a representative of the New York Farm Bureau. Taylor said the consolidation of milk processors has created a lack of competition for the milk being produced by upstate farmers.

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Dairy Farmers Talk

Wanted: Stories from NYS farmers

ALBANY -- Farmers in New York are being asked to tell their stories. The New York Farm Bureau Foundation for Agricultural Education is trying to collect short personal stories to assemble in a collection called "A Day in the Life of a Farmer."

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Stories from NYS farmers

Local Meat Boom Exposes Slaughterhouse Shortage

Tonight, local beef, lamb, and pork farmers are gathering at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Canton to discuss a problem that they’re happy to have. Increased interest in local grass-fed and free range meat has created a shortage of slaughterhouses in the North Country and across the Northeast. There are only three USDA-certified abattoirs in northern New York, two in St. Lawrence County and one near Saratoga Springs. As David Sommerstein reports, meat processors see a big opportunity and a big risk.

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Local Meat Boom

Hydroponic Gardening is Going Through a Growth Spurt in the Bronx

To green the Bronx, just add water.

The borough has sprouted a hydroponic gardening shop and will soon boast a watery rooftop farm.
Hydroponics, a way to grow plants in nutrient-rich liquid rather than soil, makes sense for Bronx neighborhoods where garden plots are rare and fresh vegetables in short supply.

When Bronx Hydro & Garden opened at 39 Bruckner Blvd. in November, neighbors' curiosity knew no bounds, said partner Frances Fabian.

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Hydroponic Gardening