Farmer Neighbor Dinner Announced

 Save the Date for This Celebration of Agriculture

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (June 27th, 2017) – Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s Agriculture Program is excited to announce that the 2nd Annual Chautauqua County Farmer Neighbor Dinner is planned for Tuesday, August 15th, 2017. The Farmer Neighbor Dinner will be held at The Grandview of Ellington, 1116 West Hill Road, Ellington, NY.

This event is a collaboration between Farm Credit East, Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District, Chautauqua County Farm Bureau, Western New York Crop Management Association, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County. Tickets for the Farmer Neighbor Dinner are available for $20 per person. To purchase tickets for this event, please contact Debra Kelley, Chautauqua County Soil and Water, and 716-664-2351 ext. 102 or dkelley@soilwater.org. If you or your business is interested in assisting with this event in the form of sponsorship or food donation, please contact Lindsay Eckman, Farm Credit East, at 716-753-2144 or Lindsay.eckman@farmcrediteast.com.

Chautauqua County is rich in agriculture, and this event is an opportunity to share in celebration of our community’s farmers that work tirelessly to produce safe, wholesome food for us all to consume. The Farmer Neighbor Dinner is also an opportunity to help foster communication between the farming community and the general public. The Farmer Neighbor Committee was formed to help meet this need, and are happy to announce that this year the featured speaker will be Chris Fesko. Fesko is internationally known for her award winning “On the Farm” video series and hosts numerous workshops on the topic of agriculture and public relations.

Three awards will also be presented at the Farmer Neighbor Dinner, including Farmer of the Year to one livestock agribusiness and one non-livestock agribusiness along with a Friend of Agriculture award. Nominations are still needed, and can be submitted by contacting Lisa Kempisty, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County, at 716-664-9502 ext. 203 or ljk4@cornell.edu.

Dinner for the evening will feature locally grown products, celebrating Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s “Chautauqua Grown” Farm-to-table directory (www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua). The meal will be prepared by Robert Cross and his staff of 3-C’s Catering of Kennedy, NY. Social Hour will begin at 5:30 pm, buffet dinner at 6:30 pm, followed by the program featuring our award presentations and keynote speaker.

Chautauqua County is home to over 1,500 farms that produce a diverse offering of grapes, milk, meat, crops, produce, honey, maple syrup, and more! Along with the many agribusinesses and support agencies that serve our farm families, agriculture is responsible for an economic impact of over $300 million. Our community is fortunate to enjoy rural landscapes that are preserved by our farming operations along with access to wholesome, locally produced foods and fiber.

The Farmer Neighbor Dinner is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua) in line with the County’s 20/20 Comprehensive Plan. CCE-Chautauqua is a community based educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University, Chautauqua County Government, the NYS SUNY system, and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated June 27, 2017