Cattaraugus County Agriculture Trail
The Cattaraugus County Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism is in the process of collecting information on all operating agriculture businesses in the County. The County wishes to better promote the County's agricultural businesses and products by developing a County Agriculture Trail. Crystal Abers, Director of the Department stated, "A letter and survey have been mailed to over 500 agriculture businesses to help us in identifying the County's agriculture assets and to invite them to participate in our promotional activities, which will include an Agriculture Trail."
The southwest region of New York State has long been known to be prime agricultural land that supports a diversity of farms and farm operations. "Cattaraugus County, home to approximately 1,100 farms, supports and promotes our rich history of agriculture. The County and the Cattaraugus County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board have created a website (ccAgHelp.com) titled "Explore Agriculture in Cattaraugus County" for the purpose of providing a one-stop center for all things agriculture and agriculture-related in Cattaraugus County," explained Mrs. Abers. "The site is a portal to help area farmers and agri-businesses obtain information and to open lines of communication with those that are in the region to aid farmers and agri-businesses. Included on the website is a directory of farms, which lists approximately 60 of the County's farms. We would like to invite those ag businesses not already on the list to join."
"For further promotion of our agriculture businesses, Cattaraugus County is developing a "Cattaraugus County Agriculture Trail" to highlight the abundance of local food options available to consumers and to promote those farms and local food producers that make the region's food system vibrant, diverse, sustainable and healthy. In addition to local foods production, other non-food related products (such as trees) will be featured as well. The Trail will also showcase those farms that welcome visitors to see the farming process up close and personal," stated Mrs. Abers.
"In addition to the agriculture website and the Agriculture Trail, the County hosts an Annual Farm Tour for County Legislators, County Planning Board, Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, and others. Farms that were featured in the 2014 Farm Tour included: Great Valley Berry Patch, Snow Brook Farm, Maple Ridge Bison Ranch, and Pumpkinville. As you can see, we try to showcase a variety of farms. We would love to hear more about other farms and visit their operation."
Mrs. Abers continued, "Periodically the County also provides agriculture related seminars for agriculture entrepreneurs, such as bee keeping/honey production, poultry, and hops. These seminars help identify what can be produced in Cattaraugus County, markets for the product, resources to help with establishing the ag-business, and much more."
For further information or to obtain a survey or if you have any questions regarding the County Agriculture Trail, please Ginger Malak at 716-938-2312 or email her at ggmalak [at] cattco [dot] com.
