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Morning Briefing: How do you like those grapes?

The Farrm, Calverton, organic farming, organic grapes
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Calverton farmer Rex Farr in his vineyard checking on the cabernet franc grapes Friday afternoon.

Rex Farr of the Farrm in Calverton will begin harvesting Long Island’s first batch of organic grapes this week.

This is a very difficult process and others have failed trying in the past.

So what has separated The Farrm from the pack?

Mr. Farr attributes his success to his organic farming practices, good soil management and a touch of luck.

“I like to think good farming practices help to enhance Mother Nature,” he said.

Read about this story and other stories daily on our growing Wine Press site.

• You may have noticed some changes to our website this weekend. It’s all part of a slight redesign to help you navigate our site more easily. It’s a work in progress, so keep an eye out for more subtle changes over the next couple of days.

• What an awful week to be a New York sports fan. The Giants lost as heavy favorites at home to Seattle, the Jets have now lost three in a row, the Yankees didn’t reach the ALCS, the Rangers and Islanders are off to a combined 0-3 start and the NBA is close to cancelling the start of the season. I don’t know about you, but I’m choosing to focus on the North Fork high school soccer teams the rest of the way. They’re all .500 or better right now.

• Last week we live blogged from the Riverhead Town Board meeting, and tomorrow we will do the same from the Southold Town Board meeting. Reporter Jennifer Gustavson will also be at the County Legislature.

• We launched a new “Featured Events” feature on our site last week. Each weekday, we’ll feature something that’s going on in the community. If you are hosting an event you’d like featured, e-mail reporter Jennifer Gustavson.