Southold farmers are nearing an agreement that would allow them to process their products on-site.
The Agricultural Advisory Committee discussed the proposed changes to the town’s zoning law that would allow processing facilities up to 3,000 square feet to be constructed without being subject to site plan review.
(more…)The idea of the North Fork as home to a wide array of vineyards may have seemed far-fetched more than a half-century ago, when potato farmers ruled the land. READ
Southold Elementary School fifth-graders got a special treat last Wednesday that they helped grow and cook themselves. READ
Jonathan Wickham remembers that at age 14, maybe younger, he was involved in planning for the estate tax on his family’s 300-acre fruit farm — something the average teen might never have to think about. READ
Last Tuesday, during the same meeting at which they officially adopted a long-term agricultural stewardship plan, Suffolk County legislators also gave another nod to the vital role farming plays in the county’s economy. They mandated that the Suffolk County Planning Commission include one member from the agricultural community at all times. READ
In a ceremony Monday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo — flanked by Democratic legislators and his lieutenant governor — signed a state law that will gradually raise the minimum wage on Long Island to $15 an hour. READ
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed minimum wage increase would have a devastating effect on the agricultural community and possibly send consumers to neighboring states to purchase products, farmers and business owners said at a Monday press conference opposing the proposal ahead of the April 1 state budget deadline. READ
My wife, Carey, grew up on Skunk Lane with the back of her family’s home butting up against what would become a Pindar vineyard. Her brother, Chris, spent his high school summer days working in the vineyards of Lieb.
A proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to eventually increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour — a 66 percent increase from the current rate — has members of the agriculture industry on edge.
“That would put us at a huge disadvantage,” said Jeff Rottkamp, owner of Fox Hollow Farm on Sound Avenue. “A monstrous disadvantage.” READ
Toss out the old pizza party playbook: Mattituck High School just made “salad party” the new standard for classroom events. READ