Analyzing the true cost of a $15 minimum wage

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Inside:
USDA issues
pesticide
residue report
Official Newspaper of the New York Apple Association
7645 Main Street
PO Box 350
Fishers New York 14453-0350
Page 6
Volume 4, Issue 9
February 2016
In this Issue
Speakers lined up for Feb. 22 Agriculture Compliance Conference.
...................................... Page 4
U.S. Apple Association’s ‘Apples
for Education’ Campaign Benefits Everyone.
...................................... Page 5
Analyzing the true cost
of a $15 minimum wage
By Lauren Williams
New York Farm Bureau
How to talk about the USDA’s
new pesticide residue report.
...................................... Page 6
Spanish-speaking Winter Fruit
Schools lined up.
...................................... Page 7
Lost Apple Project seeks to revive long-dormant varieties.
...................................... Page 8
Young Apple Leader program
participants announced.
...................................... Page 9
In his 2016 State of the State address,
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his
proposal of a $15.00 minimum wage
for the state of New York.
The proposal includes a phased-in
increase in the minimum wage to $15
by 2018 for NYC and 2021 for the rest
of the state. This increase would greatly
impact farm business across the state
and could negatively impact a farm’s
bottom line.
Have you stopped to consider what
a $15 minimum wage, a 67 percent
increase from the current minimum
wage, would mean to your business
and how it could impact the overall
profitability of your farm?
We encourage farmers and other
agricultural businesses to calculate the
cost of a $15 minimum wage for their
operations. Not only are these numbers
helpful for business planning purposes,
but they also help to tell why an
increase in the minimum wage would
be detrimental to farm businesses.
Some things to consider as you
calculate the impact of a $15 minimum
wage:
Employees who are currently
making minimum
wage, $9 per
INSIDE:
hour, would see
More on
their hourly wages
the budget increased by $6
Page 9 to $15 per hour.
Worksheet Those employees
currently earning
helps you
more than the
calculate
minimum wage,
impact on
but under the
$15
threshold,
your
would also see
business.
Page 11 an increase. In
addition, raising
the
minimum
wage to such a high level puts current
workers (at that pay level, who have
gained this wage amount through
experience on the farm) at an extreme
disadvantage as their wages become
compressed in comparison to their
newly hired counterparts. Would any
of your employees making more than
$15 an hour request that their wages be
increased as well?
To calculate your increase in employer
payroll tax, you should include the cost
of workers compensation insurance,
unemployment insurance, FICA, and
Medicare.
It’s important to remember that
there is no youth wage or separate
wage rate for farmers. The majority of
the people making the minimum wage
on farms and other small businesses
are youth and part-time employees
who will be largely impacted by this
proposal. Increasing the minimum
wage to such a high level disincentives
employers from hiring inexperienced
and younger employees, preventing
them from getting their foot in the
door and receiving training and
experience.
Even if your labor costs are relatively
low, you should still consider how
other agricultural businesses will be
impacted by an increased minimum
wage. Will your repair bills increase
because you have to pay more in labor?
Will feed and other goods cost more
because the feed company must offset
the increase the wages somehow?
See Wage, Page 11
Page 2
Core Report® February 2016
Retail Review
News from the retail marketing industry
Kroger expands
produce choices
The Produce News
The Kroger Co. has renovated and
expanded the produce departments at
11 North Carolina stores. To date the
company invested more than $4 million
to remodel produce departments in
51 stores throughout its Mid-Atlantic
Division, which includes North
Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia,
eastern Tennessee, Kentucky and
southern Ohio.
The
11
renovated
produce
departments in North Carolina are
anchored by new market-style slanttop tables that display fresh produce.
The departments also feature larger
refrigerated produce cases with new
misting systems. These changes have
allowed Kroger to expand its selection
of organic produce, part of the grocer’s
overall strategy to continue to grow its
lineup of natural foods.
“We’re excited to welcome shoppers
to an inviting, easy-to-navigate space
where they can shop for the freshest
fruits and vegetables at low Kroger
prices,” Anne Jenkins, spokesperson
for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division, said
in a press release. “Capital investment
in our stores is one way Kroger is
constantly working to maintain the
outstanding in-store experience our
customers know and love.”
Aldi’s offers
more produce
By Pamela Riemenschneider
The Packer
Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi Inc. started
the New Year with a “Refresh” of its
stores, pledging more healthful options
for consumers.
The deep discounter pledged to
replace candy and chocolates in its
checkout lanes with nuts, trail mix,
dried fruit and granola bars, and to
broaden its product selection of fresh
and “healthier” items.
“By
introducing
Healthier
Checklanes and through a number
of other initiatives, we are doing our
part to remove temptation at checkout
and stocking stores with even more
nutritious options,” said Jason Hart,
Aldi CEO, in a news release.
Publix to build store
on college campus
WFLA-TV (Tampa, Fla.)
TAMPA, Fla. — Students at the
University of South Florida in Tampa
will soon be able to buy groceries
without even leaving campus.
In January, the Florida Board of
Governors, which oversees the State
University System of Florida, approved
plans for Publix Super Markets to build
a 29,000-square-foot store on the USF
campus in Tampa.
The project is the first on-campus
location in Florida for Publix and will
be part of a public-private partnership
geared at enhancing a “living-learning
community” that will be built on the
north side of campus.
It’s also a first-of-its-kind across
the country, the grocery store will be
the first Publix location that will be
fully integrated into a student housing
village on a college campus.
Price Rite to open
store in Syracuse
‘food desert’
Syracuse.com
SYRACUSE — Price Rite is going
ahead with plans to open a supermarket
in an impoverished southwest side
neighborhood that community leaders
have called a “food desert” because of
its lack of grocery stores.
Dennis Bachman, manager of real
estate for Price Rite, said the discount
grocery store chain expects to begin
construction at 601 South Ave. early this
spring and open the 35,000-squarefoot store in late summer or early fall.
Price Rite plans to build a
10,000-square-foot addition onto an
approximately
20,000-square-foot
vacant commercial building at the
southeast corner of South and Bellevue
avenues.
The building on the property housed
a Loblaws supermarket until the store
closed in 1970.
Community leaders have been trying
to recruit a grocery store to the site
for years so that residents of the area
who do not own cars would have a
food store close enough to walk to. The
neighborhood has a high concentration
of poverty and no full-line grocery store.
Price Chopper
names new CEO
The (Albany) Times-Union
Price Chopper’s parent company has
a new CEO and, for the first time in
history, his last name isn’t Golub.
The company announced in January
that Scott Grimmett has been named
chief executive officer of the Golub
Corporation, replacing Jerry Golub.
Grimmett worked for the Safeway
supermarket chain for 37 years, starting
his career bagging groceries. He joined
the Schenectady-based supermarket
chain in January 2012 as executive vice
president and chief operating officer.
He was named president last year,
when he also became the first nonfamily member in that role.
Jerry Golub, the previous CEO, will
become vice chairman of the board and
will lead a new board finance committee
focused on accelerating the conversion
of Price Chopper stores to the new
Market 32 brand, the company said.
“The move is recognition of Scott’s
exceptional value to the company and
our ability to apply Jerry’s considerable
talents to the financial side of our
growth plan,” said Mona Golub, vice
president of public relations and
consumer services for the chain.
Grimmett has been one of the people
spearheading the company’s transition
from its Price Chopper brand to Market
32.
Calendar
February 15
Northeastern NY
Winter Tree Fruit School
Fort William Henry Conference
Center
Lake George
February 16-17
Hudson Valley
WinterFruit School
Garden Plaza Hotel
Kingston
February 23-24
NYAA Board of Directors Mtg.
The Desmond
Albany
-2/23: Legislative Visits
-2/24: Board Meeting
February 29
Taste of New York Legislative
Reception
Albany
March 1
NYFB Lobby Day
Albany
March 3-5
USApple – Capitol Hill Day
USApple Meetings
Washington, D.C.
August 25-26
Apple Crop Outlook
& Marketing Confence
Ritz Carlton
Chicago, Ill.
February 2016
Core Report® Core Report® is published
monthly by the New York
Apple Association
as a member service.
New York Apple Assn.
Contact
7645 Main St., Fishers, NY 14453-0350
Phone: (585) 924-2171, Fax: (585) 924-1629
www.nyapplecountry.com
Staff
James Allen, President,
[email protected]
Molly Zingler, Director of Marketing,
[email protected]
Joan Willis, Executive
& Communications Assistant
Ellen A. Mykins,
Accounting Dept.
Susan Sarlund,
Northeast Account Manager
Linda Quinn,
Nutrition Spokeswoman
Julia Stewart, Public Relations Director
and NYAA spokesperson, [email protected]
Board of Directors
Will Gunnison, Chairman, District 1, Crown Point,
(518) 597-3363, [email protected]
Jay Toohill, District 1, Chazy, 518-846-7171,
[email protected]
Jonathan Chiaro, District 2, Hudson, (518) 828-1151,
[email protected]
David Jones, District 2, Germantown, 518-537-6500,
[email protected]
Alisha Albinder, District 3, Milton, (845) 795-2121,
[email protected]
Kurt Borchert, District 3, Marlboro, 845-236-7239,
[email protected]
Sarah Dressel, District 3, New Paltz,
(845) 255-0693, [email protected]
Jack Torrice, District 4, Oswego
(315) 342-3793, [email protected]
Richard Endres, District 5, Sodus
(315) 483-6815, [email protected]
Todd Furber, Vice Chairman, District 5, Sodus
(315) 483-8529, [email protected]
Chris Hance, Treasurer, District 5, Pultneyville,
(315) 589-4212, [email protected]
Abram Peters, District 5, Pultneyville,
(585) 455-3600, [email protected]
Kevin Bittner, District 6, Barker, 716-795-3030,
[email protected]
Kaari Stannard, District 6, Medina, 518-477-7200,
[email protected]
Jason Woodworth, District 6, Waterport,
585-682-4749, [email protected]
Page 3
President’s Message
Center for Produce
Safety: Apple support!
By Jim Allen
[email protected]
“One bad apple will spoil the entire
barrel”, is almost as well known “As
an apple a day,
will keep the
doctor away.”
They
are
both
urban
sayings
that
have lived on
for centuries,
from bygone
days in old
England
to
now. We know
the apple a day
Jim Allen
slogan dates
back that far,
and we are
guessing that the days of shipping
apples to Europe from Upstate New
York in wooden barrels was the origin
of the bad apple phrase. We love to
hook ourselves to the Doctor comment,
because it clearly communicates all the
good that we know about eating apples
and how apples enhance a healthy
lifestyle.
At the same time, talking about a bad
apple sends chills up our backs … and
today those chills are more common
and more threatening than ever. We
are constantly being bombarded with
the latest food borne outbreak, that
have caused tragic deaths, sicknesses
, recalls, and millions of dollars in
losses. (Note the order of importance
here).
In today’s nanosecond world of social
media and Internet news, it almost
seems like we are aware of an outbreak
before it happens.Consumers today
hear about E-Coli 026, Shinga Toxin,
Listeria and Salmonella weekly. And
the outbreaks are happening in mega
companies such as Chipotle and Dole.
Will our industry be next or better
said will our industry be hit again?
We have suffered through cider issues
over the years, but we were able to
take the appropriate and somewhat
simple steps to eliminate those risks,
but dealing with fresh apples is more
difficult. Bidart Bros. of California, last
year’s source of the Listeria breakout
on fresh apples, can attest to that. The
huge spinach contamination and recall,
in 2006, that took three lives across the
country, is well remembered as one of
the worse national food borne illness
outbreaks, but it is also remembered
for the cause and inception of the Food
Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
passed by Congress in 2011.
Since passage of FSMA, our collective
industries have been sifting through
the volumes of FSMA regulations
trying to understand what will be
required by all.
Because of the spinach crises in
2006, the Center for Produce Safety
was formed. CPS is focused exclusively
on providing the produce industry
and GOVERNMENT with open
access to the actionable information
needed to continually enhance the
safety of produce. Both public and
private partnerships of universities,
associations and corporations make up
the CPS. One of the key components
here is that FDA and USDA both look
to CPS for direction and for guidance
and recognize the credibility and
the expertise that it provides for the
produce industry.
Without this valuable input from
industry, based on sound science and
research, enacting food safety laws
could possibly be similar to present
healthcare legislation. As apple
growers, from this state and all states,
addressing these issues is critical
for the health of the industry. Apple
associations in New York, Michigan,
Pennsylvania and California as well
private apple companies are being
asked to follow the recent Washington
State Tree Fruit Association recent
commitment of support to CPS. (See
story, Page 7). This needs to be a
national effort, to address a
national concern. We
cannot afford one bad
apple, anywhere.
Good luck,
Jim
Branching Out
Change is constant
Adapting to the changing times.
There are two words in that statement
that
I
am
certain many
of you cringe
at; most of us
do.
We
all
get stuck in
a
routine,
often become
complacent
and most of
the time we
have a bit
Molly Zingler
of fear in us
when it comes
to anything new. Breaking out of our
comfort zone, we all hate it. Sometimes
we have to just bite the bullet, take the
leap and hope for the best.
I found that when it comes to apples
things are always changing. New
varieties are constantly appearing
making me wonder if our growers are
making plans for the future. Since the
business world is always changing and
evolving so too should our industry. I
am a firm believer in all of the apple
varieties grown in New York, I believe
that there will always be a place for
them in our stores, our shopping
carts, in our recipes in our hands; but
we need to be prepared for the reality
that there are other great varieties
emerging and we need to be able to tell
our story better to keep them in the
marketplace.
I love the changes being made to
packaging, reinvention of varieties
and refreshing of logos. We at the
See Zingler, Page 11
Page 4
Core Report® February 2016
The Hort Report
News from the New York State Horticultural Society
Busy winter for ag advocates
By Paul Baker
[email protected]
It seems like the winter months go by
very fast. When I was farming I looked
forward to a much more “normal” life
style by most American’s standards.
I had time to
spend with my
family and try
to redirect the
path moving
forward for my
business. Once
the
spring
thaws occurred
it seemed we
were
locked
into a daily
battle to try to
Baker
find 26 hours
in a day. Today
I do not farm but I find the time is often
just as short as I try to direct my efforts
towards the industry needs.
Once again we will be in Albany
to discuss important issues that
will have a direct influence on your
bottom line. Over the last two years
we have successfully influenced the
State Legislature to invest one million
dollars in apple applied research. These
additional funds have allowed our
industry to double the amount of work
on applied research. The apple industry
is in constant global competition to fill
the needs of the world consumers. This
market demands new technologies to
reduce residues and improved quality.
All of this must be done while keeping
the cost to our customers affordable.
These additional funds have helped
keep New York orchards on the cutting
edge.
We will be in Albany again this year
to continue this effort. The entire
concept of matching funds makes this
a win win for everyone.
If in Albany we cannot question
the direction we seem to be heading
as far as being the highest minimum
wage state in the union. There is no
confusion on our part that this drive
will only decrease your bottom line and
make it increasingly difficult for you
to bid against out of state suppliers.
Our belief is that a minimum wage is
not a living wage but a starting wage.
Secondly a minimum wage should
be on a Federal level. To place state
minimum wages higher than the
Federal is to place that state in huge
disadvantage. Wages should be driven
by supply and demand and ability
driven.
We inquire as to if there is any
energy after all of the minimum wage
discussions in Albany to drive the
overtime debates. If this were to arise
it will only once again work against our
farms ability to remain competitive in
both a national and world market place.
We will be watching and monitoring
these issues.
Second Agriculture Compliance
Conference set for Feb. 22
By Paul Baker
[email protected]
The driving theme of the Feb. 22
Agriculture Compliance Conference
in Syracuse will be to help the
industry prepare to be interviewed or
to undergo an audit.
If you are in business in 2016 you
need to have some basic skills in your
possession before you sit down to be
interviewed or undergo any form of
audit.
If that day never comes you will be
one of the very few lucky ones but
reality says sooner or later your time
will come. We hope to give you some
skills on how to best address this
challenge.
We have a mix of speakers for the
day.
Thomas Maloney,
Cornell University
Tom has undergone in the last year
a cross examination of the Agriculture
Industry in NYS. I think you will find
his observations quite interesting.
Ann Margaret Pointer,
Fisher & Phillips LLP
Ann is respected as one of the
premiere Ag Employer lawyers in the
country. She will address a wide range
of issues she sees as your primary
challenges in 2016.
Elizabeth Meyer
American Dairy Association,
VP of Communications
Elizabeth will help you understand
the role of the journalist or auditor as
they probe into your business. I think
this discussion will be one you will be
glad you were in Syracuse.
National View
Among the many projects we are
involved in is the support for the Fruit
Research Facility in Kearneysville,
W.Va.. This federal USDA lab is
involved in all areas of fruit research.
Topics they have and are working on
are controls for invasive new pests
(stink bug) pit less fruit, mechanical
automated pruning systems, mapping
DNA of apples, better thinning
practices and best usage practices of
our most limited resource water. I
will once again travel to West Virginia
to chair these reviews. They are all
programs that help us improve our
industry.
In Washington, D.C., we need to
constantly be in discussion with
Congress to help them understand the
issues that lie between us surviving
Labor
matters
News from
Agricultural
Affiliates
Michael Bayer,
Bayer & Associates,
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Michael brings many talents to
Syracuse. Today we will be drawing
from his experience as a U.S.
Department of Labor Wage & Hour
investigator from 1976 to 2008. He
will try to give you some insights of
the mindset of the investigation and
what to look out for. Michael is very
well versed in many areas such as the
Fair Labor Standards Act and the H2A
program. His experiences in Florida
should be of interest to everyone.
Jim Rogers, NYSDOL
Jim has agreed to return this year
to address his vision on how NYSDOL
can partner with you to meet your
2016 employment needs. Jim is the
only returning speaker from our first
conference. I think it was safe to say
he struck a very positive note with
most of those who were in attendance.
Wendel Hall,
Hall Law office, PLLC,
Washington, D.C.
Wendel has long been practicing
his legal skills in the Beltway. He has
been representing employers in court
before DOL for almost a decade.
His legal areas of expertise include
Wage and Hour investigations and
and failure. Labor or rather the lack
of labor remains on the top of our
concerns. We see little progress on
immigration reform until we sit a new
President. However in the meantime
we are very much concerned with the
full implementation of the Affordable
care Act.
The second large question is the
ability of our government to process
in a timely manner the guest workers
coming across our borders thru Mexico
and this year from Jamaica. The
visa issue is simply not being taken
seriously enough and our hope is that
we can be proactive on this topic before
we see a delay September first when
you need your harvest help.
I have been in Washington, D.C.,
already once this year (2016) and I
have two more scheduled trips to be
there to fight for your rights.
The Doubletree Hotel in Syracuse, site of
the Agricultural Compliance Conference.
enforcement proceedings on H2A
and MSPA. Formerly with CJ Lake,
he recently opened his own firm.
Maureen Torrey
Torrey Farms, Elba
Maureen is no stranger to the New
York scene. Her family operates
one of the largest and most diverse
farming operations in our state. She
has bravely agreed to be the “victim”
in our mock Wage and Hour audit.
This experience should help draw all
the events of the day together for you.
Panel
Panel discussion on “Is this the
year I turn to H2a? If I am in Dairy
what are my alternatives to source a
work force?” Ann Margaret Pointer,
Michael Bayer and Wendall Hall
The last speaker of the day will be
you. I intend to leave a timeslot at
the end of the day for people to ask
questions of those who presented.
Such questions I feel will give closure
to this day.
Compliance
Conference Feb. 22
I hope many of you will have attended
or plan to attend this conference in
Syracuse. It is an excellent program
that is designed to educate you and
inform you of your rights. We are often
times left to feel that as an employer
we are seen as guilty until proven
innocent. In this conference we will
show you how to conduct an interview
and to prepare and handle an audit.
No one wants to undergo an audit.
The truth is if you are in business you
will most likely have to do so. You need
to understand what you need to do
to prepare for and how to handle this
process. I think this is one day each of
you cannot afford to not be in Syracuse
for.
February 2016
Core Report® Page 5
What others think and say can hurt us
Frank A. Gasperini, Jr.
National Council of Ag Employers
Although many of us fear agriculture
is being left behind in the current
race to the
2016 national
elections,
there remain
huge misinform a t i o n
campaigns
aimed at the
public
who
continue
to
spread slanted,
questionable,
and
just
Gasperini
plain
wrong
information
about our practices in the process
of feeding a growing world. In
the Washington, D.C., television
market the past two weeks I have
seen advertisements for and against
genetically modified (GMO) and
country of origin labelling, for and
against renewable energy standards,
and for and against general support
of agricultural programs. From the
employer side, even more troubling
has been a series of articles which
started as a series in the publication
“Buzzfeed,” spread like a stomach flu
through other activist media on both
sides of the aisle, and has re-ignited
public concerns that agricultural
workers are generally mistreated and
paid ultra-low wages.
This sort of activism is stirred up
cyclically, usually with an improving
overall economy as we are experiencing
now because with better economic
conditions Americans traditionally
fund and participate in more activist
causes. Unfortunately they are too
easily led to bad causes.
The apple industry has a strong
record of proactive work to inform
the public and protect the image
of your products. New York Apple
Association’s Core Report, political
work, active participation with other
associations, and other hard work
to educate people.
The National
Council of Agricultural Employers
thank you for working closely with us
and with other groups to be not only
good stewards of your employees,
but also for actively participating in
helping all of us communicate that
being an agricultural employer, and an
employee, are honorable, ethical, and
mutually beneficial relationships.
A year or two ago we wrote the
following talking points for NCAE
members to use when members of
the public ask about our working
relationships. They are still valuable in
today’s environment. You may wish to
adopt these for your own associations
and businesses in order to be prepared.
Where it says “our members” or “we”
you can use the name of our own
business, ranch, or farm.
Our members do, and always will
support and promote the premise that
the only sustainable, equitable, and
fair employment model is a mutual
exchange of values in which the
employer and the employee benefit and
are better off at the end of each season
than they would have been without the
mutual relationship.
We recognize that in any mutual
exchange, there can/will be certain
outlier individuals who may attempt to
manipulate the equation in ways that
specifically, and potentially unfairly,
advantage themselves at the expense
of the other party. There are current
laws, rules, and ethical considerations
in place at the federal and state level
that when fully employed are intended,
and are well able to protect both sides
from abuses; and to prevent future
abuses by those outliers who do break
the rules. We completely support full
and predictable enforcement of these
laws and rules and, by virtue of the fact
that we spend the resources of time
and money to join and participate in
our industry’s professional and trade
associations, demonstrate that we are
also deeply committed to the ethical
considerations as well. U.S. and state
labor laws are clear, most were written
to address and prevent the kind of
abuses being alleged, we fully support
and obey these laws and regulations
and expect others to do so as well. We
expect federal and state authorities to
deal with those who break our laws and
regulations.
It is unfortunate that those who
have the interest and vast resources
available to make movies, place media
advertisements, raise funds from
the public and the government, and
promote causes nationally choose
to do their work from one-sided
pre-conceived standpoints rather
than reaching out to groups such as
NCAE and the many other ethical
and professional associations and
businesses who represent agriculture
nationally, regionally, an in the states
to seek mutual grounds for discussion
and forward movement.
Our members are, have been, and
expect to remain leaders in sustainable
production
practices
including
employer/employee
relationships;
sound, legal, and ethical employment
and management practices; safety and
industrial hygiene, and commitment to
lifetime and lifestyle participation in
feeding both America and the world the
safest, most diverse, most abundant,
and most affordable food supply the
world has ever known. These values
cannot exist when one side victimizes,
or demonizes the other, they occur
when people of good-will and highethics work together to make American
farms work in ways that leave all parties
better off at the end of the season than
they would have been without each
other’s contribution.
uuu
The author is Executive Vice
President of the National Council
of Agricultural Employers (NCAE.)
NCAE is the national trade association
representing Agricultural Employers
in Washington, D.C. Visit NCAE’s
website at www.NCAEonline.org for
more information and continuing
updates.
A is for Apple, A is for Altruism
• How USApple’s
‘Apples for
Education’ Campaign
Benefits Everyone
This month, rather than hearing
from me again, I asked Eric Davis, an
integral member of our public relations
team, to share his thoughts on our
recent Apples for Education campaign.
I felt Eric could offer you, our
members, a different perspective on
our daily activities, what they mean to
us personally, and most importantly,
what results they glean for the apple
industry. My favorite part of Eric’s
insights—and Eric has the memory of
the proverbial elephant—is that he puts
into perspective our “David” campaign
to the Goliath corporate campaigns
that cost much, much more than our
programs. It certainly tickles me pink
when we can get a strong ROI for you—
and, in this case, do some good in the
process.
— Wendy Brannen,
U.S. Apple Association
By Eric Davis
Harvest PR
Can a bite of an apple make a positive
difference in this world? This past fall,
it did just that 20,000 times over with
the U.S. apple industry’s inaugural
“Apples for Education: Buy an Apple,
Help a Student” program, a grassroots
but highly successful campaign that
earned the type of results typically
Votes for Apples4Ed came from industry members, consumers, and large outside influencers, including someone from USDA, a state legislator, and Miss America Betty Cantrell.
realized by campaigns with budgets 10
to 20 times greater.
The initiative was also an important
reminder that cause marketing
initiatives—public relations and other
types of marketing campaigns designed
with an altruistic component--have an
incredibly positive and emotionally
fulfilling impact not just on their
beneficiaries, but also on the people
who work on such programs.
The concept for Apples for Education
began pollinating one year ago when
U.S. Apple Association’s Director
of Consumer Health and Public
Relations, Wendy Brannen, presented
the new idea as a fresh strategy for
the industry’s annual fall consumer
education initiative aimed at keeping
healthy apples in consumers’ minds
during peak supply. Wendy sought a
perennial cause campaign that not only
positively utilized the iconic connection
between apples and education, but also
provided an enduring impact on the
individuals who participated while
encouraging consumption.
By January 2015, we previewed
the “Buy an Apple, Help a Student”
program to long-time seasonal
campaign partner (or, “Apple Buddy”)
Marzetti to gain support. The concept:
Each time a person snaps a picture
enjoying an apple or Apple Buddy
product in the fall season and uploads
it to Instagram, the U.S. apple industry
and its partners would contribute
funds to nominated school causes.
The program’s mantra was “Snack,
Snap, Tag, Share” to support student
causes. Marzetti once again became
an Apple Buddy, along with returning
partners Johnsonville Sausage and Roth
Cheese and first-time partner KIND
Snacks – all foods that pair perfectly
with apples. By spring, with USApple’s
Consumer Education Committee and
Apple Buddies’ support, Apples for
Education program development was
well underway – including the search
for school causes and a new Apples4Ed.
com campaign hub.
People are busy and distracted, and
the marketplace is filled with social
media campaigns – whether altruistic
or overtly promotional – vying for
their attention. Few campaigns break
through to make a massive impact
(one successful example is the ALS Ice
Bucket Challenge).
With that in mind, we set a goal
of 2,000 engagements (votes) from
Sept. 27 through Nov. 15. for the
Apples for Education campaign—
with its comparably modest budget
and grassroots approach—as an ideal
metric for success.
To encourage participation, we
supported Apple for Education with
media outreach and social media
activities. Apples4Ed.com included
profiles of the 12 nominated school
causes, instructions for the “Snack,
See Education, Page 9
Page 6
Core Report® February 2016
USDA releases new residue report
By Julia Stewart
[email protected]
The latest government report on
pesticide residues in foods reassures
Americans that the apples they
feed their families are safe. USDA’s
2014 Pesticide Data Program (PDP)
report was released to the public
in mid-January. The program has
been informing federal pesticide risk
assessments for 24 years.
The 2014 report facts…
The 2014 survey found that none
of the 177 apple samples had residues
that exceeded federal safety levels.
On average, detected residues were
only 2.8 percent of those conservative
federal tolerances; the highest residue
levels found were only 8.8 percent of
federal tolerances. That said, only 4.5
percent of the samples were residuefree. Most apple samples contained
multiple residues; for example, 23.7
percent of samples contained residues
of four pesticides.
Looking at the food supply in general,
the 2014 report found that 41 percent
of tested foods had no detectable
pesticide residues, and over 99 percent
of tested samples had residues below
federal safety levels. Only 38 out of
10,619 food samples had excessive
residues.
How to talk about
the report
NYAA is coordinating our 2014
PDP report communications with
U.S. Apple Association. Per our crisis
communications policy, NYAA stays
out of a negative story if it’s not New
York-specific. If a situation is New
York-specific, we avoid making the
situation worse or drag it out for
longer. Because the PDP report is
not New York-specific, should we get
media calls we refer them to USApple.
(At press time, we’ve received no press
or consumer contacts.)
To date the report has received
little media or other public attention.
The Environmental Working Group,
authors of the infamous “Dirty Dozen”
list that misconstrues the PDP report,
has been focused on debate over
the just-released federal Dietary
Guidelines for Americans.
Understanding that New York apple
industry members may receive queries
from your customers, NYAA has
developed messaging for your use (see
the sidebar).
We will only get a moment of
consumers’ attention, so rather than
citing statistics we recommend focusing
on short, simply-stated messages on
the topic that is most important to
consumers: our apples are safe, to eat
and we are watching out for them and
their families.
For assistance communicating about
the PDP or the “Dirty Dozen” list,
contact NYAA Public Relations Director
Julia Stewart by email at julia@
nyapplecountry.com. Another great
resource is www.safefruitsandveggies.
com, from the Alliance for Food and
Farming.
Talking about the 2014 PDP report
The following consumer messages were developed by NYAA staff for the New
York apple industry’s use should consumers ask about pesticide residues on
apples, or the so-called “Dirty Dozen” list.
We personally assure you, our apples are safe to eat -- so keep on eating
them.
• Keep in mind, we and our families eat our apples first.
• If a residue can be found on an apple, it is harmless -- like a drop in a
bucket, and more likely a drop in a swimming pool. • We hate to use chemicals as much as you do. We use them as a last resort to
protect the fruit and trees, and then in the smallest amounts possible. We work
hard to not use them at all. • If you are still concerned, then peel your apples. (But then you’ll lose fiber,
antioxidants and other good stuff.)
• We should all be eating more apples and other fresh produce, not less, for
our better health and healthier weight. • For more information, visit safefruitsandveggies.com. February 2016
Core Report® Page 7
Ruby Frost demos in advance of big storm
By Susan Sarlund
Often times, the weathermen hype up
storms so much that they don’t live up
to their expectations. Well, such was
not the case with Snowstorm Jonas that
crossed the country and traveled up the
East Coast leaving historical amounts
of snow totals from Washington, D.C.
through New York City.
With all the media hype generated in
advance of these events what do people
always do? Scramble to the store to
get food, in advance of the potential
Snowmaggedon.
We at the New York Apple Association
benefited from this frenzy. With Ruby
Frost demos scheduled at Whole Foods in
the Northeast region, stores were packed
with
people
loading
their
carts. I visited
Whole Foods
in Madison to
check on the
demo
there.
As with all real
estate, like the
saying
goes
–
location,
location,
location – that
Sarlund
is key. Great
news is, when
I was able to actually get in to the store
after fighting for a spot for my car, I
walked right in to the Ruby Frost demo
set up. Everyone had to. It was great.
MaryAnn was the specialist there
executing the demo and the flow
of people was steady and excitable.
Feedback from everyone was positive!
From senior citizens to children, those
sampling the apples liked what they
were tasting.
Adjacent to the display table was a
prominent display of Ruby Frost with
great signage to lead off the produce
section. Even with a retail of $2.49,
the Whole Foods produce worker was
consistently re-filling the display with
more apples.
“Crunchy, crisp, tasty, fun to eat,
taste a bit like Honeycrisp, juicy, like
the color”, these were the resounding
Cornell offers online classifieds
Have something to sell? Looking for something to buy? Take a look at the New York apples and hard cider classifieds brought to you
by Cornell Cooperative Extension-this is a great apple grower resource.
Washington assn. supports Center for Produce Safety
WOODLAND, Calif. - The Center
for Produce Safety has announced it
has received a $750,000 commitment
from Washington State Tree Fruit
Association (WSTFA), the trade
group representing all segments of
the tree fruit industry in the state of
Washington.
The pledge is part of the Campaign
for Produce Safety, a major fundraising
initiative
publicly
launched
in
September 2015 designed to secure
$20 million over the next five years
to fund critically needed, actionable
produce safety research.
“The
Washington
State
Tree
Fruit
Association’s
contribution
to the Campaign for Produce
Safety demonstrates our members’
commitment
to
ensuring
that
Washington apples, pears and cherries
are not only healthy and delicious,
but also remain among the safest
food choices consumers can make,”
said Jon DeVaney, WSTFA President.
“Our industry chose to make this
investment in research through the
Center for Produce Safety because of
its strength in developing solutions to
food safety questions that are practical
and science-based while using research
dollars effectively.”
Since its inception in 2007, the
Center for Produce Safety has provided
$18.4 million to fund produce safety
research.
themes from the audience that
stopped by to taste the “new” New
York Ruby Frost apples. A sure sign
of the reception they received was my
observation that from the demo table
they headed straight to the display to
fill up a bag to purchase.
Whole Foods has been a loyal
supporter of New York apples. They
are always looking for something to
offer their consumers that sets them
apart and this new variety was another
example of that.
We will be meeting with their
produce staff again soon to plan for
next season and what we can do to
support them and sell more New York
apples. Good selling.
Spanish-speaking
winter fruit schools
address labor
training
The 2016 CCE LOF Spanish-speaking
Winter Schools are Tuesday, Feb. 23,
in Orleans County and Thursday, Feb
24, in Wayne County.
The program’s goal is to continue
introducing
Spanish-speaking
commercial farm workers to basic
and applied pomological and pest
management concepts and modern
apple pruning practices in the Spanish
language.
The topic of high skilled labor has
become increasingly important so the
CCE LOF team will be offering again
a full day of educational sessions for
Spanish-speaking employees. Invited
Cornell speakers Gemma Reig and
Jaume Lordan will be talking about
apple disease identification and
irrigation, water stress, respectively.
The CCE LOF team will have dissecting
microscopes to learn to dissect
and differentiate vegetative and
floral buds of Honeycrisp and Gala.
Horticultural “hands-on” sessions
will continue emphasizing the science
behind pruning and basic tree plant
physiology. The educational program
will again include the participation of
Mary Jo Dudley of the Cornell Farm
Worker Program who will be assisted
by Katie Oakes (CCE Orleans County)
and Mario Miranda Sazo (CCE LOF).
The 2016 CCE LOF Spanish-speaking
See Spanish, Page 12
Page 8
Core Report® February 2016
The hunt for the $1 billion apple
By Christopher Hughes
The Week
The best apple you’ve never had is
out there. Somewhere.
It’s not the tough and tangy Granny
Smith. It’s not the Honeycrisp, the
de rigueur dessert apple of the 21st
century. And it’s definitely not that
rubbery Red Delicious, loitering yearround in your supermarket produce
aisle.
Instead, this transcendent orb is
unassuming, mottled, and misshapen,
its flesh dense and mouth-puckering
— what orchardists affectionately refer
to as a “spitter.” But when pressed and
fermented, it could blossom into liquid
gold. With time and expertise, its
nectar could become as layered and as
nuanced as the great wines of France’s
Loire Valley.
At least that’s what Shacksbury cofounder and cider maker Colin Davis
is telling me as we careen around blind
corners and gun down half-finished
roads in Cornwall, Vermont, a rural
hamlet 40 miles south of Burlington.
For years, Davis has been consumed by
the hunt for a possibly apocryphal apple
known as the Tinmouth. In the 1905
book The Apples of New York — still
considered the bible for self-proclaimed
“apple geeks” like Davis — legendary
horticulturist Spencer Ambrose Beach
described the Tinmouth as “sprightly”
and “peculiar” tasting. But today,
that vague characterization is all that
remains of the forgotten fruit; about a
century ago it mysteriously vanished
from New England, and therefore from
the world.
Finding the Tinmouth, and other lost
species of cider apples, is a large part of
Shacksbury’s business. As Davis steers
us through fields of sugar maples and
other deciduous trees, it’s hard to make
out anything distinguishable in the
gnarled overgrowth, let alone a grubby,
golf-ball-size apple. We’ve been here
once before: About a month ago, Davis
brought me along with a small group of
friends to a hidden, overgrown grove
of wild apples — located deep in the
woods on private land — that looked
suspiciously like Tinmouths. We have
no idea if we’ll be able to find it again
— but this time, Davis has brought
reinforcements.
Hard cider is the fastest-growing
category of alcoholic beverage in the
United States; it’s projected to become
a billion-dollar industry within the next
several years. Until now, most of that
growth has been driven by mass-appeal
megabrands such as Woodchuck and
Boston Beer Co.’s Angry Orchard,
which tend to favor saccharine ciders
made from common dessert apples like
the McIntosh.
Despite the lure of easy profit,
Davis and his business partner,
David Dolginow, have never tried to
capitalize on the lucrative sweet-cider
trend. Instead, they’ve embarked on a
far more ambitious — if not quixotic
— quest for perfection. Their goal with
Shacksbury, and with the company’s
offshoot, the Lost Apple Project, is
essentially to bring America’s greatest
apples back from the dead, scouring
Vermont roadsides and pastures for
forgotten strains that once lined the
roads of Colonial New England.
Like Sangiovese grapes in Tuscany,
or pinot noir in Burgundy, apples such
as the Tinmouth typically thrive in a
single region. That’s why Dolginow sees
New England — and its once vaunted
concentration of the world’s greatest
apples — as, potentially, the cidermaking equivalent of Napa Valley.
It’s difficult to fathom how important
the apple was to early America. Today,
industrial-scale farming has squelched
biodiversity, so that the broader market
is dominated by just six varieties: Red
Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji,
Granny Smith, and McIntosh. But in
the 18th and 19th centuries, American
nurseries cataloged more than 16,000
different named apples, and as many
as 7,500 American varieties. Apple
trees were everywhere — particularly
in New England, where they were used
to mark property lines. Sugar was still
a luxury good then, and apples sated
the colonists’ sweet tooth. But far more
important, most apples were grown
to make America’s national beverage:
hard cider.
Up until Prohibition, Michael Pollan
wrote in The Botany of Desire, in rural
areas “cider took the place not only of
wine and beer but of coffee and tea,
juice, and even water.” It’s easy to see
why: Until the 1900s, most water was
contaminated with bacteria. Beyond
issues of sanitation, cider was America’s
homegrown answer to wine — our
native grapes weren’t sweet enough to
ferment. And just like European wines,
American ciders could be incredibly
complex, even nuanced — that’s why
Thomas Jefferson grew cider apples
at Monticello, where Hewes Crabs are
kept to this day.
Cider, not snacking, was the real
reason John Chapman — better known
as Johnny Appleseed — was flinging
seeds and setting up nurseries through
the Ohio Valley and the Midwest in
the early 1800s. Growing apples is
easy, but cultivating a tree that bears
palatable fruit is rare. Most of the
chance seedlings that germinated in
Chapman’s wake weren’t fit for his
tin-pot hat — but they were plenty
suited for a decent quaff, or even a
nip of applejack. In fact, Chapman
couldn’t possibly have known what
he was growing. Apples are extremely
heterozygous, meaning each seed
contains the genetic makeup for a
completely new and different type of
apple tree. If you were to plant a seed
from a McIntosh apple, the one thing
you could be sure of is that the sapling
it produced wouldn’t be a McIntosh
tree.
That’s why apple farmers focus on the
stem, not the seed. When Shacksbury
growers find a choice wildling — a wild
apple tree, out in the brush — that they
want to duplicate, they have to cut a
scion, a branch with buds, and graft
it onto the rootstock of an existing
apple tree. This is, essentially, the
art of cloning. The technique hasn’t
changed significantly in hundreds of
years, and it requires a skill that, even
today, wows its practitioners. “The fact
that you can take one stick, wrap it in
grafting putty to this other stick, and
they grow together…it’s a tiny miracle,”
Dolginow says.
Early colonists had the foresight
to bring over scions of their favorite
European trees, but many of the
grafts failed in the harsh New England
climate. The millions of seeds they
planted, on the other hand, flourished
in their new home. Some 7,500 new
varieties took root — several times
what Europe had produced in 3,000
years of cultivation. In the colonies,
apple farmers identified the best of the
new seedling trees, then grafted and
propagated them in nurseries. The first
of these distinguished new American
cultivars, the Roxbury Russet, was
discovered just outside of Boston in
1645.
Thanks to a perfect storm of seed
and soil, the golden age of apples had
arrived. By the mid-19th century,
Americans were achieving fame and
fortune just by finding the next Red
Delicious or Grimes Golden. It was an
era some called, appropriately enough,
the Great Apple Rush. Unfortunately
for the apple, the rush didn’t last. Soon,
beer and wine surged in popularity,
Prohibitionist Carrie Nation’s hatchet
came calling, and grocery chains began
demanding monocropped uniformity.
By the time Prohibition ended in
1933, the apple had been reduced to
a few baking varieties — the sweetest,
shiniest, most lipstick-red among the
thousands.
Elevated by industrial demand,
these dessert apples choked out some
of the most exquisite cider apples ever
recorded. Unique specimens that could
thrive only in New England were driven
to the brink of extinction. In places like
rural Vermont, a few hardy stragglers
were swallowed up again by the forests,
forgotten except for their names.
See Billion, Page 12
February 2016
Core Report® Young Apple
Leaders named
Page 9
Governor’s FY 2016-17 Budget
Agricultural Program Funding
By Molly Zingler
[email protected]
We are pleased to announce the 2016
Young Apple Leaders from New York.
Tim Dressel is a 4th-generation
apple grower from New York’s
Hudson Valley. He is a graduate
of the Cornell University School of
Agriculture and Life Sciences with a
focus in Horticulture and Business
Management. He currently works fulltime on Dressel Farms as well and runs
his own spin-off hard cider businessKettleborough Cider House.
His current role on the farm revolves
mainly around post-harvest handling
including storage, packing, shipping,
and wholesale.
He also manages
and maintains two vineyards on the
property. Looking forward, Tim hopes
to expand his blossoming hard cider
company while maintaining a helpful
presence in the family business.
Christopher Whipple is the orchard
manager and a minority owner at
Kirby’s Farm Market, LLC. Chris also
owns a small farm with his brother
in Kendall, New York where they
grow and process hops. He has been
working on fruit farms since he was
in high school. In 2007, he received a
Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from
SUNY Brockport and subsequently
spent a year working at a CPA firm
in Rochester. In 2009, he return to
farming and is now transitioning into
ownership at Kirby’s Farm Market,
LLC in Albion, New York as the current
owners begin phasing into retirement.
As someone with the desire to have a
positive influence in his community
and a passion for agriculture, Chris
was accepted to Class 15 of LEAD NY in
2014. Chris currently lives near Holley,
New York with his wife and their 15
month old daughter, Annabelle.
Ryan Burk, Head Cider Maker,
Angry Orchard Cider Company, started
working on orchards in his hometown
of Williamson, an apple rich area with
a great cider making tradition, from
an early age. After attending college in
New York City, Ryan moved to Chicago,
where he immersed himself in the
growing craft beer and cider culture,
Education
Continued from Page 5
Snap, Tag, Share” voting process,
healthy apple facts, and delicious
recipes featuring apples paired with
Apple Buddy products.
During the campaign’s first weekend,
we realized Apples for Education
was going to vastly exceed our goals,
as creative Instagram uploads from
people snacking on apples, applesauce,
apple juice and Apple Buddy products
poured in by the hundreds – each
tagged with their favorite school cause.
We quickly learned participants in the
program’s nominated school causes –
its beneficiaries – were truly driven to
rally their friends and community to
raise funds. People were making the
campaign their own – the mark of a
great cause program.
One reason this campaign sparked
an early grassfire was that, prior to the
Clockwise from top left, New York’s Young
Apple Leaders are Ryan Burk, Tim Dressel
and Christopher Whipple.
later earning a certification from the
Siebel Institute, a global leader in
fermentation studies and brewing
education. Prior to joining the Angry
Orchard team, Ryan served as the head
cider maker at Virtue Cider in Michigan,
where he led the cider industry’s largest
barrel aging program.
Ryan is based in Walden, at Angry
Orchard’s new orchard home for
research and development. There,
Ryan and the other Angry Orchard
cider makers focus on research and
cider making innovation projects
while helping to grow awareness of
the cider industry overall. Topics that
Ryan hopes to explore range from
wild fermentation processes and
barrel aging, to cultivating unique
apple varieties, and working with local
New York groups to maximize apple
harvests and test new varieties.
These three gentlemen will be
traveling to Washington, D.C. March 2 to
4, where they will have the opportunity
to network with other emerging leaders
in the apple industry, as well as key
industry contacts and professionals.
They also will be able to join the industry
and USApple staff where they will meet
with our lawmakers on Capitol Hill and
as well as Senate and House Members
and staffs.
campaign’s launch, Wendy at USApple
had a brilliant tweak to the idea that
would make the campaign’s reach
spread exponentially:
Each of the 12 nominated school
causes would receive school funding
based on the proportion of votes it
received – rather than only the top one
or three schools. That way, each school
had a powerful incentive to always
keep pursuing more votes. Many
schools devised creative ways to keep
their photos fresh, such as an applethemed school photo booth, apples
mandatory on school lunch menus,
baskets of apples on playgrounds,
and class snacks featuring apples and
Apple Buddy products.
By Nov. 15, the campaign had
20,000 Instagram uploads, a beautiful
online tapestry of people of all ages and
backgrounds in large cities and rural
towns enjoying U.S. apples and apple
products.
This engagement exceeded even the
highest watermark I could imagine.
New York Farm Bureau provided this analyis of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed FY
2016-17 budget.
In addition, the following proposals from the governor were announced:
· Minimum Wage increased to $15/hr—phased in to 2021 upstate
· Elimination of Thruway tolls for farm vehicles
· A new voluntary “New York State Certified High Quality” food label administered and
inspected by the Departments of Agriculture and Markets and Health
· Reductions in small business taxes—filing as individuals and as partnerships, LLCs
and S-Corps
· Paid family leave for 12 weeks
· Moving agricultural and dairy marketing orders from Agriculture and Markets to Empire State Development
NYFB will be pouring through the legislative language to provide you more details and
analysis soon on all of these and other issues in the budget.
N.Y. Farm Bureau issues statement
on Gov. Cuomo’s executive budget
New York Farm Bureau
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo is moving
forward with some major budget
proposals that will impact agriculture
across the state in positive and
negative ways. New York Farm Bureau
has advocated on a host of issues
mentioned in the State of the State, and
many of the governor’s requests reflect
his interest to improving conditions for
family farms across the state.
“New York Farm Bureau is hopeful
his efforts to substantially increase the
Environmental Protection Fund will
assist farmers with expanded water
quality, conservation and farmland
preservation programs that are widely
used. In addition, his request to offer
a 100 percent tax credit on Thruway
tolls for farm vehicles that use EZ Pass
is a sensible approach to helping farms
save money while at the same time
making it easier to move their products
See Budget, Page 11
Page 10
Core Report® February 2016
February 2016
Core Report® Page 11
Canadian grower
petitions for Fuji
apple sales in U.S.
The following Minimum Wage Calculation Worksheet can be used as a guide to help you calculate
the cost of a $15 minimum wage and what it could mean to your farm. It can also be cut out and used
at legislative meetings.
Yakima (Wash.) Herald
B. Current FICA, Unemployment Insurance, Workers Comp,
In spite of consumer and trade
group concerns over the geneticallyengineered fruit, Okanagan Specialty
Fruits
of
Summerland,
British
Columbia, has petitioned the U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture
to
deregulate sales of their Arctic Fuji,
which is genetically modified to reduce
browning after slicing. The apple
could potentially appear on U.S. tables
sometime this year.
Two other of the company’s nonbrowning varieties — the Arctic Golden
and Arctic Granny — were approved
last year by the USDA for commercial
sale.
To inhibit browning, the company
uses “gene silencing” to reduce the
apple cells’ supply of the plant enzyme
polyphenol oxidase (PPO), which
contributes to turning apple flesh
brown.
The nonprofit Center for Food Safety,
based in Washington, D.C., argued last
year that OSF’s genetically-engineered
varieties could pose risks for Canadian
and U.S. growers concerned about
contamination of non-GMO and
organic orchards by the non-browning
apples.
The center also argued that browning
is a sign that apples are no longer fresh,
and that masking this natural signal
could lead to people consuming older,
overripe and expired fruit.
Internship Sought
Raleigh Baehre, a student in
Michigan State University’s fruit,
vegetable and organic horticulture
management program is looking
for a summer internship related to
his field of studies. Raleigh will be
the fifth generation to operate Kent
City, Mich.’s, Baehre Orchards. He
is looking for a summer internship
position in an apple orchard setting,
learning about new systems and
orchard management. For information
about the MSU internship program is
available here: http://www.hrt.msu.
edu/assets/PagePDFs/internshipprogram/Internship-Information-forEmployers.pdf. To contact Raleigh,
email his aunt, Julia Baehre Rothwell,
at [email protected]
Zingler
Continued from Page 3
Association are trying to keep
things fresh in these ever-changing
times; we have innovative
promotions at work pushing New
York apples out to the consumers
through demos, digital coupons
offering savings on apples through
their smartphones and computers;
these types of new promotions
work-we see redemption numbers,
sales increases from retailers that
show us the success rates.
Let’s keep on being successful by
setting New York up for a strong
future with the varieties
consumers want.
ly
l
o
M
A. Current Employee Wages: $_________ (Sum of hourly & salaried employees)
Medicare Payroll Tax Cost: $ __________
C. A+B=$ __________ Total Current Farm Payroll
D. Number of employees _____ x $15 Minimum Wage x____ hours per week
x ____ weeks worked = $________
E. Number of employees _____ x $_____ per hour (if different from
minimum wage) x ______hours per week x ______ weeks = $__________
F. Total salaried employees wages: $_________
(Account for any increase due to $15 minimum wage)
G. Social Security: D x E x F x 6.2% = $_____________
H. Workers Compensation Cost (calculated based on business type
and individual rate): = $___________
I. Unemployment Insurance Cost
(Each employer’s contribution tax rate varies): = $___________
J. Medicare Cost: D x E x F x 1.45% = $___________
K. D +E+F+G+H+I+J = $_________ Projected wages with a $15 minimum wage
L. K-C = $_________ Increase in labor cost due to $15 minimum wage
Wage
Continued from Page 1
An increased minimum wage will put
New York farmers at a disadvantage
because production costs will increase,
but the price received for goods and
Budget
Continued from Page 9
around New York. Improving rural
infrastructure also remains a priority
for New York Farm Bureau, and we
are pleased to see additional funding
as well to improve roads and bridges
in the upstate and Long Island regions.
“There is also support for agriculture
products may not. New York Farm
Bureau has continually supported
keeping our state minimum wage
linked with that of the Federal
minimum wage, as we are competing
in a global marketplace and raising the
wage separate from the federal level has
led to a competitive disadvantage with
other agricultural states when selling
products throughout the country. Of
the top 12 agricultural states, only
California has a higher percentage
of sales spent on labor— making an
additional wage increase unsustainable
in an environment where profit margins
are extremely slim.
reflected in funding for critical research.
Plus, the governor has maintained his
commitment to marketing initiatives
that let our neighbors and the world
know about the healthy food and
products that come from our farms.
“Despite these positive endeavors,
New York Farm Bureau remains deeply
concerned about the impact of a $15
minimum wage on our farms’ bottom
lines. Many of our members tell us they
will be forced to make tough choices
should it pass, choices like reducing
staff, changing what they grow and
how they grow it, or just leaving
farming altogether. We encourage
Gov. Cuomo to continue working with
Farm Bureau to find better ways to
promote job growth, better wages, and
new opportunities for our family farms
and their employees,” New York Farm
Bureau President Dean Norton said.
Page 12
Core Report® February 2016
Export Report
French minister: Russia sanctions may end
Fresh Plaza
The French minister hopes that the
sanctions against Russia can end before
the summer. The American minister
John Kerry also recently voiced
this hope. Russia intercepted and
destroyed various parties of fruits and
vegetables from boycotted countries in
recent weeks. Iran is boycotting the reexport of Turkish products to Russia,
Abkhazia is joining the Russian boycott
of Turkey. In the Ukraine the prices in
the supermarket are rising, faster than
in the Crimea.
The French minister of Economics
spoke to French businesspeople in
Moscow on Jan. 25. The minister
voiced his hope that the sanctions
against Russia would be lifted after
the implementation of the Minsk
agreements. This could end the conflict
between Russia and the Ukraine before
Billion
Continued from Page 8
Apple foragers rely on a combination
of rough forensic evidence, historical
data — some of it available only
in ancient nursery catalogs, old
newspaper articles, books like Beach’s
out-of-print tome — and even some
educated word of mouth. It’s more
Sherlock Holmes than James Watson.
As it happens, word of mouth is why
we’re all racing around Tinmouth today,
on 500 idyllic acres owned by Adam
Guettel, an ardent conservationist and
Tony Award–winning composer and
lyricist. (His grandfather was Richard
Rodgers, of Rodgers and Hammerstein
fame.)
The tip, Guettel told us, came from
a “Washington Irving–type character”
named Marshall Squier, a local farmer
whose family has been in Tinmouth
for generations. Squier believes that
the town’s once-famous apple resides
somewhere in a wild orchard on
Guettel’s land.
Ryan Yoder, a wild-eyed farmer
from neighboring Danby, has heard
the rumors as well. Five years ago,
he spotted some feral trees on the
Tinmouth property, then spent more
than a year tracking Guettel down in
Spanish
Continued from Page 7
Winter Fruit Schools will be on Feb. 23
at Zingler Farms Inc. (Orleans County)
and on Feb. 24 at KC Bailey Orchards
Inc., Williamson, Wayne County. The
full program will be posted on the CCE
LOF website, http://lof.cce.cornell.
edu/, and sent in next LOF Fruit Notes
newsletter on early February 2016. A
$15 registration fee will include lunch
for each participant. For more details
contact Mario Miranda Sazo at 315719-1318 or email him to mrm67@
cornell.edu.
the summer.
“Our collective goal is to lift the
sanctions before the summer,” a
Russian newspaper quotes the minister.
Earlier this month the American
minister John Kerry voiced his hope
that the sanctions could be lifted over
the coming months. However, part of
the sanctions were placed in response
to the annexation of the Crimea, the
chance of these sanctions also being
lifted is low.
Manhattan, hoping to harvest the fruit
for his cider-vinegar business. He’s
been here before and hopefully can
lead us back to the old orchard. And
this time out, Davis has brought along
Windfall Orchard’s Brad Koehler. A
sweet-cider maker and horticulturist,
Koehler grows dozens of ancient
heirloom varieties in Cornwall —
including one called the Windfall
Golden.
After about 30 minutes, we come
across our first stand of unpruned
apple trees, and our ragtag party
begins picking samples from the rough
rows of budding fruit. Tasting is a
major step in identifying wild trees, so
no branch goes unplucked. Yoder bites
into a particularly vegetal sample that
smacks of asparagus and immediately
spits it out, chucking the half-eaten orb
into the brush.
Tree after tree reveals some variation
of a McIntosh or Rhode Island
Greening — good apples on any other
day.
But Koehler, our resident expert,
is growing increasingly frustrated.
“This is why they say in our field that
finding an apple like [the Tinmouth] is
a 10,000-to-1 proposition,” he says. “It
almost never happens.”
Ahead in the distance, we hear Yoder
hollering, “This way!” and the rest of
the party takes off in a dead sprint.
Davis and I find our way blocked by
a wall of vegetation so dense and
nettlesome that it seems impenetrable
without some sort of heavy machinery.
After squirming through a brambly
tunnel, we emerge onto a muddy, blueblack clearing.
Even on a sunny August afternoon,
the panorama is shadowy, hushed, and
cool. Errant shafts of sunlight break
through foliage high overhead, framing
a tree larger than any of the others
we’ve seen on Guettel’s property. Its
brawny trunk looks like three trees
entwined as one.
“This is the old orchard I was telling
you guys about,” Yoder says.
Koehler spots one of the few apples
at eye level and gingerly extracts it,
careful not to let it escape into the dead
foliage crackling beneath his feet. “This
is definitely the most promising thing
we’ve seen all day,” he says. “See how it
has a matte finish and just a little bit of
russeting?” He pierces the apple with
his front incisors and shuts his eyes in
contemplation. Then he takes another
bite, and another, until he’s gnawing it
to its core. “The flavor seems right,” he
says.
Yoder and Davis immediately drop
to their knees and begin searching the
underbrush for their own Tinmouth
as Koehler barks at us to find more
specimens — but all of them appear
to be dangling about two stories over
our heads. Overjoyed as a prospector
in sight of gold, Yoder shimmies up
the tree and steadies himself on a
high branch. The limb groans under
his weight, showering loose bark and
debris. He crawls on his belly to a small
parcel of apples and carefully shakes
them free.
We scramble for the fallen apples.
This is the moment we’ve all been
waiting for. But no sooner do I bite into
mine than Koehler lets out a devastated
sigh. He’s found the faintest streak of
pink curving down the shoulder of one
of the tree’s apples.
For a few pained seconds, we all
stare at one another, slack-jawed and
confused. “What?” Davis asks. Koehler
breaks the damning news: Regardless
of the season, the Tinmouth would
never have a hue other than green or
yellow.
The silence is palpable. I watch
as Yoder, Koehler, and finally the
Shacksbury founders slowly walk
single file out of this secret garden until
we find ourselves at the base of the hill
peering up at the red barn where our
journey began.
“So how disappointed are you?” I
ask. Davis shields his eyes from the
punishing sun and looks back at me
with his toothy, infectious smile. “Oh,
we’ll keep looking,” he says. “The
search will never end.”