CONFERENCE PROGRAM 2021 Summer Meeting - Saturday, July 31s Chuck Hafner Farm Thursday, July 29th
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2021 Summer Meeting
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Thursday, July 29th
Friday, July 30th
Saturday, July 31s
Chuck Hafner Farm
8501 Green Lakes Rd.
Kirkville, NY
Welcome! Welcome CTFANY members, fellow Christmas tree growers, vendors and guests, to our 2021 Summer Meeting. It is so great to meet in person again! After an awful year of pandemic stresses and separations, and yet a record setting sales season, we all look forward to seeing old friends as well as making new ones, over the next few days. An exciting conference has been planned for you that promises to present timely and practical ideas - from fellow farmers, academic experts, and industry vendors. It’s all in this program booklet, which we suggest you keep for future reference. We are all grateful to our Summer Meeting Committee, volunteers all, who spent so much time putting this whole conference together. They are: Travis Drexler, Dave Hicks, Pete Goderie, Gene Knudsen and Bob Schoch. And of course, a special thank you is due to Chuck Hafner for hosting this year’s conference at his beautiful farm! Peter Brooks President CTFANY
Thursday – July 29, 2021
10:00 - 1:00 CTFANY Board Meeting - Conference Room
(Members invited)
12:00 – 6:00 Open Houses & Farm Tours
2:00 – 5:00 Vendor set up - Vendor area
Noon – 1:00 Hill of Beans Farm, Cortland NY
1:30 – 2:30 Whitetail Acres Farm, Fabius NY
2:45 – 3:45 Rocking Horse Farm, Jamesville NY
4:00 – 5:00 Spingside Farm, Fabius NY
5:15 – 6:00 Hafner Farm, Kirkville NY
6:15 – 7:30 Welcome BBQ Dinner - Main Building
Friday Morning – July 30, 2021
8:00 - 8:30 Registration - (Coffee, tea & water available), Visit vendors
8:30–8:45 Welcome and Orientation - Main Building
Peter Brooks, CTFANY President & Chuck Hafner, Host
Grow Business Crafting/Green Field
9:00–10:00 Deer Social Media Wreath Wagon Tour or
Management and the Press Making 101 Walking Tour
Fencing, DEC Free, Free, Greens
nuisance Free demonstration
for new
permits
Alyssa Kogon farmers
Whitmore Fence
Co. Dave Hicks
10:30-11:30 Weed New Farmers! Jacob’s Ladder Wagon Tour or
Identification Planning, Walking Tour
Challenge mentoring, Cathy Jo Brown
DEC pest. Q&A
credits
Brian Bell and
Dr. Betsy Lamb Gene Knudsen
and Brian
Eschenaur
12:00-12:45 Lunch and Annual Meeting
Christmas Tree Promotion Board Update
Marcia Gray, Executive Director
12:45-1:15 Keynote Address
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
Commissioner Richard Ball
Friday Afternoon July 30, 2021
Grow Business Crafting/Green Field
1:30 - 2:30 Conifer Tree Branding: Farm Store Shearing
Diseases The good, Operation Trees
Dr. Gary bad, & easy Paulie Drexler,
Chastagner Alyssa Chuck Hafner, Duane Berkey
Kogon Karen Rapp
2:45 - 3:45 What’s New Saving Crafting with Wagon or
for Tree Farmland Greens: Walking Tour
Farmers Transfer of
DEC pest. ownership Novel design
of working ideas
credits
farms
Mike
Dr. Betsy Lamb
Terence Naccarato
and Brian
Duvall
Eschenaur
4:00 - 5:00 Tree Species Financial & Ideal Weed Wagon Tour
Selection Personnel Control
Mgt. Maximizing
Dr. Gary herbicide
Chastanger, Dario Arezzo potential
Washington Austin Weaver
State Farm Credit Tracy Harpster
University East
5:00 - 6:00 Social Hour - Beer, wine and soft drinks included
6:00 7:30 Banquet & Entertainment by comedian Moody McCarthy
Saturday Morning – July 31, 2021
8:00 – 8:30 Registration - (Coffee, tea & water available), Visit vendors
8:30 – 8:45 Welcome and Orientation - Main Building
Peter Brooks, Pres. & Chuck Hafner, Host
Grow Business Crafting/Green Field
9:00 – 10:00 Research Equipment Using Drones in Wagon Tour
Projects and Maintenance Agriculture
Results Sharpening,
winterizing, Erick Haas
Cyndi Cazenovia
preventative
Knudson, Equipment
maint.
CTPB
Research Mike
Director McGarvey
10:15 – Post Harvest CTFANY Wreathes Shearing
11:15 Needle Strategic and Greens
Retention Planning Duane Berkey
Session 1 Faye Beckwith Larry Downey
Dr. Gary
Chastanger Gene Veno,
Bob Schoch11:30 -12:30 Diversifying CTFANY Weed Soil Health
Farm Strategic Identification and Nutrition
Operations Planning Challenge Research
Beyond Session 2 DEC pest. Results
agritourism credits
member Gene Veno, H. Grant
panel Bob Schoch Dr. Betsy Lamb Troop,
and Brian agronomist
Drexler Eschenaur
family
12:30-1:00 Lunch, survey and farewell
Tour of Hafner’s greenhouse and retail operation (25 minute drive)
Please check in at the registration desk for directions.Catering Menu
Thursday BBQ
Pulled pork, smoked brisket, chicken parmigiana,
salads & baked beans
Friday Lunch
Hot or sweet Italian sausage w. peppers and onions,
BBQ beef, salads
Friday Banquet
St. Louis Spare ribs, chicken cordon bleu,
Delmonico steak, baked ziti, green beans, tossed salad
Saturday Lunch
Fireman’s BBQ chicken, salads & baked beans
Beverages
Lemonade, ice tea and water will be available at all meals
Complimentary beer and wine will be available
at dinner on Thursday and Friday.Session Descriptions Strategic Planning for CTFANY These two sessions allow members to become involved in the preliminary work on a strategic planning process to be completed in the next six months. For the past 16 months the routine grant funding from the NY Department of Agriculture and Markets was stalled due to the pandemic which resulted in serious financial difficulties for the organization. In fact, it made it clear that operating expenditures that include past levels of staffing are not affordable with current operating revenues. The session will be facilitated by two individuals with track records of solving deficits for trade associations and other nonprofit organizations. Over a long career, Gene Veno has increased revenues and revitalized numerous trade associations. He is currently the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Susquehanna River Basis Commission. Gene will be joined by Bob Schoch, CTFANY board member, who also has a long track record of financial recovery planning and implementation. The session will orient participants to the proposed planning process and timeline, review possible surveys of members, brainstorm key issues and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing CTFANY. Social Media and Press: Free, Free, Free and Free Nothing beats free when you are on a budget. Learn how to engage your public both on social media and through simple marketing tricks both on and off the web. Save time during the seasonal rush by starting to build your audience now. This session will enlighten you on engaging local audiences, the press and even influencers. Course highlights include building your own press list as well as how to send out a press release that will get attention.
Alyssa Kogon is a public relations specialist who has helped many organizations and some Christmas tree farms obtain television and newspaper coverage at no cost. She will discuss the importance of an ongoing efforts to facilitate free publicity along with digital advertising and social media. Branding: The Good, The Bad, and The Easy In this presentation you will learn the simple way to brand your farm. It’s not about you, the trees, or your merchandise. It’s all about the customer. Help them to pick your message every time. Through the use of continuity, consistent and careful messaging and creating a presence in the community outside of your business you can become more than a resource during the holidays. By picking your focus and personality, each farm can become more than just a holiday destination. Best yet, it’s practically free to give your farm high exposure all year long. Alyssa Kogon offers extensive knowledge and experience in the area of social media, press engagement and branding small businesses. She specializes in helping organizations, political candidates and business owners integrate social media and community engagement into their day-to-day operations. With over twenty years of experience in the communications field, Alyssa understands that cost is usually the biggest obstacle to achieving public notice. Her simple yet effective approach to developing local strategic outreach will allow even a novice to garner the attention they deserve. Alyssa is a newspaper columnist, public relations specialist, and currently works for the New York State Senate.
CTPB Research Program: A Growing Investment Cyndi Knudson, Research Director of the Christmas Tree Promotion Board, will provide an overview of the CTPB Research Program, including the research project selection process and how Christmas tree growers can provide input on research topics. A review of currently funded projects and results of completed research will be discussed. As a graduate of Virginia Tech and the University of Georgia, Cyndi’s career in agriculture includes work as an agricultural extension agent (agronomy), university research associate, and as a producer of a variety of agricultural commodities. She operates a bee and honey farm, Honey River Farm. Tree Species Selection Dr. Gary Chastagner is one of the country’s foremost experts on Christmas trees who has conquered conifer diseases, developed guidelines to keep cut trees fresh, and helped introduce new species to the American market. In this session, he will discuss the characteristics important in selecting tree species. Dr. Gary Chastagner is a professor of plant pathology at the Washington State University, Research and Extension Center, near Puyallup, WA where he has worked since 1978. He received his Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of California-Davis in 1976. He leads an internationally recognized research and extension program dealing with the management of diseases on Christmas trees, management of sudden oak death, and factors that affect the postharvest quality and safety of cut Christmas Trees. Dr. Chastagner has co-authored numerous publications and is a frequent speaker at regional, national, and international Christmas tree conferences. Over his career he has received a number of honors and awards, including the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) Lifetime Achievement Award – 2019; American Phytopathological Society (APS) Pacific Division Lifetime Achievement Award – 2013; APS Excellence in
Extension Award – 2011; NCTA Outstanding Service Award – 2010; Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association (PNWCTA) Barney Douglass Research Award – 2005; and the PNWCTA President’s Appreciation Award – 2003 Diseases and Post-Harvest Needle Retention In this session, Dr. Gary Chastagner will discuss various diseases and the post-harvest needle retention of various tree species. His work is base at WSU’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center, where he grows 15 acres of conifers from around the world. This presentation on the CoFirGE project will talk about some of the disease and/or postharvest needle retention research. Although the focus of the CoFirGE project is the identification of regionally adapted sources of Turkish and Trojan firs that have the ability to produce high quality Christmas trees, it is really an example of the type of work that is needed to identify genetically superior sources of domestic and exotic conifers for use as Christmas trees. The fact is that most conifers that are grown as Christmas trees are an “exotic” because they often do not occur naturally in the areas were Christmas trees are grown. Fraser fir is an exotic species in NY and even noble fir is an exotic species in the PNW because it does not naturally occur in the low elevation sites where Christmas tree plantations are grown.
Saving Farmland and Transferring Ownership of Working Farms Terence Duvall, from the Columbia Land Conservancy, will discuss various programs and options for saving farmland. These programs include property assessment reductions for agricultural use assessment and forestry management through the 480A program. The program will concentrate on how these options can affect transferring ownership of working farms. Equipment Maintenance This session will address the daily, seasonal, and preventative maintenance of tools and equipment used in Christmas tree farming. Sharpening methods will be shown for blades of all types-shears, mowers, circular saws. Troubleshooting of small engines will be discussed along with routine repairs and winterizing precautions. Methods of battery storage will also be addressed. Maintenance checklists will be distributed for all types of equipment. Mike McGarvey, an engineer trained at the Merchant Marine Academy, grew up on a farm and assists in the operation of a friend’s Christmas tree farm. Ask him to tell you about last winter’s experience maintaining the Palmyra Atoll, a marine research facility owned by the Nature Conservancy on a small island eight days by boat from Hawaii. Financial and Personnel Management, Tax Planning and Strategies for 2021 and beyond… Dario Arezzo, & Austin Weaver, Farm Credit East. This session will take a look at the ever-changing tax landscape, both at the federal and state level. Participants will learn about capital gains optimization, applicable tax credits and how to preserve more wealth with innovative tax strategies.
What’s New for Tree Farmers - Pest Identification This session will focus on insect identification, with pictures, and include including IPM practices to limit damage. An interactive question and answer session is planned. DEC pesticide credits will be issued for those attending the entire session presented by Dr. Betsy Lamb and Brian Eschenaur of Cornell University. Weed Identification Challenge Dr. Betsy Lamb and Brian Eschenaur of Cornell University Cooperative Extension, will discuss weed identification using specimens, photographs, and a “weed challenge” to test your knowledge. DEC pesticide credits will be offered for those attending the entire session. Soil Health and Nutrition-Research Results H. Grant Troop, agronomist, will provide a general overview of soil fertility and discuss interpretation of soil test results and methods of amending soils for the best results for various species of Christmas trees. He will discuss recent research results that may affect your current practices as new information specific to Christmas trees is discovered. Drones Erick Haas will be speaking on the use of drone technology to efficiently manage trees and crops. Types of drones and licensing requirements will be discussed.
Deer Fencing Fred Whitmore is an experienced fence installer; he will be speaking on the use and construction of fences for deer management on your tree plantation. New Farmers – Intro to Growing Christmas Tree Brian and Gene will share tips, many learned the hard way, to help make your initial planting successful your business and more profitable. Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them! Retail Shop Operations Karen Rapp, Paulie Drexler and Chuck Hafner all operate successful Christmas retail shops that add to the customer experience and to the bottom line. Join them to learn more about what works and what doesn’t, where to source product, pricing and more. Greens and Field Demonstrations Faye Beckwith, Cathy Jo Brown, Mike Naccarato, Dave and Marica Hicks, Duane Berky, and H. Grant Troop will be sharing with you their knowledge and experience demonstrating technique and process, crafting greens and growing trees into profitable products.
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