TOMPKINS COUNTY
FARM CITY DAY
A
Return to Where it All Began!
2007
Host: Lew-Lin Farm
In
1998, the Tompkins County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board was
searching for a host farm for a newly conceived event – Farm City
Day, an opportunity for the public to visit a working farm and learn about
Agriculture. Lewis and Linda Stuttle of Lew-Lin Farm in Dryden stepped
forward and agreed to be the first to open their farm to visitors for
a day, taking on faith that it would be a worthwhile experience. It was,
and it is therefore quite fitting that this now-popular annual event returns
to its roots on Lew-Lin Farm for its 10th year.
When Lewis and Linda Stuttle were married in 1963, they bought a 145 acre
farm on Livermore Rd. was next to the home farm where Lewis and his parents
had been farming since 1947. The Stuttle’s raised their four children,
Brian, Karen, Lee and Steven, on the farm. Three of the four Stuttle children
and their families live in homes that border the farm property, including
Steve and his wife Lisa, who now operate the farm with Lewis and Linda.
Today
Lew-Lin Farms own 430 acres plus rent 100 additional acres to produce
feed for their 550-600 registered Holstein milking cows and young cows
(heifers & calves) that will become the future milking herd. Cows
are milked two times a day. Milk is sold to Cortland Bulk Dairy Cooperative
and sold in the NYC area. The average milk produced per cow per year at
Lew-Lin farm is about 24,000 pounds.
The main
crops grown at Lew-Lin Farm are 200 acres of alfalfa and grass hay, 220
acres of corn, and 165 acres of land fenced for pasture. In 1994, Lewis
was one of the first area farmers to embrace rotational grazing when he
converted his cropland to permanent pasture as a means of reducing labor,
feed and fuel costs.
Stuttle's
employ other conservation practices to save soil and protect water quality.
Strip cropping, tile diversions, filter beds, crop rotation, integrated
pest management and manure stored for use at planting are means for maintaining
crop productivity while protecting the environment. Non-farm neighbors
that surround the farm enjoy the open space and pastoral scenery with
cows grazing and feel assured that the Stuttle family is doing all he
can to protect the environment.
In 2006,
Lew-Lin farm was selected for funding by the NYS Farmland Protection Implementation
Grants Program, which will cover up to 75% of the cost to purchase the
development rights on the farmland. The result will be that Lew-Lin farm’s
acreage will be protected for farming in perpetuity.
Farm
City Day 2007 will be a great chance to visit a modern family dairy farm
and experience what it takes to farm successfully today – and have
a lot of fun in the process!
For
more information, call CCE Tompkins County at (607) 272-2292
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