By Jason Klaiber

Staff Writer

Setting the tone for the summer months, the Onondaga County Agriculture Council kicked off its fifth annual “Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown,” campaign last week.

The initiative, which will run until October, encourages community members to purchase and advocate for fresh products grown and produced on the 170,000 acres of farmland in the county.

Held on a sunny day at Tre-G Farms, a fourth-generation diary farm on the outskirts of Manlius known for its robotic milking machines, the kickoff event featured speeches from county officials promoting the benefits of purchasing meat, vegetables, fruits, diary, maple syrup, honey and craft beer from local suppliers.

“We need to think of these as businesses,” County Executive Ryan McMahon said. “These businesses have to deal with regulations. They have to deal with the changing economy and technology.”

McMahon spoke on the digital divide hurting both rural and inner city communities, which he said hinders proper access to information.

“Issues like broadband are critical to our [agriculture] economy and our rural communities, where we don’t have the infrastructure today to really compete where we need to,” he said.

He also said buying from local farms directly contributes to economic security, in that neighbors growing food provide the backbone for tight-knit communities.

McMahon and County Legislature Chairman David Knapp also visited Syracuse schools this month to educate youth on the importance of agriculture.

McMahon said a correlation exists between poverty among young people and their overall health.

“What better way to make sure our young people are healthy than having local produce there for them,” he said.

David Skeval, the executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Onondaga County, said he doesn’t want to see the average person begin caring about local farming once a product soars in price, using a $10 gallon of milk as an example.

“It’s about building the bridge between the consumer and the farmer,” Skeval said.

Beginning in 2015 as a grassroots advertising venture, the buy local campaign will be focused on engaging the public through television advertisements, radio spots, social media activity, the press and the website onondagagrown.com.

Visitors to the campaign website can type in their zip code or address to find restaurants, bars, markets, stores and fruit-picking locations in their preferred radius.

Local retailers have been invited to request a free media kit complete with supportive posters, window clings for entryways and stickers to place on Onondaga County-grown agricultural products.

Area convenience stores, farmers markets, food stands and restaurants will stock items marked with the Onondaga Grown logo.

Knapp, also the co-chair of the agriculture council, used the event as an opportunity to announce the host farms for this year’s ON Farm Fest, an interactive tour through 11 of the county’s 600 farms.

The 11 local farms selected for the festival taking place on Sept. 21 are Tre-G Farms, Bentwood Alpacas & Yaks, Silver Spring Farm, Palladino Farms, Abbott Farms, Brady Farm, Shepard Settlement Farm, Half Full Diary, Dutch Hill Maple, Navarino Orchard and Affinity Farm.