BALDWINSVILLE — Each year, the Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District recognizes a farm for its contribution to preserving the local environment with the Conservation Farm of the Year Award. SWCD staffers deemed Abbott Farms the apple of their eye for 2020.
“In a nutshell, generally we look at farms that have cooperated with us in the past on any sort of water quality improvement project. We look at things like conservation projects they’ve done on their own,” said Eric Renfer, program manager for SWCD. “We’re looking at people who have taken the initiative to do things on their own.”
In addition, SWCD considers a farmer’s community involvement, neighbor relations and public service.
Normally, Conservation Farm of the Year is awarded in the fall, but COVID delayed the presentation of the award in 2020.
Warren Abbott told the Messenger that he was surprised but grateful to receive the award.
“We’ve been here a long time. We predate the central school system and we hope we can be here longer,” he said of the history of Abbott Farms. “We’re trying to adapt and adjust and do what we can to stay a part of the community and not just do our own thing. You try to make the best choice you can with the information available.”
Abbott Farms has a number of practices that made the farm stand out, Renfer said.
“They had gotten some technical support from us for a rotational grazing system for the beef they raise,” he said, adding that Abbott Farms had also consulted SWCD for their petroleum storage and pesticide mixing facilities. “We gave them some advice on where to do that and how best to contain any potential spills.”
SWCD also commended Abbott Farms for their integrated pest management strategy.
“Being a you-pick operation with apples and strawberries … are there ways to till the ground to reduce weeds, other crops that can be planted near your desired crop to lure pests away, scouting out pests to know when to apply herbicides or pesticides, mulching to keep weeds down?” Renfer said.
Warren Abbott explained the farm’s drip irrigation strategy, which factors into water conservation and healthy crops.
“Our perennial crops are all drip-irrigated, which means you don’t have runoff and you don’t have evaporation nearly as much. [If you] keep moisture content lower in the leaves and keep the leaves themselves drier, it reduces disease,” he said.
The Abbotts also have reworked their pastures to keep animals out of the stream, planted grass to filter runoff water and installed field drains and French drains around buildings to reduce runoff.
“If you let it wash down driveways and wash out fields, it’s carrying whatever with it,” Abbott said.
As for community involvement, Renfer cited Abbott Farms’ participation in Onondaga Grown’s On Farm Fest, which allows the public to meet local farmers and learn more about agriculture, as well as the farm’s donations to food banks and other charitable causes. Recently, Abbott Farms held a fundraiser to benefit Purpose Farm, which was devastated by a barn fire.
Renfer said the Conservation Farm of the Year Award recognizes farmers for some of their behind-the-scenes efforts.
“I think it means a lot to people to be nominated and selected because, as many people put it, we’re just doing what we think is right. [We’re putting] into words what farms are doing,” Renfer said.
While many of the Abbotts’ efforts contribute to the success of their business, Warren Abbott said the farm’s practices help the Abbotts be good neighbors.
“We’re in a populated neighborhood. … We could grab water from the river and have a big diesel pump running and making noise ,but our neighbors wouldn’t like that, so we chose to use Onondaga County water,” Abbott said. “Not all farms have OCWA running by their house to do what they need to do.”
Near-drought conditions in Upstate New York last year required the Abbotts to rely more heavily on OCWA, increasing their water costs. While farming has never been an easy enterprise, the dry conditions and economic downturn wrought by the pandemic have posed additional challenges.
“Obviously, this year has been hard on all businesses and they’re no exception to that,” Renfer said.
Despite the ups and downs, Abbott Farms continues to adapt.
“My wife and I are the current stewards of this land and property, but we won’t be the forever stewards,” Warren Abbott said. “We don’t know what’s around the corner, but we will certainly try to adjust to it.”
