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TOMPKINS COUNTY
FARM CITY DAY
2006
Host: Clearview Dairy
2002 New York State
Environmental Stewardship Award Winner
The Clearview Dairy story is
a remarkable one. In 1990, Michael Pollack, Jr. bought this 79 acres of
abandoned farm land, which contained only a broken-down trailer and old
gambrel barn with pig stalls in the basement. He and Rebecca married in
1992, and by 1996 they had repaired and remodeled the old barn, renovated
the weedy fields into productive cropland and pastures, built a new barn,
a new house, and were milking 24 cows. Today the milking herd has grown
to 70 with an additional 40 head of young stock, and the family has grown
to include four children. The Pollack’s rent about 120 acres in
addition to their own 79 acres to support their operation.
The farm’s selection
as the 2002 NYS Environmental Stewardship Award winner is a testimony
to the Pollack family’s commitment to the environment, which they
see as a cornerstone of successful farming. As a result, conservation
practices were incorporated into the farm’s development and growth.
They installed a roof water runoff control system using drip trenches
to capture clean water and outlet it to a grassed filter area. A curbed
concrete pad with bump walls for easy cleaning was installed on the barnyard,
meaning cleaner cows and no run off—and the same design features
were used when they built their heifer barn.
Both the milking herd
and heifers are rotationally grazed, a land use practice that minimizes
erosion. The farm’s nutrient management system balances nutrient
spread with soil needs and eliminates runoff. When installing a culvert
to keep farm activities out of a stream on the property, they laid it
higher than the stream bed to create a small pond and wetland behind the
road with the culvert serving as the overflow. Land along both sides of
the stream is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which
includes grasses filter strips.
The Pollacks have been proactive in their approach to conservation practices
from the beginning. These dedicated farmers certainly had a “Clearview”
of what their farm could be.
For
more information, call CCE Tompkins County at (607) 272-2292
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