Farmers, state officials launch six Adirondack Cuisine Trails

KEESEVILLE | The official launch of six Adirondack Cuisine Trails happened beside a braying herd of Devon cattle at Mace Chasm Farm. An October sun poured over their verdant field as a farmhand moved them toward fresh pasture. "Welcome to our farm!" Mace Chasm Farm proprietor and butcher Asa Thomas-Train said in opening the formal event. Thomas-Train and partner Courtney Grimes-Sutton raise cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys on their farmland just west of Lake Champlain, producing meats, sausage and charcuterie items from their butcher shop. "We're excited for local food to become part of the Adirondacks that people love so well," Thomas-Train said. The herd of about 20 cattle mooed loudly in apparent approval of the fanfare. Last Friday marked a milestone after nearly three years of planning spearheaded by Jay White, vice president of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, who formed the Adirondack Cuisine Trail Association, a non-profit trade association. "Today is very exciting," White said. Pointing to the farmland, he added, "this is an amazing example of what the North Country has to offer." The Adirondack Park is world-renowned, White said. "And there is the need to tell the story in a different way. Asa and Courtney's story is just one among many." White called the milestone start to Adirondack Cuisine Trails "a culmination of local ingenuity" blended with innovation of Cornell Cooperative Extension and Adirondack Harvest and the dedication of Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the upstate economy. With these trails, White said, agricultural communities gain valuable opportunities to create a more sustainable economy. "Farmers and producers have been given a better chance to tell their stories and sell their products." A core group from each of six Adirondack trails will develop signage and continue to promote and administer a trail to encourage growing agri-tourism industry here. The six new Cuisine Trail systems doubles the number now open in New York state. The launch brought dignitaries from Albany to area farms last Friday, including state Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard A. Ball. Agri-tourism, Ball said, draws interest from people who want to not only see and experience Adirondack adventure, but also taste and try local foods, brews and flavors. The Adirondack Cuisine Trail system, he said, celebrates a North Country heritage, promoting the hard work of local farmers. The Adirondack Cuisine Trail network, Ball said, "helps tie together the smallest villages ... and the city of Plattsburgh. The trails can grow and we can take this (collaboration) beyond our borders." All six new trails are in Essex, Franklin and Clinton counties and encompass some 86 farms, food producers, sugar-makers, orchards, distilleries and vintners. Trail names are: Champ's Cuisine Trail; North Country Cuisine Trail; Champlain Valley Cuisines Trail; Boquet Valley Cuisine Trail; AuSable Valley Cuisine Trail and the Adirondack Lakes Cuisine Trail. Assemblyman D. Billy Jones, from Chateaugay, said the Mace Chasm Farm backdrop felt right at home. "I grew up on a farm," he said. "What a wonderful way to introduce to the rest of the world, to the rest of New York, what we have here." EVERYONE EATS Ross D. Levi, executive director of I Love NY, said tourism is the third largest industry in New York. "Cuisine trails help encourage visitors to explore and support small businesses and jobs throughout New York." The trails also highlight the diversity of products and farming heritage of local communities. Farmers from Asgaard Farm and DaCy Meadow Farm were also at the event, along with CCE Adirondack Harvest Administrator Laurie Davis and CCE farm educator Dr. Carly Summers. David Brunner owns and farms the lands at Asgaard Farm & Dairy in AuSable Forks. Asgaard is part of the AuSable Valley Cuisine Trail. "Jay (White) has taken on a great task reinforcing a nice trend in farming over the last decade," Brunner said of the effort come to fruition. "It's been absolutely wonderful to watch the influx of new farmers. It's been very gratifying for us to see the talent, enthusiasm and youth. The cuisine trails will reinforce all of that and provide a support for all of us." Brunner and his wife Rhonda Baker have owned Asgaard for 30 years and reopened the dairy with their goat herd about 10 years ago. The Cuisine Trail system is not a seasonal project, Brunner said. It will be open throughout the year as an option for curious skiers or skaters or winter hikers. "We're farming all winter long," Brunner said. "All of these farms are open and operating." Brunner said the Cuisine Trails are also meant to be explored by local, year-round residents. "A lot of people live here," he said, "everyone eats." EXPANDING OUTWARD Ag & Markets and I Love NY are working with the state Department of Transportation to promote the Cuisine Trail System. DOT is tasked with sighting locations for signage, permitting the signs and ensuring the Cuisine Trails are easy to follow. The integrated approach to opening the Adirondack Cuisine Trails is also looking to expand into joint trail promotions with Circuit du Paysan in Quebec and with cuisine trails in Vermont. Farmers and tourism officials seem ready to build an international loop for farm and food exploration around the entirety of Lake Champlain. Building for 20 years now, Quebec's Circuit du Paysan inspired the Cuisine Trails in the Adirondacks, White said. "Things just seem to work better when we work together, don't they?" Ball said. At Adirondack Harvest, Davis said they are working with White and the Cuisine Trail Association to assess their role in branding the trail network. Businesses located on the six trails include the following enterprises: Champ's Cuisine Trail - Amazing Grace Vineyard, Bechard's Sugar House, Chazy Orchards, Elf's Farm Winery and Cider House, Four Maples Vineyard, Happy Pike Ice Cream and Snack Bar, Irises Café & Wine Bar, Latitude 44 Bistro, North Country Food Co-op, Oval Craft Brewing, Sanger's Sugar House, The Pepper, Valcour Brewing Company, Anthony's Restaurant and Bistro, Plattsburgh Brewing Co., Plattsburgh Botanical/Underwood Herbs, Pray's Farmers' Market, Vesco Ridge Vineyards North Country Cuisine Trail -- Parker Family Maple Farm, Applejacks Orchard, D&D Meats, Banker Orchards, Country Dreams Farm, Hid-In-Pines Vineyard, Lamoy's Produce & Greenhouse, Livingood's Restaurant & Brewery, Northern Orchard, Rehoboth Homestead, Shady Grove Farm and Wellness Center, Rulfs Orchard Champlain Valley Cuisine Trail -- America's Fort Café at Fort Ticonderoga, Ledge Hill Brewing Company, Drinkwine Produce Stand, Valley View Farm, Gunnison Orchards, War Canoe Distillery, Black Watch Farm Boquet Valley Cuisine Trail -- DaCy Meadow Farm, The Deer's Head Inn, Dogwood Bread Company, Reber Rock Farm, Hub-on-the-Hill, Essex Farm, Essex Inn, Pink Pig, Turtle Island Café, Highlands Estate Vineyard, Ausable Brewing Co., Mace Chasm Farm, North Country Creamery, Boquet Valley Vineyard. Ausable Valley Cuisine Trail -- Pray's Family Farms, Asgaard Farm & Dairy, Sugar House Creamery, Taste NY Café @ Whiteface Mountain, Cedar Run Bakery & Market, Black Rooster Maple Syrup, Lake Placid Pub & Brewery, Green Goddess Natural Foods, Big Mountain Deli, Big Slide Brewery, Blue Line Brewery and Public House, The Great Adirondack Brewing Company, Adirondack Mountain Coffee Adirondack Lakes Cuisine Trail -- Adk Cavu Café, Campfire Adirondack Grill & Bar (Hotel Saranac), Adk Made, The Packbasket @ Paul Smith's College VIC, The Ganzi @ Paul Smith's College, The Lake Clear Lodge & Retreat, Knapp's Trading Post/Adirondack Perk, Waterside Café @ The Wild Center, The Fiddlehead Bistro, Blue Moon Café, Nori's Village Market, Donnelly's Ice Cream, Skyview Springs Farm, Moody Tree Farm, Tucker Farms, The Health Hub, The Well-Dressed Food Company, Big Tupper Brewing, Raquette River Brewing.

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Farmers, state officials launch six Adirondack Cuisine Trails

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