For the third year in a row, we packed the auditorium of the Joseph C. Burke Education and Research Center with around 140 people and local comedy group Completely Stranded had the crowd approaching tears with their laughs.  Most importantly, though, we raised $1,028 for the United Way of the Adirondack Region.  This event has truly become one of our favorite events of the year, bringing the community out to enjoy comedy and support the dozens of great agencies that the United Way partners with. Combined with the $3,116 in employee contributions and money raised at the auction held at our Christmas party, Miner Institute's total 2019 contribution is $4,144.  We are also planning to take part in this year's United Way Day of Caring on April 13 with some cleanup at the Riverside Cemetery in Chazy in a collaboration with The Alice T. Miner Museum. 

In collaboration with The Alice T. Miner Museum, Miner Institute held a Beat the Boredom program during the February break last week for school-age kids.  We had more than 20 kids who came and had a great time!! We had crafts, Jenga, we made 30 minute mozzarella, built snowmen and had a pretty impressive snowball fight.  It is fair to say that this event was a great success and our collective wheels are already turning for how to "beat the boredom" in 2020! 

​​In September 2018, following the August 3 death of Dr. Joseph Burke who had served as chair of Miner Institute’s Board of Trustees for 30 years, Rod Giltz was appointed chair; and Dr. Fred Woodward vice-chair.  The vice chair position was one that hadn’t been filled in decades.
“I grew up not far from the Institute and marveled at its agricultural presence. At one time, Miner Institute housed a host of animals that made for special trips,” Woodward said. He later became President of Morrisville College, one of the SUNY agriculture and technology schools, with a focus on dairy and equine. Woodward recalled that each year the horses from Morrisville that would compete at the county fair would stay at Miner Institute, which helped to establish and build a relationship between the two institutions. Woodward was appointed a member of the board in 1990 and became a trustee in 2010.
Giltz joined the board as a member in 1984, and became a trustee in 1990. Giltz is past president and current chairman and chief financial officer of Northern Insuring Agency, Inc.  As chair of Miner Institute’s board of trustees, Giltz said he is looking forward to bringing the board into the 21st Century and working to get the board more engaged. “We want to be involved and not just hear reports,” he said. There is such a wealth of knowledge and talent on the board that could be supportive and helpful to Miner Institute management if it is tapped, Giltz said.
“Miner Institute plays a significant role in local agriculture sharing research and demonstrating agricultural initiatives local farmers can utilize to enhance their operations,” Woodward said. Ten years ago Miner Institute had no presence in the public, Giltz said. “Our outreach has come a long way. Miner Institute has become a citizen of the community. I think that’s particularly healthy, especially given the presence of agriculture in the North Country.” Giltz said.
In December, the board appointed Chazy dairy farmer Tony Lapierre as a trustee. LaPierre has been associated with Miner Institute as an advocate since 2017.  He is active in 4H and Cornell Cooperative Extension and currently serves as the District 7 representative on the NY Farm Bureau Board. Additionally, four new advocates were appointed by the board.  Kristy Kennedy, Vice President of Marketing and The Director of Tourism for the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau; John Fairchild, Math teacher at Westport Central Rural School and former Superintendent of Chazy Central Rural School with 34 years of experience in education; Matthew Bull, Nutrition Consultant with Holtz Nelson Dairy Consultants; and Mark McCullough, Environmental, Health and Safety Engineer currently overseeing the decontamination and redevelopment of the former Pfizer site in Rouses Point, NY.  The board and the Institute will undoubtedly be served well by their varied expertise. 

As a member of a team of people who helped organize and coordinate an agriculture talk given by Dr. Temple Grandin in late October at Beekmantown High School, I set up a Miner Institute display along with other displays showcasing student projects and the other partners who had collaborated on the event.  A young woman holding a Miner Institute annual report caught my eye and I struck up a conversation with her.  She indicated that she was a student at UVM and had traveled from Burlington to see Dr. Grandin.  She told me that Dr. Grandin’s story had inspired her to study wildlife and fisheries biology in college. She choked back tears, as did I, as she told me that as an autistic woman Dr. Grandin has been an idol to her.

Dr. Grandin is a world-renowned autism advocate, best-selling author, animal welfare and behavior expert and a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She is well known for relating her personal experience as someone with autism to provide an interesting perspective on how thinking differently can provide opportunities. She has been able to utilize her specialized thinking to help her better understand animal behavior and has designed livestock handling facilities that are used widely around the globe because they are less stressful for animals.

Dr. Grandin arrived on a Tuesday evening.  She travels with two assistants who also take care of book sales for her. Dr. Grandin stayed at the Lundy Guest House at Miner Institute. Her day on Wednesday included an autism talk at the Rainbow Banquet Hall with 900 people followed by lunch and a book signing.  She then came for a quick tour of Miner Institute’s barns before heading to dinner with folks from the Autism Alliance of Northeastern NY – who funded her trip to the North Country – followed by the evening agriculture-focused talk at Beekmantown High School. On Thursday morning before heading to Rhode Island for her next event, Dr. Grandin visited with some Miner Institute staff, local farmers, and animal science students from Vermont Technical College and the University of Vermont.

I worked with Sara Bull from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County; Anja Bouchard from the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System; and Veronique Krohn, Agricultural Education Teacher & FFA Advisor at Beekmantown High School.  We worked on the logistics and details for the talk at Beekmantown High School, although Anja also coordinated travel plans and scheduling with Dr. Grandin’s team.

Veronique and the entire Beekmantown Central School community – students and faculty alike – pulled out all the stops to showcase their school and their programs.  It was truly incredible to see such teamwork and camaraderie on display as everything came together for a really great event. 
 
"Many of my students were completely blown away by the experience. They said they couldn't believe how well spoken she was and that she seemed very grounded and true to her roots. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that they will remember for years to come," Veronique said adding that $300 was raised to benefit the FFA program at Beekmantown through the sale of raffle tickets at the event. 
 
When I first sat down in fall 2017 to start discussing plans to bring Dr. Grandin to the North Country, I was excited to be a part of making it happen.  I had no idea that I was embarking on something that would be truly transformative.  

​For nearly 40 years, the vision and leadership of Dr. Joseph C. Burke helped shape Miner Institute into the organization it is today. Dr. Burke spent years tirelessly researching and then writing a comprehensive biography of William Miner, bringing Miner’s incredible story to the North Country that has so greatly benefitted from his generosity. Dr. Burke was passionate about preserving the legacy of William and Alice Miner and ensuring that their vision for the North Country continues to live on. Dr. Burke passed away at his home in Albany on Aug. 3, 2018.  A celebration of his life was organized by his family and held at Miner Institute on Oct. 6.
Expressing exactly what Dr. Burke has meant for Miner Institute is difficult to put into words. Dr. Burke was an unusually involved and engaged chair of the board, spending countless hours walking around the Miner grounds interacting with employees and visitors and was genuinely interested in getting to know the staff and students who were helping to carry out William Miner’s vision.
The Heart’s Delight Farm Heritage Exhibit opened in 2003 – 100 years after William and Alice Miner started building Heart’s Delight Farm.  The exhibit pays tribute to William and Alice Miner and the development of their expansive farm in the early 1900s. The exhibit attracts nearly 2000 visitors annually, providing Miner Institute with an opportunity to showcase all that William Miner has done for the North Country and also helping to familiarize the general public with agriculture – past and present as our horse and dairy barns are also open to visitors. The exhibit’s existence is due in large part to Dr. Burke’s insistence that William Miner’s story be preserved and shared and his vision for how that could be accomplished.  
On October 9, 2012 Miner Institute dedicated its main education building as the Joseph C. Burke Education and Research Center. In remarks he gave at the dedication ceremony, Dr. Burke said “My name on this building really stands for all who have labored for over half a century to make William Miner’s dream a reality.” Dr. Burke said that he was honored to have a Miner Institute building bear his name, but added that it was really about the Spirit of Heart’s Delight Farm and the people who work at Miner Institute. “You’re part of a larger thing that’s gone on and on,” Dr. Burke said to the staff in attendance. “The trees and the fields are beautiful, but they’ve always been there. It’s really the people working together that makes all the difference in the world.”
Dr. Burke would undoubtedly count strategic planning as his proudest accomplishment for Miner Institute. In 2012, Dr. Burke remarked that strategic planning was the contribution he was most proud of for Miner Institute, because he recognized how important it was for any organization to measure and achieve its goals. “He was so passionate about understanding and ensuring that William Miner’s vision for the Institute endured. He constantly pushed us to consider our mission – research, education, and demonstration – and how we could achieve the next milestone. He was never satisfied with the status quo – no matter how successful it might be. He would ask: ‘What’s next? How can we do a better job of pushing forward Miner’s legacy?’ He constantly encouraged us to keep moving forward,” Dr. Rick Grant said.
 
Dr. Burke’s leadership and insight will be dearly missed but never forgotten.  

Here at Miner Institute, we all love a good competition, especially if it is also raising money for charity, so in September we put together a team of athletic trash talkers to represent Miner Institute at the third annual ETS Corporate Kickball Challenge.  The Miner Threat was one of 18 teams that played in the tournament on a warm, sunny Saturday at the US Oval. The tournament raised $1900 -- half of the funds went to the United Way of the Adirondack Region, the other half went to the winning team's charity of choice.  WB Mason's team won the tournament and directed $950 to the FitzPatrick Cancer Center. The Miner Threat put up a good fight, had fun, and are already looking forward to the 2019 tourney! 

​The New York State Agricultural Society was organized in 1832 to “foster, promote and improve the New York State food and agricultural industry through education, leadership development and recognition programs.”  With less than 2% of the United States population involved in agriculture, agricultural advocacy is important to help educate consumers about how their food is grown.  In 2014, the society launched an ambassador program to help young people pursuing a career in agriculture to develop leadership skills and broaden their awareness of issues within the industry.
Miner Institute Research Technician Amber Bornt is an alumni of the Ambassador Scholars program at Cornell University and participated in a full-day program on Aug. 24 at the NY State Fair in Syracuse. The theme for the day was “agvocacy” and was supported by Bayer CropScience.  “This opportunity allowed my peers and I to see just how diverse NY agriculture is,” said Amber. “It also showed us how the NYS Fair bridges the gap from farm to consumers allowing the public to get an insider perspective of how farms actually work. Where else can you see a cow give birth, and then enjoy a glass of NYS milk for just 25 cents?”
The day was set up with a number of different stations that Ambassadors visited, Amber said. They visited the Dairy Cow Birthing Center, which is one of the most well-attended exhibits at the fair; they visited the NY State Beef Council; the Future Farmers of America; and they watched an equine show.  At each station, the ambassadors learned how that group was advocating for their sector of NY agriculture. The most consistent message from everyone, Amber said, was to keep your information consumer friendly.  Essentially, make the message easy to understand for folks outside of agriculture and don’t use terms that are not commonly known outside of the industry. 
Amber said that the experience was excellent and it energized her about advocating for agriculture. 

Dairy Herdsperson Anna Pape says that Clinton County Fair week is always "a fun but exhausting week." One of her favorite parts, she says, is showing off the genetics of the herd. "Every year we seem to bring a better and better group of animals ... even if they don't win first place against other farms, we know that we've improved the herd over the last year and that is very satisfying!" 
The picnic tables near the Miner cows in the dairy barn at the fair is a great place to catch up and socialize with some of the other farmers exhibiting at the fair.  Miner Institute provides coffee and donuts for dairy exhibitors every morning of fair week. 

Here is a summary of how our "girls" did: 

• We had two calves in the winter calf class that didn't do so well - 13/14th out of 17 animals...decent animals, just not as tall and big and dairy as the other heifers.
• One of our favorites (and so lovable!) 3304 is a fall calf and she placed 6th out of 10 in her class - she is a bit stocky for her age right now to place any higher but we are confident that she'll grow into her strong body and be a beautiful strong dairy cow.  
• We brought a summer, spring, and winter yearling - they all placed pretty much in the middle of their class.
• Fall yearling 3093 (who comes from a great cow family in our herd) placed first out of 4 animals.  
• In "Junior Best Three" - a class in which you show your best 3 heifers (bred and owned by your farm) - we placed 3rd out of 8! We tend to do better at the group classes in which we can exhibit consistency in breeding good animals. 

Onto the milking classes -

• Junior 3 year old - 2nd place out of 4 animals!
• Senior 3 year old - 1st place out of 4 animals!!  This cow looks amazing!!  She had won first place two years ago as a heifer as well!
• Aged cow class (6 years +) - she won 3rd out of 3, but in her class was the supreme and reserve champions for the dairy show.  Yes, she placed last in her class but the judge said that she was a beautiful, strong cow that had great conformation, udder attachment, etc and had aged well...just didn't have a chance against the supreme champion! 
• In "Senior Best 3" - the class in which you show your best 3 cows (bred and owned by your farm) we placed 1st out of 2 farms. 
• Produce of Dam class - you show 2 daughters from one dam and we won first place 
• For "Exhibitor's Herd" you show your best 5 animals (2 over 2 years old, 2 under 2 years old, 1 any age, all must be owned by the farm) - we placed 2nd out of 5 farms!!

Anna says that placing well in the group classes really shows off our whole breeding program. "We may not have a superstar cow, but we do have a lot of cows with good conformation.  Our goal at the farm is to have good looking cows that work hard and last a long time - and slowly but surely we're getting there," Anna said.  ​

Research Scientist Heather Dann's son, Jake Perkins showed a March calf with 4-H and she placed 8th out of 12 animals.  It was his first time showing and he did a great job training his animal and taking care of her at the fair. Heather says that Jake nicknamed 3385 "Houdini" since she was good at untying the halter slip knot. Jake learned a lot and had lots of help from Miner staff. Bethann Caston and the calf feeders helped care for the calf while he was training her on the calf hill; Victoria Vendetta provided clipping and fitting advice; Steve Couture provided general support and transported the animals to and from the farm to the fair. 

In 1918, as World War I was winding down, there was a national effort to support the American Red Cross. A successful weeklong drive in Chazy raised $1,410 in support of soldiers and their families. To celebrate this accomplishment, William and Alice Miner hosted a community event at Heart’s Delight Farm in May 1918.  The 1918 event hosted at Heart’s Delight Farm inspired the recent Centennial Summer Fair co-hosted by The Alice T. Miner Museum and Miner Institute and held at Miner Institute in Chazy. The 2018 Summer Fair featured wagon rides provided by Country Dreams Farm; an equine demonstration by Miner Morgans; a dance demonstration by Dance Plattsburgh; a World War I exhibit with artifacts from the Clinton County Historical Association, the Lyon Mountain Mining and Railroad Museum and The Alice T. Miner Museum.  Parker Family Maple Farm offered maple ice cream to attendees and popcorn provided by Ballard Acres Farm was available. Rick Laurin, a board member and volunteer at The Alice T Miner Museum and his wife, Priscilla, churned butter and offered it to visiters on bread or crackers. In keeping with the generous spirit that prompted the 1918 event, we accepted donations for the United Way of the Adirondack Region, raising just over $400.