North Country Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne says the benefit of attending events like the annual meeting of Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County and the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc., can "never be understated."

"The conversations I have at these events help me as I'm working on policy issues in Albany. There is no better way to gain a better understanding of the issues facing our agriculture industry than talking to our farmers and growers and sharing a meal with them," Jenne, D-Theresa, said in a news release.

"It seems like every time I attend the Cooperative Extension annual dinner in St. Lawrence County I learn something about a different sector in the ag industry. The conversation during our meal this year was about goats," she noted.

Jenne said she has been impressed by the steps Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County has taken in recent years to better meet the needs of the region.

"The ag community in St. Lawrence County remains robust even in the face of the current challenges facing the industry. There are some amazing programs underway in the county, and everyone has the same goal - improving the business climate and strengthening the ag industry," she noted.

"This county gets it. We have big industrial dairy here, but there is such diversity in the ag sector in St. Lawrence County. You really help me as I look at ag policy issues, letting me know how it should and shouldn't be done at the state level," Jenne told attendees at the annual dinner.

She noted the farm to school pilot program she has championed in the North Country has benefitted from the work of Cooperative Extension's commercial kitchen.

"We are seeing a remarkable acceptance of local foods in our school cafeterias. School staff are very excited about bringing local products into their cafeterias, we are getting fresh, healthy local foods in front of our students and we are creating stable institutional markets for our farmers," according to Jenne.

"Without the work Extension has been doing with the commercial kitchen and the support of our local agriculture community, this wouldn't be possible," she added.

Patrick Ames, executive director of CCE of St. Lawrence County, provided an overview of some of the year's highlights for the agency.

"It was an unusual year. After five years of significant change and growth, I felt there was a potential to get over our skis. I felt it was important to focus on the programs we have started," he said.

He noted those initiatives include the summer camp and after school programs, the commercial kitchen and master food preserver program, 4-H programs that reached 6,470 participants, a wilderness education class based at Camp Overlook and a revised Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program that saw new partnerships formed with agencies ranging from local food pantries to libraries and health care providers.

He pointed out Cooperative Extension continues to see dramatic growth in its North Wind Afterschool and Farm Day Camp.

The Farm Day Camp expanded its length of operation and weekly camper capacity. The program enrolled 240 campers - an increase of 57 campers from 2016 after seeing 46 more campers in 2016 than in 2015. The farm-based after school program has reached its permitted capacity of 25 students.

Jenne said the numbers tell the story of Cooperative Extension's good work in the region.