Dairy was well-represented at this year’s New York State Agricultural Society meeting in Syracuse.

Kathryn Boor, dean of the Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, received the Distinguished Service Citation Award.

Meanwhile, two dairy producers, Dead End Farm and Hanehan Family Dairy LLC, were recognized with the Next Generation Farmer Award.

MAKING ROOM: The owners of Hanehan Family Dairy LLC run two separate farms as a way to more actively engage the next generation of the business. Pictured are Tim Moag (bottom row, left), representing award co-sponsor Freed Maxick; Philip Hanehan, Kurt Hanehan, Barbara Hanehan and Charles Hanehan; Elwyn Voss, representing The Voss Group, award co-sponsor; Matthew Hanehan (top row, left) and David Valesky, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Rich dairy background

Boor grew up on her family’s dairy farm outside of Horseheads and was actively involved in 4-H and served as the Chemung County Dairy Princess.

She started at Cornell in 1976 and was a food science major. She spent time in Wisconsin, Kenya and California before returning to Cornell in 1994 when she was appointed as the first woman faculty member in the Department of Food Science.

After earning a Ph.D. in microbiology, she helped establish the Food Safety Research Laboratory at Cornell, a group that is responsible for over 165 peer-reviewed publications focusing on improving the safety and quality of New York’s, and the nation’s, food supply.

She was appointed dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2010, overseeing the second-largest college at Cornell.

Boor’s leadership of CALS is uniquely focused on the institution’s impact on the farm and food community in New York. Under her direction, the college has re-doubled its efforts to meet emerging needs spanning from farm to consumer. Boor is working to establish an Institute for Digital Agriculture to focus on emerging technologies and data management for farmers.

She and her team brought new life into student majors including environmental sciences and sustainability, and plant sciences. She has also helped revitalize food product development and safety training with the establishment of the Institute for Food Safety and the High Pressure Processing Lab at Cornell Agri-Tech, the Geneva campus of Cornell CALS.

She also drove the creation of the CALS School of Integrative Plant Science from five constituent departments, creating an enhanced collaborative environment to enable CALS scientists to tackle the challenge of sustainably feeding a growing global population. In 2018, the New York State Senate honored Boor as a Woman of Distinction.

Her leadership and expertise have made her a valued member of many boards and councils.

Next generation farmers

The Next Generation Farmer Award recognizes long-time producers and industry newcomers who are farming in new and vibrant ways.

FARM NEWCOMERS: Ben and Kate Whittemore of Dead End Farm in Candor, N.Y., received the industry newcomer recognition of the Next Generation Award. Pictured are Tim Moag (left), representing award co-sponsor Freed Maxick; Ben and Kate Whittemore; Elwyn Voss, representing The Voss Group, award co-sponsor; and David Valesky, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Ben and Kate Whittemore of Dead End Farm in Candor received the industry newcomer recognition of the Next Generation Farmer Award.

This year’s long-time producer award winner was Hanehan Family Dairy of Saratoga Springs and Mt. Upton. The Hanehans are operating two dairies to actively engage two generations of family members.

For more award information, including award videos, visit nysagsociety.org. 

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