Feb 5, 2019
The Wyoming County Chamber & Tourism is pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for the 12th annual “Pride of Wyoming County Agriculture Dinner,” sponsored by WCJW Radio, is scheduled for Saturday, March 2, 2019 at the North Java Fire Hall from 6:00PM – 10:00PM.
The Wyoming County Chamber & Tourism office partners annually with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County, Wyoming County Farm Bureau, Wyoming County Soil and Water and members of the agriculture community including farms and agri-businesses. The sell-out event celebrates and recognizes the important impact of agriculture in Wyoming County.
The Pride of Wyoming County Agriculture Dinner is open to the public and is a sell-out event. Tickets are $30.00 per person or a table of 10 for $275.00, and may be purchased by calling (585) 786-0307 or online at www.wycochamber.org.
“The Pride of Agriculture dinner is a true celebration of our agriculture tradition in Wyoming County,” said Chamber & Tourism President Scott Gardner. “We are excited to be celebrating the twelfth year of this annual recognition event, and are very fortunate to have a strong agricultural sector recognized as a leader in New York and the nation. We can all take great pride in their hard work that provides jobs and value to the nation’s food supply.”
The Wyoming County Chamber & Tourism office will present the 2019 Agri-Business of the Year award to WYCO Construction of Warsaw. Bob and Arna Herman bought the business in July of 1973, originally naming it Bob Herman Excavating. In 1979, WYCO Construction Inc. was born specializing in earth moving residential, agricultural and barn building services. In 1980, Bob stopped building barns and turned his attention to a new field of expertise, Septic Pumping. The company has the popular slogan painted on their equipment, “We’re #1 in the #2 Business.” In 1994, Mr. Herman’s sons Matt & Mark joined him to become part of the family business continuing today with 13 employees. The business offers commercial, residential, and agriculture services including, hedgerow clearing; manure pits, barns pads; bunk silo repair & construction; earth moving (bulldozer and excavator); hauling of gravel and stone products; curtain drains; and drainage swails in addition to many other services.
The event also features the presentation of the Good Neighbor, and the Friend of Agriculture awards which are joint awards given by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County and the Wyoming County Farm Bureau. Award winners will be announced at the event. Cornell Cooperative Extension will also be presenting the first annual Friend of Extension Award to Hans and Leslie Kunze of Wyoming.
New this year, Wyoming County Soil and Water will be joining in the awards ceremony and will present the annual Conservation Farm of the Year award to Fontaine Farms, LLC of Strykersville; the Partner in Conservation award to Victor DiGiacomo, Associate Environmental Analyst, NYS Soil & Water Conservation Committee; and the Agricultural Environmental Management award to Pankow Farms of Castile.
Nomination forms for the Good Neighbor and “Friend of Agriculture’ awards are available and people are encouraged to nominate a farm, agriculture business or person that truly exemplifies the qualities of a good neighbor. Nominations will be accepted until February 11th. Please contact Joan Petzen at Cooperative Extension at 786-2251 for a nomination form or online at www.wyoming.cce.cornell.edu.