NYFEA

The 2008 national convention will be hosted at the
Sheraton City Center in Baltimore.
A few blocks from the beautiful Inner Harbor!
(Early Registration deadline is Oct. 15!)
Click here for pricing and registration form (PDF).

Schedule:

Registration Information:
Early Registration deadline is Oct. 15!
Click here for pricing and registration form (PDF).

TOUR STOP HIGHLIGHTS:

MASON DIXON FARMS
They Waybright family operates Mason Dixon Farms in Gettysburg, PA., with an eye toward efficiency. A portion of the 2,000 cows are milked using robotic units, which decreases the farm's labor costs and increases milk production. A methane digester turns waste into electricity to power the 2,500-acre farm.

CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN GROWERS
Catoctin Mountain Growers, Inc, located near Detour, Maryland, is a greenhouse operation started by Bob and Denise Van Wingerden in 1985. It is a wholesale greenhouse offering spring bedding plants, fall pansies, hardy mums, and poinsettias. They sell primarily to large outlets such as Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and supermarkets. The operation will have 12 acres covered by greenhouses when the current expansion is completed in January 2008.

BLACK ANKLE VINEYARDS
Black Ankle Vineyards is the culmination of a long-time dream of founders Ed Boyce and Sarah O'Herron. They purchased the farm on Black Ankle Road outside of Mount Airy, Maryland in May of 2002. They will bottle their first wine in the Spring of 2008 and open their doors to the public with the completion of their sales and tasting facility. They have been extremely conscious of the environment with the design of their building and by farming with Biodynamic principles.

PINTAIL POINT
Exemplifying the Eastern Shore of Maryland’s rich traditions and heritage, Pintail Point is a picturesque 1800-acre retreat that features a world class sporting clay range, prime waterfowl and upland hunting, a brand new state-of-the art equine facility, dairy farm, greenhouse and nursery operations, fishing charters and yacht cruises, and Hunters Oak, an authentic British Links golf course. Pintail Point is located at the headwaters of the Wye River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and which is also known as the “river of dreams.”

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND—WYE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER, THE ASPEN INSTITUTE, AND THE WYE PLANTATION.
The WREC is an innovative multidisciplinary research, extension and education center that shares nearly 1000 acres with Wye and Aspen Institutes. The Center's location on the Wye River makes it an ideal site for research focusing on preserving the health and vitality of the Chesapeake Bay, sustaining agricultural productivity, product diversity, and maintaining Maryland's valued quality of life.

The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. In 1998, the Middle East Peace Talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization were held at Aspen Institute's Wye River Conference Centers and in 2000 Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez was housed at Carmichael House on the property while awaiting deportation back to his father in Cuba.

THE WYE ANGUS HERD
From 1938 to 1979, Wye Plantation was owned by the late Mr. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Mr. Houghton founded the Wye herd with 18 registered yearling heifers and one bull. Ten of those heifers were half-sisters, sharing the same sire. No other females were ever introduced into the herd. Between 1942 and 1958, Wye Plantation imported 19 bulls from the British Isles. Those bulls are responsible for about 75 percent of the germ plasm now in the herd. The Wye Angus herd was closed to the introduction of additional germ plasm in 1958. It was reopened for a brief period to half of the herd in order to complete a research project. It has remained closed ever since.

BOYLE BROTHERS, INC.
Boyle Brothers is a family owned seed cleaning and processing facility providing services for clients like Pioneer, Monsanto and a host of others. Founded by brothers Gene and Jim Boyle, the business has grown dramatically over the years and now processes bushels of wheat, barley and soybean seed annually.