Innovation and education were the chief spices at an Ulster County food and farming “Mini-Summit” at Ulster BOCES at iPark 87 Tuesday afternoon. The event's aim was billed as “expanding value-added food production” and “building career pathways that connect farms, kitchens, and advanced manufacturing.”

The first of five such “sector-intensive Mini-Summits” hosted by County Executive Jen Metzger and her economic development team, the event was free to the public and drew a crowd of 100 or so.

Metzger in her opening remarks spoke of the importance of food and agriculture to Ulster's economy, touted collaboration between education and business and praised Ulster BOCES’ efforts in that regard. She was followed by County Director of Economic Development Leslie Wellington, who spoke of the necessity for “deeper educational-industry collaboration” and County Director of the Office of Employment and Training Sharon Williams, who praised BOCES as an example of that cooperation.

“This is about taking a systems approach to building a stronger, more connected regional economy,” said Ulster BOCES Superintendent Jonah Schenker, in his turn at the podium. “By breaking down silos and creating meaningful pathways between learning, innovation and industry, we can ensure that our young people are not simply preparing to participate in the future of Ulster County, but are actively helping to shape it. That is how workforce development becomes community revitalization and economic mobility.”

That theory and hands-on real-world experience came together in a panel discussion called “Growing It Here, Making It Here.” The panel’s extreme Ulsterishness rang out in a county press release: “a pasture-based dairy that processes everything on-site, a solar-powered popcorn company that turned a roller rink into a food factory and a certified-organic bakery operating at scale with carbon-neutral production.”

More specifically, that would be Rick Osofsky, owner of Ronnybrook Farm Dairy; Stephanie Bauman, co-owner of BjornQorn; and Nels Leader, CEO of Bread Alone Bakery, in addition to former dairy farmer, now County Agricultural Services Administrator Katherine DeWitt and moderator Kyle Jaster of Community Food Works, the Kingston non-profit that connects local producers to schools and food pantries.

Innovation's challenges were pointed out by Osofsky, who spoke of his efforts to recover more than half a million dollars in federal funding for a solar array at Ronnybrook, money promised but then withheld by the Trump administration. Bauman highlighted Ulster's charm, reminiscing about childhood visits to Mohonk Mountain House. Leader underlined local business' upside potential, Bread Alone now producing 30,000 loaves a day for three Hudson Valley cafes, supermarkets and New York City farmer's markets.

The panel was unanimous on some points, including the challenges of 1) finding and keeping skilled workers, especially in a sector whose jobs continue to become increasingly technical and 2) balancing scale and quality. Bread Alone and BjornQorn have both chosen to limit product variety, as Leader put it: choosing "quality and scale at the expense of variety"

BOCES students participated in the event throughout, including a demonstration by students Blake Powers, Brett Bradford and Frank Hinton of student-designed improvements — utilizing CAD modeling and 3D printing — to Community Food Works' flour milling process.

Still to come in the “Mini-Summit” series are gatherings on Film & Media (at SUNY New Paltz on Dec. 10), Advanced Manufacturing, Health Care and Green Building & Skilled Trades, leading up to a summary Economic Futures Summit in Spring 2027.