Agricultural Innovation In Greene County

The Daily Mail

Athens, 11/16/10 - It was an opera house in the 19th century, and a bowling alley and a gym in the 20th century. For the 21st century, Athens old Brook’s Opera House has become an operating brewery, soon to be pub and restaurant and eventually a concert hall.

On Monday, Crossroads Brewery was a vortex of craft brewers and elected officials sampling beer and listening to the Grateful Dead. But what looked like a high time on the surface had quite serious implications for Greene County.

State Senator James L. Seward, R-Oneonta, joined officials from the Greene County Industrial Development Agency, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Coxsackie Area Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the New York State Brewer’s Association and local breweries Crossroads and Cave Mountain to announce funding to establish a hops production test plot.

The grant of $18,500 will also be utilized by the IDA to pursue the establishment of an Ag Incubator as well as other value added goals and services such as a commercial kitchen and a mobile meat processing facility for use by the local and regional agricultural community.

“The agricultural incubator project is yet another innovative brainchild from the Greene County IDA. This venture will help nurture a new generation of farmers as they expand our state’s number one industry, agriculture, and capitalize on the growing ‘buy local’ trend and the expanding micro-brewery business sector.  The senate funding will help advance the Agricultural Incubator Business Plan and generate future investment in Greene County,” Seward said.

Read the complete story at The Daily Mail.