Doan Family Farm profiled in 'Portraits in Pride' The Pride of New York Program has developed a new marketing campaign for 2004, entitled "Portraits in Pride." This campaign promotes consumer awareness of the Pride of New York brand through the generations of family farms and food processors who have made New York state one of America's leading suppliers of food and agricultural products. The Pride of New York Program is a member-based initiative that brands and markets agricultural products grown or food products processed in New York state. In addition to featuring various members of the program, "Portraits of Pride" also urges consumers to support New York farmers and food producers by looking and asking for Pride of New York products where they shop. When Jim Doan says, "The girls are busy today," he's talking about his worker bees in some 2,500 colonies. For 50 years, Jim's family has operated Doan's Honey Farm in Hamlin. Started by his father and grandfather, Jim began helping out on the farm at age six. By 1973, he was working full time at one of the busiest apiaries in western New York. In spring and summer, Jim and the Doan family truck their bees to farms throughout the region - to pollinate apples, pears, cherries and more. Then in the cold weather, they pack the bees on a truck for the trip to Florida. Why do the Doans and their bees travel so much? "There just aren't enough bees in the wild anymore," said Jim. The Doans make seven honey varieties with about a half million pounds produced in good years. The top three sellers: clover, wildflower and orange blossom (a byproduct of those Florida trips). |
