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April 25, 2009

Local farms play role in actor's TV special

By Sarah Bradshaw
Poughkeepsie Journal

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/BK&Dato=99999999&Kategori=SERVICES&Lopenr=50924005 &template=fullart

A prominent Hollywood movie star struck by Parkinson's disease at a young age toured local farms as part of an upcoming television special about hope.

Michael J. Fox, star of the "Back to the Future" movies and television shows "Family Ties" and "Spin City," met Thursday with farmers of the nonprofit dairy cooperative that promotes high-quality milk under one label, Hudson Valley Fresh.

He was filming footage for a special called "Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" that will air at 10 p.m. May 7 on ABC.

Fox toured Hudson Valley Fresh's processing facility at the Boice Brothers Dairy plant in Kingston, Sinkno dairy farm in Red Hook and Plankenhorn dairy farm in Pleasant Valley, said Sam Simon, president of Hudson Valley Fresh.



Toured facility

Simon said Fox, accompanied by a producer and four cameramen, drank Hudson Valley Fresh milk. The actor viewed the dairy barns, milking operations as well as the pastures and particularly enjoyed seeing the calves, then he sat down with farmers Simon, Jim Davenport and Jerry Simonetti to discuss how their milk cooperative is overcoming challenges, including record low milk prices.



Additional Facts

On the Web

To view the trailer for "Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist," visit
abc.go.com/specials/michaeljfox/index