水果派AV

Brandon Williams, a Republican, is running to represent the 22nd Congressional District. In the Republican primary, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a GOP-aligned super PAC,聽ran an ad calling him an "out-of-touch phony" and a "liberal elitist," in part, because he co-owns a truffle farm with his wife, Stephanie. Near the end of the ad, the narrator derisively states, "Who lives on a truffle farm?"

After Williams won the Republican primary, House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, that mentions his ownership of a "fancy truffle farm" and features several people handling and smelling truffles. After smelling a truffle, one person says, "Kind of weird." The ad's message to voters was that Williams "isn't one of us."聽

Truffles, explained

According to the North American Truffle Growers Association, a truffle is "the spore-bearing fruit of a fungus." Truffles, like the kind harvested by the Williamses, grow underground. It can take several years for truffles to develop.

Robert Chang, chief truffle officer and managing director of the American Truffle Company, said growing truffles is becoming more popular 鈥� there are more than 300 truffle orchards in the United States. However, most will not succeed.聽

"It takes a tremendous amount of science to grow truffles," Chang said. "Unlike more conventional crops, like if you were to grow corn or soybeans, the science of growing these conventional crops is very much readily available in the public. But not truffle science. The science of growing truffles is simply not out there. It's not something that if you plant them, they will come."聽

There is increasing demand for truffles, especially in the culinary world.聽 Restaurants, Chang said, reflect what their guests want.聽

The American Truffle Company, which has established truffle orchards in 25 countries, holds a truffle festival in Napa Valley, California. When the event first began, Chang said truffles were "very much esoteric." But now there are dishes like truffle macaroni and cheese and truffle fries.聽

"Just with that, you can see more people are familiar with truffles and also it's not just an American phenomenon," he said. "The increase in demand is worldwide."聽

Because of the high demand and limited supply, the price of truffles is high 鈥� they can be sold for more than $1,000 a pound, according to Chang.聽

The farm

The story of the Williamses' farm began in 2008 with the purchase of the 67-acre property in Sennett, less than two miles away from the Cayuga-Onondaga county line. Stephanie Williams said her family has an agrarian background and she has "always loved digging in the dirt."

When they developed a plan for a farm, it focused on bees, lavender and truffles. Stephanie Williams is a master beekeeper and launched Bee Attitudes Honey. They had three acres of lavender and would welcome visitors to watch how lavender oil is distilled.聽

"The continuity of farming in New York state depends on small farms as well as large farms," Brandon Williams said. "There's actually a very rich fabric of small farms of all different kinds of specialty foods and specialty products and agritourism, in particular. That's essential for our economy."聽

The idea to grow truffles stemmed from when Brandon and Stephanie traveled abroad and learned more about the truffle market. In 2011, they planted 2,350 hazelnut trees on five acres of land with the goal of cultivating burgundy truffles.聽

"We knew that with the truffles there was a runway from getting a tree to getting it to start yielding truffles," Stephanie Williams said. "It takes a number of years."聽

A lot of work is needed to ensure that truffle growing is successful. Stephanie said they have loamy soil, which is ideal for truffles, but they needed to learn more about soil preparation. Brandon, with some help, worked for three weeks on preparing the soil to plant the hazelnut trees. He also installed an irrigation system to help the trees grow.聽

The farm has no employees, but the Williamses have received some assistance. Their children helped prepare the land before the trees were planted and local farmers provided equipment. Maintaining the orchard, though, has been a two-person operation, with Brandon and Stephanie doing everything from tending the soil to trimming branches.聽

"You can do more than you think," Brandon Williams said.聽

Growing truffles requires patience. In Europe, Stephanie said there are ancient forest grounds where truffles are cultivated.聽

"We're trying to replicate that in a very quick fashion," she said. "We're trying to make that 'ancient,' so it takes time. There's a lot of mystery to it. That's part of why they are so expensive. They are elusive."聽

An important part of the farm is an addition to the Williams family: Beatrice, a lagotto ramagnolo. The dog breed is commonly used in truffle hunting. A breeder began training Beatrice to be a truffle hunter shortly after her birth.聽

Beatrice's work starts in the fall when the hazelnut trees go dormant. As the trees stop absorbing sugars from the soil, Stephanie explained, the truffles begin to absorb the sugars.聽

"That's when they ripen and you go hunting for them," she said.聽

The farm has been a destination for college students. Every year, mycology classes from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse visit the farm. (Mycology is the study of fungi.) Stephanie said they have also hosted mycologists from Harvard. One reason for the interest is that truffles, the Williamses say, have not been grown this far north in New York.聽

Their location is an advantage. They are a short distance away from cities on the East Coast, such as Boston and New York City. Restaurants that normally would need to wait days for truffles to arrive by mail can now get them within hours.聽

"The chef gets so much more shelf life with them because when you're a chef in New York City, even if you are FedExing and everything, you're still losing two to three days of (the truffle's) 14-day shelf life. And they are expensive," Stephanie Williams said. "That's how we see our sweet spot in terms of our marketing."

Truffles meet politics

Karen Passafaro, president of the North American Truffle Growers Association, sees similarities between the Williamses and others who decide to grow truffles. Many truffle farmers left their first careers to pursue a new opportunity. Brandon Williams is a U.S. Navy veteran, a former investment banker and tech entrepreneur.聽

Regarding the political attacks, Passafaro thinks it's wrong to describe truffle farmers as "elitists." She thinks that label is largely due to where truffles are served 鈥� often in high-end restaurants 鈥� and their price.聽

Chang added, "I think there is a general perception in the United States that doing something that is smart or making money is sometimes looked down upon. That's just too bad. It shouldn't be that way. Just because you're growing something that is high in demand I don't really believe that warrants being called an elitist."聽

Stephanie Williams never thought they would have to defend themselves for having a farm. But if Brandon Williams wins the 22nd district race, they will have an answer to the question, "Who lives on a truffle farm?"聽

A congressman.聽