New York dairy farms produced 77.4 million pounds of cheese (excluding cottage cheese) in September, up 10.1 percent from the year-ago period, but 0.5 percent below August’s production level, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

Butter production in New York totaled 1.86 million pounds in September, up 3.7 percent from September 2016, and up 36.3 percent from August 2017. 

In neighboring Pennsylvania, dairy farms produced 33.2 million pounds of cheese (excluding cottage cheese) in September, up 7.3 percent from a year ago, but 3.2 percent below the prior month’s production. Butter production in the Keystone State totaled 6.37 million pounds in September, down 9.1 percent from September 2016, but up 48.3 percent from August 2017, according to                the USDA.

ELMIRA — Chemung Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CHMG) announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per share.

The banking company will pay the dividend on Jan. 2 to common stock shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 19, according to a Chemung Financial news release.

At its current stock price, the dividend yields about 2.2 percent on an annual basis.

Chemung Financial is a $1.7 billion financial-services holding company, headquartered in Elmira, which operates 33 branches through its main subsidiary, Chemung Canal Trust Company. Started in 1833, Chemung Canal Trust says it is the oldest locally owned and managed community bank in New York state. 

Chemung Canal Trust ranks eighth in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York area, according to the latest FDIC data. It has 20 branches, with nearly $970 million in deposits, in the region.

Chemung Financial is also the parent of CFS Group, Inc., a financial-services subsidiary offering mutual funds, annuities, brokerage services, tax preparation services, and insurance. It also has an insurance company subsidiary called Chemung Risk Management, Inc., which is based in Nevada.