Apples, Bees, Berries, Cows, Crops, Tomatoes & Grapes in Focus by NNYADP in 2016
Northern New York, May 11, 2016. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has announced 26 research projects prioritized for attention on farms in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties in 2016.
The major focus areas of the 2016 NNYADP projects are crop production, dairying, disease and pest control, fruit and vegetable production, and honey and maple production:
- 10 projects address opportunities for corn, soybean, alfalfa, oats, grass and grain production
- 5 projects evaluate ways to help dairy cows and calves cope with heat stress and cold weather conditions, and to reduce the risk of mastitis
- 4 projects are aimed at disease and pest management in crops critical to the regional dairy and livestock industries. Corn alone is a $100.6 million crop in northern NY.
- 5 projects will advance the regional production of fruit and vegetables, including apples, juneberries, cherry tomatoes, and cold-hardy grapes.
- 1 project will evaluate the use of 3/16-inch tubing to enhance maple syrup production with both natural flow and artificial vacuum sap collection systems in NNY sugarbushes; and
- 1 project will improve beekeeper management practices to increase the health in the pollinating insects that support honey production in NNY.
Farmers who have hosted NNYADP field trials praise the value of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, noting the impact of enhancing animal health and crop quality, and prompting new agribusiness in the region.
Rhonda Butler of Asgaard Farm and Goat Dairy, AuSable Forks, has participated with a small livestock parasite control project. She said, “The (NNYADP) project results will guide our decisions. . . and provide us another way to maintain our animals’ health.”
Dairy farmer Lynn Murray of Murcrest Farms, Copenhagen, said, “The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program snout beetle control project has paid off here. My 2015 alfalfa crop produced the best first cutting yield ever.”
“The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program research and training has been very good for helping us cope with an increasing problem of alfalfa snout beetle in the Malone area. We plan to open our own nematode rearing business,” said Mary DeBeer of DeBeer Seeds and Spraying, Malone.
The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program received $600,000 in the 2016-17 New York State Budget. Funding for the NNYADP is supported by New York State Senate and is administered through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
See www.nnyagdev.org for a complete list of the new NNYADP projects, economic impact reports, and the results and application of completed projects.
Comments re: NNYADP by NYS Legislators
‘Across New York State, and especially in Northern New York, farmers work extremely hard to produce the fresh, healthy foods that feed the people of the world,’ said New York State Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Senator Patty Ritchie. ‘And, it is initiatives like the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program that make our family farms more successful, by providing them with vitally important resources and research that improve efficiency and boost their bottom lines. I could not be more pleased that our state is once again providing record support for agriculture programs, including the NNYADP, in the new state budget, and I look forward to seeing how these investments help New York’s agriculture industry continue to grow.’
NYS Senator Betty Little commented, ‘I am pleased to have partnered with our Senate Agriculture Chair Patty Ritchie and our other North Country colleagues to secure this line of funding for our farmers. There is no question this will be put to good use and continue to help Northern New York farmers become more efficient, more productive, and, hopefully, more successful, which is important for our local economies.’
‘Generations of farmers have played a major role in sustaining the economy throughout all regions of New York State, and their hard work continues to define the success of state’s agricultural industry,’ said NYS Senator Joseph Griffo. ‘Through this funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, I am glad we will be able to support our farmers in their research to find more efficient and sustainable ways to grow and better confront the challenges New York’s farms face today.’
‘It remains a priority of the state to provide support for North Country farmers who face unique challenges. I am gratified that the 2016-17 Budget will continue to fund needed research and outreach programs to help mitigate problems, and enhance new opportunities through the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program,’ said NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Assemblyman Bill Magee.
