May 13, 2021.  The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is investigating the influence of soil compaction on corn crop yield and yield stability. Severely compacted soils limit plant root development and can reduce soil function, particularly in wet seasons. A new research project funded by the NNYADP aims to address the question of whether wide variation in soil compaction severity across a field is directly proportional to variable crop yield within that field.

This soil compaction research project, led by Kitty O’Neil, Ph.D., a Soils and Crops Specialist with Cornell University Cooperative Extension’s North Country Regional Ag Team, has begun collecting data on two farms in northern New York.

“Soil health influences crop yield, farm economics, and ecological functions on farms. Quantifiable data on the role of soil compaction in soil health and crop performance is missing. This project is designed to fill that knowledge gap,” notes O’Neil.

Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program Director Quirine M. Ketterings, Ph.D., will provide data analysis. Dr. Ketterings’ earlier research has informed the design of this new project.

In a 2019 study of nine conventionally-tilled dairy farm corn fields in northern New York, compaction was found at the surface and at depths of six to 18 inches in all nine fields with consistent and highly variable levels of compaction within each field and among the fields.

The New York State Legislature established the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 1961 in recognition of the opportunity for agriculture in the northern region of the state to become a major economic engine locally and for the state.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at https://nnyagdev.org.

May 5, 2021   The New York State Senate and Assembly unanimously passed legislation re: the production, sale, branding, and labeling of birch syrup and birch sugar (read more about this legislation at Morning Ag Clips, 05/04/21). The NNYADP funded a 2018 season comparison of birch and maple sap yields per the timing of tapping schedules for birch syrup production at the Uihlein Maple Research Forest in Lake Placid. To read the results, see the final report at https://nnyagdev.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NNYADP19Maple2018Final-18.pdf.

At left above, birch trees with tapping lines. Photo: Uihlein Maple Research Forest, Lake Placid, NY.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

 

Apple growers in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia have taken an interest in precision apple thinning research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP). Project leader Michael Basedow who has worked with commercial apple growers in the northeastern NNY region, spoke about the use of pollen tube growth modeling with Michelle Cortens of  The Orchard Outlook produced by Perennia Food and Agriculture, Inc., a development agency focused on Nova Scotia’s food sector. He presents a mini how-to lesson on how the modeling work. This link will take you to an Orchard Outlook page with a “play” button under the photo for the “E4 S2. Don’t sneeze at blossom thinning” episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e4-s2-dont-sneeze-at-blossom-thinning/id1476334530?i=1000506961027. Michael is a tree fruit specialist with the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program that includes the northeastern region of NNY in its service area.

To read reports on NNYADP-funded precision apple research: https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/horticulture/nny-horticultural-research/

 

The 2021-2022 New York State budget includes $300,000 in support of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP). State funding of the NNYADP provides for high priority agricultural research projects related to environmental and water quality conservation, local foods production, and climate adaptability for the farming sector. Seventeen projects are currently underway in 2021 focused on maximizing opportunities for the dairy, crops, horticulture, maple, and livestock production sectors.

Joseph Giroux, a Co-Chair of the farmer-driven program that provides farm-based research for the dairy, field crops, horticultural, maple and livestock sectors, said, “On behalf of our farmers, families, and farm-fed communities, we thank the New York State Legislature, including our local representatives and members of the Senate and Assembly Ag Committees, for the State funding that supports critical research related to local food production, natural resource conservation, climate adaptability for the agricultural sector, and the economic sustainability of our rural communities. We especially recognize Assemblyman Billy Jones for leading the effort to secure this critical funding,” said Joseph Giroux, Co-Chair of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

Giroux of Plattsburgh, Jon Greenwood of Canton, and Jon Rulfs of Keeseville serve as NNYADP Co-Chairs with nearly 100 farmers who evaluate and select research for NNYADP grants funding.

The New York State Legislature established the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 1961 in recognition of the opportunity for agriculture in the northern region of the state to become a major economic engine locally and for the state. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets administers the funding for the NNYADP. Learn more under any of the tabs in the menu bar and the News section at https://nnyagdev.org.

Evaluating Aerial Data Access for All Corn Growers: NNYADP Research Update

Northern New York; April 12, 2021.  Dairy and cash grain producers in northern New York State are participating in research to evaluate if aerial imagery from drones and satellites may enable all farmers, not just those with a yield monitor, to build a corn yield database for their individual farm fields. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is funding the research; Cornell University nutrient management researcher Quirine M. Ketterings, Ph.D., is the project leader.

A large regional database has been established as a result of the comparison of yield monitor data provided Regional producers and Champlain Valley Agronomics with drone and satellite imagery data. The project’s latest report is posted at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

“The estimated yield maps developed in 2020 on northern New York farms using aerial imagery data from unmanned drones and satellite systems showed promising results, demonstrating the potential to use imagery for mapping yield without the use of yield monitors,” Dr. Ketterings said.

The desired outcome of this research is to develop a standalone tool that uses aerial imagery data to automatically generate corn grain and corn silage yield potentials and yield zone maps for individual farm fields. These maps will help farmers to more precisely allocate manure, fertilizer and seed resources, and to enhance cost-effective agricultural environmental stewardship.

“Not all farms can afford yield-monitoring equipment. If images obtained with unmanned aerial systems can consistently be used to accurately estimate corn grain and silage yields, we can design an approach to give all corn growers access to reliable yield data without the use of that equipment for developing farm-specific yield stability zone management,” Ketterings noted.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.