Northern N.Y.  The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted its annual report at www.nnyagdev.org. The four-page report notes how recent research is helping regional farmers respond to hot and cold climate extremes impacting dairy calves and cows, field crops, and wine grapes. Also highlighted are projects addressing:
. the first-ever Northern New York bee colony health survey

. recently emerging crop pests, such as Western bean cutworm

. season extension and new product opportunities for the NNY maple industry, and

. field trials demonstrating how tomato growers can save time.

Farmer comments in the report indicate how applying the results of the research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program benefitted their business from reducing costs and making it easier to plant and harvest crops to identifying ways to develop extra income using existing resources.

Cornell University Nutrient Management Program Director Dr. Quirine M. Ketterings is cited in the report crediting the farmers and farm advisers in Northern New York as “the frontrunners” prompting re-evaluation of the Cornell corn production guidelines. The farmers who prioritize and select projects for Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funding requested research into how advances in corn breeding and production practices are impacting crop yield and whether it was time to update the associated nitrogen application guidelines for agronomic and economic efficiency.

The report notes that over a three-year study, completed in 2017, one-third of NNY fields tested in the project yielded less than 90 percent of their expected potential while 26 percent yielded more than 110 percent of their expected yield. This research enters Phase 2 in 2018.

A brief section in the report points to multi-state interest in the biocontrol crop pest solution built by the long-term commitment of the farmers of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program to developing the science needed to manage the devastating alfalfa snout beetle.

A one-application treatment with native NY nematodes, combined with successively-bred, increasingly alfalfa snout beetle-resistant varieties of alfalfa, has restored production of the important dairy forage crop. This biocontrol has shown promise for controlling pests in other field crops and berries and is now being evaluated in field trials in elsewhere in New York State and in New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, and Michigan.

Posted with the annual report are summaries of maple, horticultural, and dairy and field crops-related projects funded by the NNYADP.

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

Link to NNYADP Annual Report

Click here to see the December 12, 2017 Spectrum News report by Katelynn Ulrich who visited Five Mile Farm in St. Lawrence County to talk with NNYADP Winter Calf Respiratory Health project leader Dr. Kimberley Morrill and farmer Ryan Akins. Thank you, all!

Click here to read the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded project report on ways to enhance calf health through the cold winter months in Northern NY.

Northern N.Y.; December 12, 2017.  Research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is helping regional dairies reduce the risk of winter-related mastitis.

The results of a study evaluating the use of two types of dairy cow udder applications for mastitis prevention are posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

Udder care on dairy farms includes the antiseptic practice of teat dipping prior to and after milking. During winter months, some farms modify teat dipping practices to reduce chapping and teat injury. The practices include blotting the teat end after post dipping to reduce excess moisture, switching to a different formulation of dip intended for winter use, or switching to a powder-based dip.

From early January to mid-February 2016, Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Dairy Specialist Dr. Kimberley Morrill in collaboration with Cornell Quality Milk Production Services in Canton, NY, evaluated the use of a powdered chlorhexidine acetate teat dip vs. a traditional 1 percent iodine foam post-milking application.

The study was conducted with 331 Holstein milking cows in the dairy herd at Miner Institute in Chazy, NY.

Studies conducted on dairy farms in Idaho and Iowa respectively indicated that the powdered teat dip was as effective as iodine dip at controlling environmentally-based infections but increased the risk of contagious mastitis due to Staph aureus, a common mastitis pathogen.

Only 13 cases of clinical mastitis were seen among the 331 cows in the Northern New York study. Evaluation revealed no difference in clinical mastitis between the cows receiving the iodine teat dip and those treated with the powdered dip. The post-dip treatment with the powder did significantly increase the risk of a positive culture for Staph aureus and minor organisms and even more so the risk for a Streptococcus spp. or coliform-based infection.

Morrill notes that the research was conducted during a temperate winter, with temperatures ranging from 23 to 62.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

“This research suggests that powdered teat dip increases the risk of subclinical mastitis as compared to using a traditional iodine-based dip. To form a definitive recommendation, more trials are needed under the harsher winter conditions that are more typical of a Northern New York winter and might have produced different results,” Morrill said.

To reduce the risk of cold weather-related mastitis regardless of pre and post-milking application, Morrill advises dairy operators to make sure hygienic milking protocols are being used, equipment is well maintained, and teats are dry before the cows leave the milking parlor.

The results of this Northern New York Agricultural Development Program–funded dairy research were shared at the 2017 National Mastitis Council meeting.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides research and technical assistance to farmers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

 

Cornell University entomologist Elson J. Shields and research specialist Antonio M. Testa have written an article on the “Biological Control of Alfalfa Snout Beetle with Persistent Entomopathogenic Nematodes: Expanding a Single Farm’s Success to an Area-Wide Biological Control Program” for the Winter 2017 issue of American Entomologist. The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is acknowledged for its long-term funding of the research to develop the science of this project.

The article notes “Alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici (L.), (ASB) remains the most serious insect pest impacting alfalfa production in North America.”

Shields and Testa answer the following questions in the illustrated article:

. Can a cost-effective EPN (entomopathogenic nematode) mass-rearing procedure be developed that is both farmer-friendly and low-labor while retaining the genes for persistence?

. Can EPN application rates and techniques be adapted to low-value crops and typical commercial pesticide application equipment? Is timing of application also important?

. What is the best mix of EPN species to successfully attack ASB?

. How well will the adapted persistent EPNs persist across typical soil types and cropping rotations found within the northern New York ASB-infested area?

. Will a single application of EPNs under the inoculative strategy provide enough mortality to ASB populations to reduce population levels to sub-economic?

. Will farmers embrace an area-wide biological control program against ASB utilizing native persistent EPNs even though impact after application may not be seen for two to four years?

. How will the biological program be sustained for the long term? (This section notes the establishment of one nematode-rearing business with room for others to commercially rear, sell and apply the EPNs to continue the battle to manage ASB to protect regional alfalfa crops).

NNYADP ASB Research: Reports, Fact Sheets, Photos, Video

Farm Pest Biocontrol Now Sought Across U.S.: ASB nematode projects are underway or planned in New Mexico, Texas, Ohio and Michigan

NNYADP Research Helps Young Entrepreneur

Additional ASB Resources

Research Identifies Cold Weather Strategies for Dairy Calf Managers

Northern NY; November 15, 2017.  As winter approaches, research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has identified cold weather strategies for attention by regional dairy calf managers.

“Winter weather poses a natural challenge to raising young animals. Respiratory illness in calves can negatively impact weight gain, age at their first calving, first lactation milk production, farm revenue and costs,” says project leader Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D., a regional Cornell Cooperative Extension dairy specialist, Canton, NY.

A USDA National Animal Health Monitoring Systems report that helped prompt the research in Northern New York indicated that 12.47 percent of pre-weaned dairy heifers in the United States are affected by respiratory illness with 93.4 percent of those calves requiring antibiotics.

Morrill evaluated 426 calves located across 27 farms in the northernmost counties of New York State from late November 2016 to early January 2017. In total those farms represented 2,408 pre-weaned calves, 32,269 heifers, and 33,557 lactating cows.

Among the factors Morrill measured and analyzed were temperature, humidity, dew point, wind chill, airflow, bedding, and calf age, weight, and health scoring.

Eight of the 27 participating farms had no calves with respiratory illness. On a per-farm basis, the prevalence of respiratory illness ranged from zero to 46 percent. Six farms had higher per-farm percentages of calves exhibiting signs of respiratory illness.

“Both environmental and management factors influenced the percentage of calves with respiratory illness per farm. Those factors included the type of housing system, bedding type and quality, and the number of calves per calf pen along with pen environmental quality, and weather factors,” Morrill says.

The project design included development of strategies to reduce the risk of respiratory illness in pre-weaned calves. Each farm participating in the project received an individualized report with recommendations for steps to improve their winter season calf management. Recommendations included:

• reducing the number of calves per group pen so each calf has a minimum of 35 square feet,
• increasing the calorie intake to meet daily requirements,
• adding bedding to allow for nesting,
• revising the feeding equipment cleaning protocol to reduce the risk of bacterial growth,
• revising or creating new written calf care management protocols, and
• implementing employee training in the areas of calf feeding and management.

Morrill notes that the majority of the farms participating in the project have adjusted their practices based on the recommendations received. The impact of the changes will be evaluated after the winter of 2017-18. Morrill will present an update on this research at the 2018 American Dairy Science Association meeting.

“Knowing the factors that have the greatest opportunity to enhance calf health through the winter helps farmers manage for seasonal challenges by taking the necessary steps to improve respiratory health,” Morrill added.

Earlier research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program evaluated warm season factors influencing the respiratory health of pre-weaned dairy calves on regional farms.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides research and technical assistance to farmers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.