Northern NY; May 8, 2017.  The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has announced the results of vegetable research providing market growers with an unexpected insight into the production challenges associated with the increasingly popular cherry-type tomatoes. The project report, which includes data on labor efficiency, weed control, and brown leaf mold susceptibility, is posted here.

‘This research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program responded to growers struggling with controlling the rampant growth of the cherry-type tomato plants and questioning whether the time they spend pruning this vigorous tomato is worth the effort,’ said project leader Amy Ivy, a vegetable specialist with the Cornell University Cooperative Extension Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program.

The Northern NY trial evaluated and compared the labor, efficiency, and yield of three different tomato training systems: an intensively pruned single leader, a standard double leader, and a less intensively pruned four-leader system.

‘Most growers feel the intensive system takes too much time, but our research showed that it took less time to train and harvest than the less intensive system which became a tangle of vines that slowed the work,’ noted Ivy.

‘Comparing yield and efficiency of harvest with each treatment revealed additional significant difference to help growers decide which system may work best for their individual time and income goals,’ Ivy added.

In addition to taming the rampant growth of the cherry tomato, another challenge high tunnel vegetable growers face is the disease of brown leaf mold. This project included a variety trail comparing a popular but brown leaf mold-susceptible variety, Sun Gold, with three disease-resistant varieties in terms of taste and productivity. Sixty growers and volunteers taste tested the four varieties of cherry tomatoes; results are noted in the final report online.

This research in 2016 also included field trials at the Willsboro Research Farm, Willsboro, NY, to evaluate 13 single or mixed summer cover crop options for weed suppression in field-planted vegetable crops.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance program serving all agricultural sectors 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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Northern NY Ag Program Receives $600,000; Economic Impact Highlighted in Annual Report

Northern NY.  The $600,000 designated in the 2017-2018 New York State Budget for the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program will fund on-farm field trials in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. The budget funding is supported by the New York State Senate and administered through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

New York State Senator Patty Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, noted, “I worked hard to include this funding because I know of the vital work that the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is performing to help farmers, right here in our region and across the state, strengthening their bottom lines, growing their businesses, and solidifying the future of family farming in New York State.”

“Restoring this line of funding in the State Budget was a priority for me and my Senate Republican colleagues,” said Senator Betty Little. “We recognize the value of this agricultural program and its importance to North Country farmers and know it will be of tremendous value in the year ahead.”

Senator Joseph Griffo said, “With agriculture as one of our leading industries in New York State, it is imperative that our hardworking farmers are able to adapt and stay one step ahead of the environmental challenges confronting our farms today. With this significant funding once again secured by the State Senate on behalf of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, I am hopeful that our farmers will be able to continue the innovative research programs necessary to increase their efficiency and to develop new methods for sustainable success.”

The recent Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Economic Impact Report notes the following highlights from projects completed in 2016:
. the potential for a 7-12 percent return on investment for tile drainage installation;
. developing strategies to address dairy calf and cow health challenges specific to Northern New York, including extreme weather forage options and ways to reduce calf loss to heat stress;
. a new agribusiness startup spurred by long-term regional research results;
. horticultural projects addressing disease and pest resistance;
. preparation to refresh the cold-hardy grape research nursery established with Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funding in Willsboro;
. ways to improve beekeeping practices with attention to pollinator health;
. ways to cope with NNY regional micro-climate extremes; for example, recent apple orchard trials address how to save growers up to $6,800 per acre with an irrigation strategy; and
. niche marketing crop development for ginger, edamame, juneberry and birch syrup; for example, an 8-ounce jar of juneberry jam can sell for up to $8; birch syrup can retail at $200 gallon.

In addition to annual economic highlight and research project reports, the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at nnyagdev.org includes 2016 project summaries specific to field crops, horticultural crops, and the maple industry.

The results of 2016 corn grain hybrid trials in Northern New York are now posted on this website in the Field Crops/Corn section, scroll down to find the Variety Trials data for several years.

Cornell University Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics Dr. Margaret E. Smith notes, “Growers should always choose hybrids based on multiple years of evaluation and multi-location data whenever possible since any hybrid can have a banner year or banner environment one year but not necessarily hold up over a range of different growing seasons.”

See NNY corn hybrid trial results reports for 2004-2016 at www.nnyagdev.org/index.php/field-crops/research-corn/.

MORE INFO:
. Northern New York farmers harvest approximately 13 percent of the total corn acreage in New York State.

. To help growers select the highest yielding corn varieties for planting, the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funds Cornell University field trials that evaluate not only yield, but crop vigor, moisture, standability, and other plant health factors that influence the opportunity to grow a high quality, productive crop.

. The 2016 field trials evaluated 50 early-maturing hybrids on farms in Madrid and Chazy, NY, and 16 medium-early hybrids in Madrid.

. An evaluation of leaf disease development was also planned as part of the 2016 hybrids trial, however, generally due to dry conditions throughout the growing season in Northern New York, no significant leaf or insect pressure was found at either the Chazy or Madrid site.

. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance program serving all agricultural sectors 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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Northern NY; March 23, 2017.   The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the latest research results from NNY Maple Specialist Michael Farrell, director of the Cornell Uihlein Research Forest in Lake Placid, NY. Farrell evaluated the production efficiencies of two sizes of maple sap tubing in gravity-based collection systems. The “Evaluating 3/16” Maple Sap Tubing Systems Under Natural-Flow and Artificial Vacuum Systems in NNY” report is posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

Newly-developed 3/16-inch interior diameter tubing has been suggested as a way to achieve greater and easier natural vacuum pressure drawing sap from the taphole in the maple tree. Each additional inch of vacuum results in an average increase of five to seven percent more sap.

The research trials hosted by Dr. Sam Yancey in Croghan, Lewis County; Chateaugay High School FFA in Franklin County; Sweeter Creations Sugarhouse at Madrid, NY, in St. Lawrence County; and Paul Smith’s College in Franklin County, in addition to those at the Uihlein Research Forest in Essex County, compared the use of 3/16-inch with 5/16-inch sap collection tubing.

Farrell cautions that his 2016 report offers a first-year trial evaluation and that multiple years of data are needed to draw a firm conclusion. He notes, “This initial research demonstrated the effectiveness of utilizing 3/16-inch tubing systems and-or 3/16-inch droplines within an existing 5/16-inch tubing system to add production efficiency to collecting maple sap.”

The research at the Uihlein Research Forest included switching out the traditional 5/16-inch tubing system with new 3/16-inch tubing in an existing artificially-pumped vacuum tubing system. The 2016 results were promising, leading to an average increase of approximately 5 percent more sap at a lower installation cost. Research there will continue to determine how the system will perform over time.

“Our work now is to evaluate the consistency of the efficiency of this tubing over multiple years,” Farrell says. “Some producers want to know if the smaller diameter tubing is more likely to plug, while early-adopter producers are already interested in technical assistance for converting to or installing new 3/16-inch tubing systems under natural gravity or a hybrid vacuum-assisted system.”

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance program serving all agricultural sectors 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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

March 2017: Evaluating 3/16” Maple Sap Tubing Sytems Under Natural-Flow And Artificial Vacuum Systems in NNY report

Northern NY; March 20, 2017.  Winter weather in recent years has created a variety of conditions for Cornell University researchers evaluating the cold weather hardiness of alfalfa crops. At the request of the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Dr. Julie L. Hansen and Dr. Donald R. Viands of the Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science are evaluating carefully-selected alfalfa varieties in trials at the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY. The preliminary results of this research have been recently posted at nnyagdev.org.

‘The harsh winter conditions typical in Northern New York make winter survival an essential trait in alfalfa variety selection for regional growers,’ says Hansen.

‘The ultimate goal of this research is to lesson winterkill losses of alfalfa, thereby reducing the money and time farmers lose to forage loss and reestablishment costs for this valuable perennial crop that feeds the dairy and livestock industries,’ notes Viands.

Growers have traditionally planted alfalfa varieties that produce less forage after the final harvesting of the growing season and prior to the onset of winter as those varieties have a typically shown better winter survival. Forage breeders, however, are working to develop alfalfa varieties that will produce both more forage into the fall season and have improved winter survival.

Data on the fall dormancy and winter survivability of six alfalfa varieties planted in 2015 and 2016 at Chazy is being correlated to the National Alfalfa and Miscellaneous Legume Variety Review Board standards that require winter survival ratings collected over either two years or two locations to be averaged.

The combined two-year evaluation of the 2015 and 2016 alfalfa trials in Northern New York creates a baseline index to help growers make a more well-informed decision about which alfalfa varieties might work best for their growing conditions and micro-climate areas.

To add to their data set, Hansen and Viands are separately analyzing the winter hardiness of alfalfa populations planted at Chazy for a brown root rot-resistance trial funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. That trial experienced a major winterkill in 2012, providing a small sampling of surviving plants for evaluation.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance grants program serving all agricultural sectors 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.