NNYADP Research Evaluating Dairy Forage Option with Alfalfa-Grass Combinations

Northern NY; May 25, 2016.   The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the results of a 2013-2015 research project evaluating ways to improve dairy cattle forage options, specifically with alfalfa-grass combination crops.

Project leader and Cornell University Soil and Crop Sciences Professor Jerry H. Cherney says, “Research to identify the best combinations of alfalfa and grass for regional growing conditions will help dairy farmers maximize forage quality to support milk production.”

Alfalfa-grass mix crops are popular as forage for dairy cattle in the Northeastern U.S, especially so in northern New York where more than 95 percent of the alfalfa acreage is planted as an alfalfa-grass mix.

Cherney cites Cornell University and University of Wisconsin research trials that concluded alfalfa-grass forage fed to dairy cows can result in as much milk production as feeding pure alfalfa.

“An alfalfa-grass survey we conducted in New York State in 2015 showed a range of grass species planted, and a very wide range in seeding rates for both alfalfa and grass, well outside recommended rates,” Cherney notes.

NNYADP-funded trials planted in 2013-2015 at Miner Institute in Chazy, NY, and at the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, NY, provided initial data on eight grass cultivars. Those trials showed the severe impact that northern New York winter weather can have on crops.

The grass plantings in the early trials in NNY, however, averaged 3.5 percentage units higher in neutral detergent fiber digestibility, NDFD, a measure of the feed value of forage crops. High NDFD forages encourage dairy cows to eat well to meet their daily energy needs.

“With new higher quality grass options and several new types of high quality alfalfa available, we want to test various combinations on farms to develop the best planting and management strategies for the dairy industry,” Cherney says.

In 2016, Cherney is overseeing trials on NNY dairy farms to continue the search for the best alfalfa-grass combinations and management practices for the northern New York state climate and growing conditions.

Cherney is particularly focused on meadow fescue, which is winter hardy, as an option for alfalfa-grass stands. He will plant two new meadow fescue cultivars recently developed in Wisconsin in the 2016 field trials funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

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. NNYADP economic impact reports, project reports, and resource links are posted on nnyagdev.org.

More than 100 farmers provide input to the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program on dairy, crops, fruit, greenhouse, livestock, maple and vegetable production.

Photo above:
NNYADP-funded research by Cornell University is evaluating winter-hardy grass-alfalfa crop combinations in support of the dairy industry. In this photo, USDA researchers examine frost-stressed forage in West Virginia, 500 miles south of New York’s harsher northern winters. Photo: Peggy Greb, USDA

 

 

 

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.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has received $600,000 in the 2016-17 New York State Budget to support on-farm research and technical assistance in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

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

“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 boos 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 said, “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.

More than 100 farmers serve as committee members with the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

“State funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is the economic engine that drives critical on-farm research and the practical application of results that make farms more efficient, productive, profitable and sustainable,” said Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Co-Chair Jon Greenwood.

“We appreciate the investment New York State makes in keeping agriculture in Northern New York strong and the farmers who guide the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program proactively select on-farm research that returns on that investment both immediately and long-term,” said Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Co-Chair Joe Giroux, a dairy farmer in Clinton County.

“The funding secured by our North Country legislative and agricultural committee leaders provides the regional farmers who guide the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program the opportunity to identify and prioritize real-world field trials and on-farm research for attention. The results help us manage increasing challenges with best practices and keep agriculture economically strong for our communities, the region and the state,” said Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Co-Chair Jon Rulfs, a dairy farmer and fruit grower in Clinton County.

Recent NNYADP research has included evaluation of newly emerging causes of mastitis in dairy cows, the economic opportunities of non-traditional crops for high tunnel longer-season production and sales, and developing birch syrup production as a niche marketing opportunity for NNY sugarmakers.

 

Twenty-six NNYADP projects now underway in 2016 include research on disease resistance in cherry tomatoes, management practices for reducing heat stress in dairy cows and calves, and ways to increase bee health management.

The Northern New York agricultural industry represents total farm product sales valued at more than $750 million and a farm worker payroll that nearly doubled over 2007 data to $67.1 million, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) projects span all sectors from dairy, crops and livestock to fruit, vegetable and maple production and agricultural environmental stewardship.

The January 2016 economic impact report on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, a list of 2016 NNYADP projects, research reports, and event notices are online at www.nnyagdev.org.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research on alfalfa snout beetle management is featured in a two-page article by Dave Natzke in the April 2016 issue of Progressive Forage Grower. Click here to read Northern New York fighting alfalfa snout beetle, naturally.

“MEASURE” is Message from Cornell Crop Nutrient Researcher at NNYADP Meetings

Northern NY. “Measure yield” is the number one thing growers can do to help themselves improve crop production Dr. Quirine M. Ketterings told farmers attending the 2016 Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) annual meetings.

“To improve management of crops, we have to do a better job with measuring yield and crop response. Field-to-field and year-to-year management records are needed for an analysis of what management alternatives can enhance versus limit crop production,” said Ketterings, director of the Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program.

“Northern New York has seen an upward trend in corn silage and grain production . . .

Read more and learn Dr. Ketterings’ other suggestions for cropping success.