NNY Ag Development Program

Northern New York Agriculture

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NNYADP Economic Impact Report Posted

February 27, 2015: NNYADP Posts Economic Impact Report
Link to press release as pdf

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the economic impact report for its 2014 projects at www.nnyagdev.org. The program serves Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties with farmer-selected agricultural research and technical assistance projects.

Twenty-nine NNYADP–funded projects in 2014 included research focused on dairy and field crops production, crop and livestock pest and disease management, agricultural environmental management, beef production and marketing, and fruit and vegetable production.

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One NNYADP project showed promise of protecting strawberry crops with the application of the successful biocontrol treatment developed by Cornell entomologist Elson Shields, at left, with NNYADP funding to manage a highly-destructive alfalfa pest. The participating berry grower was suffering up to $30,000/year in economic loss to two types of weevils.

Shields’ protocol for using native NY nematodes to reduce alfalfa snout beetle that can destroy entire crops in one growing season was applied to nearly 10,000 acres of alfalfa in 2014, extending its value to dairy, livestock and cash crop farmers.

In a separate NNYADP project, Cornell researchers are gaining ground in selectively breeding alfalfa snout beetle-resistant alfalfa varieties. Alfalfa is valued by the dairy industry at $135/ton for milk production.

Corn and soybean growers in Northern New York and elsewhere in the state are welcoming the results of the NNYADP Corn & Soybean Disease Diagnosis and Assessment. Results are alerting farmers to react quickly newly-emerging and perennial crop problems. The regional corn and soybean industry is valued at $106.91 million.

NNYADP-funded research conducted by the Quality Milk Production Services Lab in Canton has begun identifying mastitis-causing contagions that appear to be becoming a new challenge to the $486.9 million dairy industry of NNY.

2cows722A 44 cents per cow per day gain in income over feed costs was the estimated benefit of the NNYADP project evaluating regional options for cost-effective, lower-starch feed options to replace corn in the dairy cow diet. This project was conducted by W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy.

Dairy and field crops projects in 2014 produced insights on how dairy operators can boost forage quality, feed digestibility, fiber balance, and the resulting milk per acre gain in production when that forage is fed to dairy cows. For example, participating farms saw more than a 110 percent gain in crop yield on eight fields in the research trials evaluating field-by-field nutrient use. The return in efficiently grown corn crops is expected to return as much as $4.15 per bushel in 2015.

The NNYADP economic report notes that one Northern NY dairy farmer who worked with crop advisor to implement the Adapt-N software that identified the level of nitrogen needed to grow corn estimates he saved $20,000 in fertilizer that was not needed.

The small livestock farmers who help drive the NNYADP asked for assistance in controlling a parasite that is a cause of high mortality in sheep and goats. On-farm NNYADP research conducted in 2014 is identifying strategies that work and treatments that are not effective for the NNY small livestock industry valued in excess of $679,000.

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One of the NNYADP fruit and vegetable projects in 2014 evaluated opportunities for high tunnel growers to extend their revenue opportunities with high value crops, including $8/lb basil, $16/lb ginger, and $3.50/lb. beans.

Vegetable growers are benefiting from NNYADP research and outreach on how to cope with leaf mold that impacts greenhouse and high tunnel production of tomatoes as a high value retail crop valued at an average of nearly $3500/acre according to the NNYADP economic impact report.

Precision apple orchard management work is improving fruit quality and harvest opportunities for the $16 million Northern New York apple industry.

NNYADP funds established the first Juneberry genetics nursery in New York State in Willsboro as the go-to research center for the ‘superfruit’ high in both nutritional value and consumer interest. The NNYADP report cites a pint of Juneberries retails for 20 percent more than a pint of blueberries

The NNYADP economic reports and project results are posted online at www.nnyagdev.org. Click on the boxes to the right on the home page for Economic Reports and Success Stories. Click on individual headings at the top of the page to find research reports in your interest area: Dairy, Crops, Livestock, Local Foods/Horticulture, Maple, and Bio-Energy.

 

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NNYADP: Farm Bureau Ag Priority Program

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is among the priority programs that NY Farm Bureau (NYFB) is encouraging State legislators to fund in the 2015-16 State Budget. NYFB recently sent a notice listing 13 of 35 programs it supports; NNYADP is on the longer list that advocates will be presenting in Albany on March 2-3.

On Monday, February 23, NYFB issued a call for support for NNYADP and other organizations not in the earlier mailing. The following link was provided in that email for expressing your support for funding renewal for NNYADP.

http://capwiz.com/nyfb/issues/alert/?alertid=64154016&type=ST&show_alert=1

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Growing Greens in Winter in NNY

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has funded season-extension production and high tunnel research to help NNY growers maximize profitability year’round. NNY CCE Horticulture Specialist Amy Ivy shares this look at Growing Greens in Winter in NNY: How we do it. . .

The first step is to use a full-sized high tunnel. You might think that a smaller tunnel would be easier to keep warm but in fact, the opposite is true. The large volume of air in a high tunnel acts as a buffer, warming up quickly on a sunny day and cooling down more slowly than the outside air at night.

Growers do need to pull covers over their plants every night and on cloudy days, whenever the sun isn’t out. These layers vary between single and double layers of rowcover, the spunbound fabric home gardeners use outdoors, and sometimes a sheet of plastic on top of that on the really cold nights.

Only the most cold-hardy crops will get through the winter without additional heat, but spinach, kale and various mustard greens do fine. Lettuce and chard are less hardy but do well in all but the coldest, darkest months of December, January and early February. By mid-February the days become long enough to really make a difference to winter crops in a tunnel.

Some growers may supply a small amount of heat, either through tubing in the soil much like household radiant floor heat, or with short term heat sources during the coldest weather such as a wood stove or a propane heater.

Another way growers in Northern New York produce winter crops is to plant two sets of crops. One set is planted in late August for harvesting all fall into December. The second set is planted in late September or early October, but will not be harvested until mid- to late February when the days are longer and new growth begins. This second set of crops grows enough in the fall to become established, and is then covered with a couple of layers of rowcover and left alone for the deepest part of winter. This crop is held in a sort of dormant, cold storage until February. Then, once the days lengthen and the sun becomes stronger, they are uncovered on the sunny days to resume growth and can be harvested from late February through spring.

This process of growing throughout the winter is far more complicated than I can fully explain here, but this overview gives you an idea of how it’s done. An excellent resource on this topic is The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman.

Locally-grown winter greens are available at the Winter Farmers Market in Plattsburgh, the first and third Saturdays at the Plattsburgh City Gym. For more information about the market and products available visit http://www.plattsburghfarmersmarket.com/. If you do not live near the Plattsburgh area, ask your local Extension office for winter markets in your area.

Click here for more information on NNYADP horticulture research projects in Northern New York

Contact Amy Ivy at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County; 518-561-7450, adi2@cornell.edu.

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Dairy Performance Workshops: 2/18, 2/19

Extension Dairy Performance Management Workshops: Feb. 18 in Malone, Feb. 19 in Canton

Cornell Cooperative Extension will present 10am-3pm workshops on performance management for dairy operators on Wednesday, February 18 in Malone and Thursday, February 19 in Canton. The workshops are targeted to dairy owners interested in learning more about leadership styles and qualities and how to put them to work to attract the right employees.

Presenters are Tom Mahoney with the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and University of Vermont Professor Emeritus Rick LeVitre, who is now executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Franklin County.

Workshop participants will discuss how to prepare a job description to attract the desired workers as well as techniques for documenting and positively disciplining problem employees. An Employee Handbook authored by Mahoney will be available for $7.

The Malone workshop will be held at the 911 Emergency Services Building on Bare Hill Road; the Canton workshop will be at the St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm.

The workshop fee includes lunch and is $30/person; details and registration are online at https://reg.cce.cornell.edu/Dairy_216. For more information, contact NNY Dairy Specialist Kim Morrill at 315-379-9192, kmm434@cornell.edu or Rick LeVitre at 518-483-7403,rlevitre@cornell.edu.