Learn more about the new maple syrup grading system in this Watertown Times article by Steve Virkler and Martha Ellen. They talk with NNY Maple Specialist and Uihlein Maple Research Forest Director Michael Farrell, NNY regional maple producers and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County Executive Director Michele Ledoux. The new grading will start in 2015.

Click here to read about Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded maple research. The NNY region has a $10 million growth potential for maple syrup production.

 

 

American Agriculturist magazine has posted a story on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program early interseeding cover crops project. Click here to read more

Northern New York farmers are interested in properly and cost-effectively feeding their dairy cows. To help them evaluate economically-feasible replacements for corn grain in dairy rations, the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has provided funding to the William H. Miner Agricultural Institute to conduct a comprehensive inventory and analysis of accessible and appropriate dairy diet substitute products.

High corn prices are driving farmer interest in favor of feeding more high quality forage in place of grain to their cows.

‘This research is timely in responding to the need for farmers to reduce the use of corn in feed rations. Corn prices have reached all-time highs in recent years and although they may trend downward due to high yields in 2013, prices are expected to remain higher than historical averages,’ said Miner Institute President Dr. Rick Grant.

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Northern New York – Data to help Northern New York farmers select the varieties of legume and grass crops that are likely to grow best under NNY climate and soil conditions has been posted by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) at www.nnyagdev.org under Field Crops Research.

The 14-page 2013 New York Forage Legume and Grass Variety Yield Trials Summary reports on the 2013 edition of forage yield trials that are conducted each year in Northern New York, at Cornell University in Ithaca, and at locations elsewhere in New York State.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provided the funding for the NNY portion of the trials.

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The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has funded evaluation of the use of early interseeded crops to extend the value of corn and soybean fields on NNY farms.

Dr. Matthew Ryan, a Cornell University Assistant Professor of Sustainable Cropping Systems, worked with two farms in the Northern New York region to evaluate the use of interseeding equipment and crops that farmers have not traditionally used as cover crops.

“This Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research took a different approach in that we seeded other species including legume cover crops earlier in the year (July) directly into the corn or soybean fields,” Ryan says.

This NNYADP-funded research is contributing to a larger project with 20 other trial sites located from Maryland to Vermont.

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