The 2022 New York and Vermont Corn Silage Hybrid Evaluation Program report is now available. The program is a collaboration by Cornell University and the University of Vermont. The reporting for 2022 includes trial data from Willsboro in Northern New York.

See the following links for:
. the full 2022 season evaluation report
. 2022 season summary with a quick glance table for maturity groups 80-95 days RM and 96-110 days RM and more data
. links to the 2022 and past seasons’ corn silage hybrid evaluation reports
. forage systems information from the Cornell PRO-DAIRY program.

Photo courtesy of Joe Lawrence, Cornell PRO-DAIRY dairy forage systems specialist.

Results from the latest Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) maple research projects will be presented at the Making the Most of Maple workshop on Saturday, December 3, 2022, in Lowville, New York. Northern New York Maple Specialist Adam Wild, director of the Uihlein Maple Research Forest at Lake Placid, will be joined by Cornell University’s Statewide Maple Specialist Aaron Wightman and Cornell Maple Program Product Development Food Scientist Catherine Belisle, Ph.D., as workshop presenters. The 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. workshop will be held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County Learning Center, 7395 East Road, Lowville. Contact CCE at 315-376-5270 to reserve your space by November 30.

During the workshop, Wild will preview the results of his 2022 NNYADP project investigation the feasibility of producing sap from American beech trees for syrup production. Sugarmakers want to know if tapping beech trees can be economically worthwhile, while land managers and biodiversity advocates are interested to learn if beech syrup production might give northern forest owners an incentive to keep the beech trees despite issues with beech bark disease and a root system that threatens to crowd out more marketable species.

Wild will also present follow-up results of NNYADP-funded trials of 1/4-inch sap collection tubing and fixtures. Data has shown that sap in 3/16s’ diameter tubing systems can drop off due to clogging as soon as the second year after installation.

NNYADP-prioritized maple research has supported the growth of the northern New York maple industry from a documented $3.25 million annual valuation in 2008 to now more than $20 millin per year with room yet to grow.

NNYADP maple research has included:
. 2008 study of the growth potential of the regional maple industry
. climate adaptation trials
. how to build producer-landowner collaborations
. a cost-benefit analysis of leasing trees for tapping versus lumber harvest
. the cloning of NNY sweet maple trees, and
. ways to increase sap yield and profitability for both gravity-fed and vacuum-pressure systems. Learn more under the Research: Maple, Birch and Honey tab on this website.

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

DECEMBER 1, 2022, 12 pm-1 pm Webinar
Economic Feasibility Case Study of Co-Digestion of Manure and Food Waste on a NNY Dairy Farm: A Project Funded by the NNYADP
Register at https://cals.cornell.edu/co-digestion-webinar

Speakers with Cornell PRO-DAIRY: Agricultural Sustainability & Energy Engineer Lauren Ray, Agricultural Engineer Peter Wright; moderators: CCE NCRAT Regional Dairy Specialist Lindsay Ferlito, Cornell PRO-DAIRY Dairy Environmental Systems Specialist Angela George.
Presentation: Food waste sources and tipping fees, biogas generation and utilization for energy, and digested effluent storage and nutrient management planning will be covered. Q & A session included. Scenario 1:  Addition of food waste (20% by volume) to existing manure anaerobic digester to electricity system. Scenario 2: New construction anaerobic digester to renewable natural gas (RNG) system taking in food waste (up to 50% by volume) with manure.

Final NNYADP project report: Economic Feasibility Case Study of Co-Digestion of Manure and Food Waste on a NNY Dairy Farm will be posted in the spring on this website.

Willsboro, NY; August 2, 2022.  “Super fruits” research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) in 2021 produced “firsts” for all four fruits studied: juneberry, honeyberry, aronia, and elderberry. Data on first fruit, earliest flowerings, and a first planting are reported in the NNYADP “Establishing New Commercial Fruit Crops for Northern NY” report for 2021 posted under the Research: Horticultural and Local Foods tab at https://www.nnyagdev.org.

“Our goal with this research is to identify specialty fruits that will successfully, sustainably, and profitably grow under northern New York’s unique growing conditions to provide growers with additional income opportunities,” says project co-leader Michael H. Davis, Ph.D.

JUNEBERRY
Davis manages the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, New York, where this high-antioxidant, high-phytonutrient “super fruits” research began in 2013 with the establishment of wild-cut and commercial varieties of juneberry, with the help of project co-leader Michael B. Burgess, Ph.D., a SUNY Plattsburgh biologist and noted juneberry researcher. There are now 24 commercial, ornamental or wild varieties of juneberry in the NNYADP trials.

“In 2021, for the first time, we had ripe juneberry fruit by the end of June. The fruit was available the earliest it has ever been here with yield comparable to 2020,” Davis says.

HONEYBERRY
Blue honeyberry research at Willsboro was started in 2018 to evaluate how well this perennial that is well-adapted to cold climates could fit into northern New York growers’ cropping plans.

“In 2021, all 15 varieties of honeyberries here flowered much earlier and for a  longer time period than in 2020,with flowering taking place from the second week of April through the second week of May. Additionally,  we recorded our first honeyberry fruit yields in 2021,” Davis points out.

Although the honeyberry plants in the NNYADP trial are still young and the yields are not indicative of mature plant production potential, this early flowering data establishes a baseline for tracking the plants’ maturation as they grow. 

ARONIA
Production of Aronia in North America has grown to support a multi-million dollar industry offering more than 60 unique value-added products. Aronia plantings were established in the NNYADP trials at the Willsboro farm in 2017.

“In 2021, our four fruiting varieties and two ornamental varieties of Aronia all began flowering on May 14, fifteen days earlier than in 2020, and had excellent fruit yields with one exception for which there was not obvious explanation for the dropoff,” Davis notes.

ELDERBERRY
With 95 percent of the elderberries consumed in the U.S. originating from plants imported from Europe, this fruit is not only a high-phytonutrient value crop, but also has the potential to become a cash crop, supporting the continued growth of elderberry production in the U.S.

“In 2021, we established our elderberry research plot with five American varieties and two European varieties. The plants are doing nicely without any disease or insect problems in their first year here,” Davis says.

Commercial fruit growers and family farms across the northern New York region are applying the NNYADP research results, making their own on-farm “super fruit” plantings and providing input from their personal growing experiences to help characterize how well the fruits will fit into different cropping plans, soils, and conditions.

New York farms supporting the research in 2021 include Bush Gardens, Carthage; Cedar Knoll Farm, Lowville; Cross Island Farms, Wellesley Island; Essex Farm CSA, Essex; Northern Orchards, Peru; and Strong Roots Community Farm, Akwesasne.

“Interest in this Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded northern climate fruits research continues to grow,” Davis says. “In 2021, we answered numerous requests for information from growers across New York State; welcomed visiting groups of farmers, gardeners, and students to tour the fruit trials; and, in January of 2022, presented an ‘Introduction to Juneberry Production’ at the New York State Fruit and Vegetable Expo.”

Cornell University Horticulture Professor Dr. Marvin Pritts served as a project collaborator in 2021.

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