Keeseville, New York; March 28, 2022.  The movement of water and the nutrients it carries over and through soil is a complex process. To understand how the use of tile drainage influences that process, the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) and Miner Institute are collaborating on agricultural nutrient transport and water quality research of interest to conservationists and farmers locally, statewide, and nationally. The latest results of two projects collecting data year-round from side-by-side trials of tile-drained and undrained fields on a working farm are now posted at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2021-nnyadp-projects/.

“The farmers who guide the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program prioritized the development of a real-world, data-based foundation for creating and refining best management conservation and agricultural guidelines that can work in tandem to protect both water quality and crop production success,” said NNYADP Co-Chair Jon Greenwood, a dairy farmer in Canton, New York, in St. Lawrence County.

This research began with land provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; it has now evolved to trials under northern New York growing conditions on a working farm to provide real-time information on how nutrients move in undrained and tile-drained fields.

Laura Klaiber, a nutrient management researcher with Miner Institute, Chazy, New York, is the project leader. She has presented the progressive, detailed data collected during this research at regional, state, and national conferences of farmers, soil and crop scientists, agronomists, soil health specialists, and natural resource conservation and management professionals.

“The tiling of farm fields has received heightened scrutiny along Lake Champlain and watersheds throughout the nation due to concerns about how it may influence the amount of runoff and the levels of nutrients such as phosphorus or nitrogen that could be transported into nearby waters,” said Klaiber.

Klaiber is collecting surface runoff and tile drainage water samples and analyzing them for nutrient removal rates alongside field production data that measures fertilization and crop uptake of nitrogen and other nutrients.

She notes that there has been very little research nationwide that has focused on identifying the potential impact on water quality that may occur when the primary pathway of runoff changes from the surface to belowground.

“With these trials in northern New York, we now have data with promising and important implications for phosphorus reduction efforts; however, we need to better understand the connected processes associated with increased risk for nitrogen mobilization,” Klaiber explained.

The influence of changing weather patterns, extreme weather events, and farm management practices for such tasks as planting and harvesting are also part of Klaiber’s project work.

“With a changing climate and more frequent extreme weather events, growing conditions for farmers are now more challenging than ever. Research is critical to provide guidance that our farmers can use to adapt to these challenges and continue to grow high quality crops in a manner that also preserves our natural resources,” Klaiber noted.

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

March 21, 2022.  The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has posted the results of 18 high priority research projects aimed at advancing agricultural environmental conservation and the local foods, dairy, crops, maple, and livestock sectors, The projects were conducted in 2021 with $300,000 in funding from the New York State Legislature, which established the program to develop the potential of the northern New York region to be a farm-based economic powerhouse. The funding is administered through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Reports from the projects are posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provided land to start the NNYADP’s unprecedented agricultural tile drainage research. This water quality research is currently being conducted in side-by-side trials on a working farm and producing data that is sought-out by regional, Northeastern, and national conservation and agricultural groups. This groundbreaking work is supported by additional NNYADP research that is enhancing data-based precision agricultural nutrient management.

An NNYADP regional food hub feasibility study has prompted the startup of hubs serving broad audiences from sites in Essex, North Bangor, and Lyons Falls. Horticultural research is evaluating opportunities to extend fruit, berry and vegetable sales into the early spring and later fall seasons as well as year-round.

NNYADP climate adaptability and animal health projects are providing insights on the ways that dairy farmers can make cows and calves more comfortable during periods of extreme heat and extreme cold.

Among the first-ever research conducted in North America are the NNYADP’s recent field trials of European-bred forage crops; these crops support the dairy, equine, and livestock industries.

Research commissioned by the NNYADP has helped the region’s maple industry grow from $3.25 million in 2007, according to a Cornell University survey, to now more than $12 million annually with room yet to increase.

Current and past NNYADP research reports are publicly accessible at https://www.nnyagdev.org.

Lake Placid, N.Y.; March 4, 2022.  The latest results of maple research from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) may suggest a possible advantage of using quarter-inch tubing for sap collection vs. the current maple industry standard. The research is detailed in the “Alternative Maple Tubing That Prevents Clogging and Increases Sap Production” report posted under the Research: Maple tab at https://www.nnyagdev.org.

Maple research commissioned by the farmer-driven NNYADP has prompted the growth of the northern New York maple industry from $3.25 million in 2008, according to a Cornell University survey, to more than $12 million in 2019, with potential to reach a $15 million annual valuation. , which pilot tests the use of quarter-inch tubing to prevent clogging in sap collection lines was funded by the farmer-driven NNYADP and conducted at the Uihlein Maple Research Forest in Lake Placid, New York.

Although the early results of pilot testing of the use of quarter-inch tubing to prevent clogging in sap collection lines in 2020 and 2021 are promising, NNYADP maple project leader and Uihlein Maple Research Forest Director Adam D. Wild urges producers to be patient for more conclusive data.

“We don’t want to rush into promoting quarter-inch tubing until we are confident that plugging will not be an issue,” said Wild, who is monitoring the use of the quarter-inch tubing in gravity and vacuum sap collection systems during the 2022 maple season. Similar monitoring will be conducted again in 2023 before any conclusions can be drawn about use of the quarter-inch tubing.

Wild designed trials to address a clogging issue that producers have seen since a popular shift about 10 years ago to the use of three-sixteenths diameter tubing. Recent research has shown that sap production in a three-sixteenths tubing system drops off, due to plugging, as soon as the second year after installation.

The NNYADP trials compare sap production from quarter-inch tubing with three-sixteenths and five-sixteenths tubing as well as the ease of flow through the three sizes over multiple seasons. The larger opening in the quarter-inch line and fixtures are anticipated to make clogging less likely over time.

Quarter-inch diameter tubing, with almost twice the aperture of the three-sixteenths tubing that became popular with maple producers about ten years ago, is not currently available to maple producers. Wild adapted quarter-inch tubing used by other industries for use in these NNYADP research trials at Uihlein.

“We need to see the data to confirm our anticipation that plugging with not be an issue with the quarter-inch tubing. Over time, we would expect quarter-inch tubing would produce higher sap yields than three-sixteenths tubing and would be an alternative tubing option for producers using gravity-driven sap collection systems. The data from these Northern New York trials will tell us if that can be the case,” Wild said.

Wild has presented the results of this research to maple producers and extension educators across New York State and to the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association.

His advice to maple producers currently using three-sixteenths tubing is to follow best hygiene practices for maintaining sap flow through the narrower lines and fixtures.

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

Canton, New York; February 25, 2022.  Dairy worker e-learning pilot project research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) and conducted by Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS) shows a quantifiable gain in employee knowledge and associated implementation of best practices in the milking parlor. 244 dairy workers across 22 dairy farms in Northern New York have participated in this research since its inception in 2019. The NNYADP “E-Learning Training Systems as an Educational Approach for Dairy Workers” project reports for Phase I, II and III are posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

“The design, development, and on-farm testing of this web-based training system for dairy employees have produced objective data that demonstrates that the participating employees have comprehended the information presented and accordingly changed how they perform in the milking parlor and follow cow care procedures that help to ensure animal health and milk quality,” said project leader Paul D. Virkler, D.V.M., a veterinarian with Cornell Quality Milk Production Services, Canton, New York.

Focused on the most critical risk factors for mastitis, Virkler and his team created e-learning training modules addressing the highest priority areas related to milking parlor responsibilities, milking equipment operations, and dairy cow health.

In Phase III in 2021 participating dairy workers were assessed pre-training to identify their level of knowledge of how to properly perform the dry-off procedure as the cow transitions to not being milked for two months prior to having her calf. Virkler noted, “The pre-training assessment of dairy worker knowledge that provided a starting point for our module development also provides a guide for other dairy farms considering ways to improve their dry-off procedure.”

Phase III module sections address tasks such as administering teat sealants, collecting aseptic milk samples, intrammammary treatment, and determining saleable milk.

The NNYADP Phase III dairy e-learning project report is believed to be the first publication showing a pre-training quantification of educational need by dairy workers as related to the dry-off procedure.

Phase I of the project identified literacy and language barriers. Year two brought to light the challenge of workers lacking any experience with milking cows upon arrival at farms. Virkler’s team added bilingual read-aloud audio options in Phase II and asked farms to provide one hour of paid training time, both of which greatly improved worker completion rates to 100 percent in year two. Completion rate in year one was six percent.

The Phase III component on proper collection of aseptic milk samples for culturing dovetails with earlier NNYADP research and QMPS objectives related to more precisely targeting treatment for clinical mastitis to a specific cause to reduce unwarranted antibiotic use. 83 percent of the 60 participating workers in the Phase III training evaluation showed post-training improvement.

“This new e-learning training system can serve as a foundational tool to help dairy farms improve their operations and provide an alternative to face-to-face training. We hope the creation of this new way of training dairy workers will encourage farms to make it part of a broad, ongoing, on-farm educational culture for workers,” Virkler said.

Going forward, the Phase I and Phase II modules will be migrated to the Phase III platform that proved to be more user-friendly, allowing easier access for farms to all three modules.

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