NNYADP Water Quality Research: The Impact of Combined Cropland Management Practices

Project update will be presented to American Societies of Agronomy, Crop Science and Soil Science in November

Peru, New York; October 22, 2024.  How do specific cropland management practices impact water quality stewardship on tile-drained farmland? That is a question that newly focused research by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is evaluating. Miner Institute Nutrient Management Researcher Laura Klaiber is conducting research evaluating three different cropping practices to characterize their combined effect on water quality. Field trials are underway on tile-drained land under no-till corn production with a winter cover crop.

Klaiber will present an update on this research at the November 10-13, 2024 join meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America in San Antonio, Texas.

Tile drainage helps support corn production on poorly draining soils. No-till practices over time help improve the soil structure in previously heavily-tilled fields. Cover crops filter surface and ground water, add organic matter to the soil, reduce weeds, and sequester carbon in the soil. Fall-planted cover crops provide a winter covering and can hold nutrients during spring snow melt. The new NNYADP research is collecting data on the combination of these practices.

“This first phase of the new research in northern New York is looking at whether specific farming practices are achieving the intended environmental quality benefits,” Klaiber says.

The desired benefits reduce the loss of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from tiled fields into nearby waters.

“Our field trials provide the opportunity to compare data sets on nutrient retention and egress from untiled land, previously tiled land, and, now, from previously-untiled land with newly-installed tile,” Klaiber explains.

Working Dairy Farm Hosts Side-by-Side Trials
A working dairy farm in Peru, New York, has hosted tile-drainage research trials since 2016. The side-by-side trials utilize two fields of the same soil type, specifically poorly draining silt loam. Until 2023, one field was tiled, one untiled. Data generated from the field tiled in 2023 will be compared to its own seven-year untiled dataset and to the data from its sister field that was first tiled in 2016. The farmer is applying the same cropping practices to both fields going forward.

The data sets include measures of nitrogen and phosphorus, total surface and subsurface runoff, and total suspended solids as an indication of soil erosion. The data will be correlated with local storm events.

Agronomist Mike Contessa of Champlain Valley Agronomics, Peru, NY, is a project collaborator. Contessa notes, “This research is essential for showing how we can adopt better farming practices while minimizing nutrient loss and improving water management. By closely monitoring how tile drainage, no-till systems, and cover crops work together, we can create more resilient, environmentally-friendly farming systems that benefit both producers and the environment.”

“A broad range of audiences, including agricultural producers, water resource managers, and the public, is interested in learning about how the ways we manage our land influence how nutrients and sediment moves through soil, surface water, and ground water,” Klaiber adds.

The next report on this NNYADP agricultural environmental research will be posted in the spring of 2025 at nnyagdev.org. Previous trial reports are also posted there.

The NNYADP has cover crop variety and breeding selection trials underway to develop a cover crop most well suited to northern climate regions with shorter growing season, harsh winters, and unpredictable weather in the spring planting and fall harvesting windows.

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

NNYADP-Funded Research Trials Evaluating Farmers’ Fall Planting Questions

September 6, 2024.  Research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is addressing challenges raised by a regional focus group interested in the potential benefits of fall-planted cover crops.

“The focus group of regional farmers and agribusinesses expressed a need to identify cover crop varieties that will establish well specifically in northern New York’s colder soil and have increased winter season hardiness after a late fall planting in the region,” said project leader Dr. Virginia Moore, Ph.D., of the Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science, Ithaca, New York.

Since the fall season of 2022, with NNYADP grant support, Dr. Moore and Dr. Julie L. Hansen, Ph.D., a plant breeding and genetics specialist with Cornell University, have been collecting data from cover crop trials on working dairy and vegetable farms in Clinton and Lewis counties, at Miner Institute in Chazy, the Willsboro Research Farm, and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm in St. Lawrence County.

Fall-planted cover crops help reduce soil erosion and nutrient runoff, filter surface and ground water, add organic matter to the soil, reduce weeds and pests, and sequester carbon in the soil. However, Northern New York’s short growing season, climate conditions, and at times wet soil conditions pose barriers to the regional adoption of fall-planted cover crops.

The cover crop being evaluated is cereal rye. Dr. Hansen explains, “Cereal rye is the most common cover crop due to its unparalleled biomass production, weed suppression, and growth under colder climate conditions.”

The data being collected from the NNYADP cereal rye research plantings include soil composition, seedling emergence after various planting dates, winter survival, plant vigor, growth, the biomass of the cereal rye crop, and the weed pressure in the plots.

The fall planting dates in the trials across two year have ranged from September 25^th to November 6^th.

The Northern New York farmers participating in the trials will be surveyed in 2025 for feedback on results to date. Project collaborators include Happy Haven Farm in Mooers, New York; Dyer Farms in Plattsburgh, New York; Pominville Farms in Croghan, New York; Cornell University field crops; soils and dairy specialists; and personnel with the Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Clinton and Lewis counties.

Additional research is underway at breeding nurseries initiated at the Willsboro Research Farm, the Homer C. Thompson Vegetable Research Farm in Freeville, New York, and at the University of Minnesota: St. Paul. At those sites, Dr. Moore and Ph.D. student Raksha Thapa are selectively breeding cereal rye varieties with improved ability to emerge in colder soils and to produce sufficient biomass when planted in late fall. The crop populations at the breeding nursery sites are crosses of northern-adapted cereal rye varieties and southern-adapted and alleopathic breeding lines of cereal rye.

The NNYADP trial data are provided to a national Cover Crop Breeding Network, led by Dr. Moore, to broaden national-level field-based knowledge in support of cover crop improvement.

The 2022 and 2023 project reports for this cover crop research are publicly accessible at www.nyyagdev.org.

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

Click here to read the 2023 NNYADP cereal rye cover crop trials report

2025 NNYADP Request for Project Proposals are Due by October 30, 2024

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is pleased to announce its small grants program for 2025. Funds from this program will support projects that focus on research, education, and technical assistance in support of the agricultural production sectors in the six-county Northern New York region: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence counties. 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. For 2025, $300,000 in small grants will be provided through a contract with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets per the 2023-2024 New York State budget.

Click on the links below for more information and application form
2025 NNYADP Research Ideas List (pdf)
2025 NNYADP RFP/Grant Application Form (doc)
2025 NNYADP RFP Project Budget Form (doc)

Click here to see WWNY TV 7 Morning Reporter Emily Griffin’s Ag Weekly feature on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program and Miner Institute research on how to keep dairy cows cool and producing well during periods of climatic heat stress.

Click here to read the full project report on the before and after comparison of fans on a regional dairy farm.

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

Willsboro, New York; August 7, 2024.  The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has published production data and enterprise budgets analyzing melons as an alternative crop for farms with high tunnels. This research is one of NNYADP’s horticultural projects evaluating opportunities to diversify crop options for spring-to-fall season extension and year-round local foods production.

Regional Vegetable Specialist Elisabeth Hodgdon, Ph.D., and Agricultural Business Development and Marketing Specialist Lindsey Pashow with Cornell University compared the use of two vertical trellising systems – a double leader system and a mesh netting system – to untrellised production in a 30-foot by 96-foot unheated high tunnel. The trial was hosted at the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, New York.

Two varieties of miniature muskmelon, “Sugar Cube” and “Tasty Bites,” were grown using each system and organic production methods, including the use of pest exclusive netting and beneficial insects, including bumblebees, parasitoid wasps, and ladybeetles.

A May 18^th frost stunted the first planting. After reseeding, transplants were moved to the high tunnel on July 6, 2023. The melons on the trellising systems were pruned and clipped for six weeks until they reached the high tunnel rafters in late August.

The melons were harvested two to three times per week beginning in early September and harvest continued until the first fall frost on October 30^th. Marketable yield ranged from four to six marketable fruit with weights ranging from 7.28 pounds to 9.51 pounds per plant.

“Plants harvested in the untrellised system were harvested slightly earlier than with the trellising treatments, which can be beneficial to farms interested in being the first to market with a particular crop,” Pashow noted.

Six enterprise budgets were calculated to identify gross and net income for each variety grown under each of the three systems. Total market weight, yield, and unmarketable melon numbers were all considered in calculating income opportunity. The income potential was compared with the income estimates in studies by Pennsylvania State University and Iowa State University for the popular high tunnel-grown crops of tomatoes and cucumbers.

The net income range of $1,184.43 to $2,835.66 calculated for the melon production systems in northern New York was compared with rough net income potential in studies by Pennsylvania State University and Iowa State University for the popular high tunnel crops of tomatoes ($1,374.00) and cucumbers ($2,550.00).

“While our data suggests that melons likely will not replace tomatoes and cucumbers in a high tunnel system, they may be a valuable addition to a farm’s high tunnel cropping plan. Growers must compare the various aspects of the data from this trial and decide whether the addition of melon production is a good fit for their farm,” Dr. Hodgdon said.

Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., and Cornell Vegetable Specialist Judson Reid collaborated on the project; program aide Jennifer Stanton assisted with harvest and trial data collection. Click here to read the complete report for this project.

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