October 2, 2017.  The 2017 corn harvest in Northern New York is providing data to researchers with a grant from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program to compare forage quality and yield between 2 distinct types of corn.

“We are interested to see if yields for the 2017 crop will continue to show no consistent difference between the BMR and non-BMR hybrids grown for silage,” said project leader Eric O. Young, research agronomist at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, N.Y.

“In our regional trials to date, the BMR hybrids have had a distinct advantage in fiber digestibility and, therefore, milk production potential,” Young added.

Brown MidRib, or BMR, corn has a naturally-occurring genetic variation that producers higher fiber digestibility that, in turn, increases the milk production potential of dairy cows. However, farmers are concerned that BMR corn may not yield as well as non-BMR corn hybrids.

“Until this project funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program there has been relatively little research evaluating performance among brown midrib hybrids and non-BMR hybrids with respect to yield and forage quality,” Young notes.

The research in Northern NY includes two commercially-available BMR hybrids currently on the market.

Data from the 2017 harvest will be compared with trial results with 5 corn hybrids grown at 2 farm sites in 2015 and 2016.

Crop samples are evaluated for yield, digestibility, percent dry matter, acidity, starch and other components, silage fermentation and quality after harvest.

Young notes, “The differences in yield, starch, and fiber digestibility all have important implications for dairy ration formulation and farm economics. Our early results in the Northern New York trials have shown clear difference sin fiber digestibility related to corn hybrid genetics.”

This research provides a data foundation for analyzing the potential milk production impact of using BMR and non-BMR hybrids in the dairy cow total mixed ration.

The 2015 and 2016 NNY BMR evaluation reports are posted on this Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funds agricultural research and technical assistance in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

BMR-Non BMR Year 2 Report, Table 7: uNDF
BMR-Non BMR Year 1 Report

NNYADP Apple Pest Research Equipping Growers for Quality Harvest

Northern NY; September 5, 2017.  Technical assistance and outreach funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is informing commercial apple growers in the northeastern region of New York State to effectively manage key orchard pests.

Cornell Cooperative Extension educators with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program received funding to help apple growers identify apple pests and learn their life cycles.

The educators also provided assistance with pest scouting and trapping and education on integrated pest management (IPM) that uses computerized modeling to guide orchard treatments when pest pressure reaches economic damage thresholds.

When pest counts are low, growers save time, labor and money by eliminating orchard treatments.

Applying IPM practices also pays off at harvest. The apples grown under the IPM practices in Northern New York orchards in 2016 were harvested at 96.6 percent Extra Fancy grade quality.

The Identification and Grower Education of Key Pests in NNY Apple Orchards project report posted on this website indicates that apple growers are making good use of IPM practices to specifically target such orchard pests as apple maggot and codling moth.

“The application of IPM in small orchard blocks in 2015 was so successful that growers applied the practices to entire orchard blocks in 2016, and they are continuing to do so in 2017,” said Michael Basedow, a tree fruit specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program.

Pest activity varies from orchard to orchard and year to year. Compared to other areas of the state, the cooler climate of Northern New York generally delays pest emergence by 7 to 14 days making real-time monitoring a critical activity for apple growers.

“Diligence in scouting and trapping helps growers quickly identify and respond to specific pests in their orchards,” Basedow explained.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provided funding to continue educational outreach and technical assistance for regional apple growers in 2017.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides research and technical assistance to the six northernmost counties of New York State: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence. Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Identification & Grower Education of Key Pests in NNY Apple Orchards: Report
Appendix

 

David Fisher, NY Farm Bureau President and a member of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program farmer committee, will be honored with Lou Ann King of Mapleview Dairy, Madrid, NY, with a PRO-DAIRY Agriservice Award. The award will be presented to Fisher and King by NYS Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball and PRO-DAIRY Director Thomas Overton at the Great NYS Fair tomorrow (Thursday, August 31). The awards recognize outstanding contributions to NYS agriculture through support of the PRO-DAIRY program.

An announcement from PRO-DAIRY notes: “The Mapleview Dairy partners have been exceptionally involved in dairy industry leadership at the local, regional and statewide levels in New York. They are a role model for leadership in the industry and pro-active approaches to business management, environmental and herd management practices, and issues including employee health and safety.”

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted its 2018 grant announcement and application at www.nnyagdev.org.

Proposals are sought for projects to address the agricultural challenges and opportunities unique to the six northernmost counties of New York State. A list of farmer-generated research ideas focused on field crops, dairy, horticulture, livestock, local foods, and maple production is posted with the grant application.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The 2017-2018 State Budget provides $600,000 for NNYADP projects in 2018.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides research and technical assistance to farmers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Past projects funded by the program have helped regional farmers enhance production efficiency, reduce costs, develop new product and marketing opportunities, and support the sustainability of farm businesses, local economies, and agricultural environmental stewardship. The results of past research projects are posted on this website.

Note: The application form was updated at 10 am on August 31, 2017; please use the links below to prepare for application.
RFP: Request for Proposals Grant Information
Application Form with Budget due by Oct 23, 2017
Research Ideas (doc) (PDF)

 

 

NNYADP-Funded Research Evaluates Summer Heat Relief for Dairy Cows

Chazy, NY.  Summer heat in New York State has been estimated to cost the dairy industry $23 million a year in total economic losses that include decreased milk production, decreased milk components, and impact on animal health and reproduction.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funded research by the William  H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, NY, to assess ways to help cows adjust to the hottest days of the year. The final report on different types of heat abatement systems for dairy cows is posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

“Our investigation evaluated the impact of different heat abatement systems on the cows and milk production under Northern New York summer climate conditions for insight on the best ways to keep cows comfortable and healthy and to maintain milk yield in times of heat stress,” said Miner Institute Director of Research Katie Ballard.

The project worked with three groups of Holstein cows at Minter Institute from June 10 through August 28, 2016. The types of heat abatement systems evaluated included the use of fans, an evaporative cooling system with water nozzles attached to fans, and different bedding types.

The cooling measures were applied in different settings, including barns, feed alleys and milking parlors.

The research team recorded temperature and humidity for each group every 15 minutes, wind speed in feed alleys and bedding areas, the amount of time the cows were standing and lying, and milk production for each cow. Milk samples were analyzed for fat, protein and other components which draw premium income.

“The higher producing cows appear to be more sensitive to heat stress. Providing maximum heat abatement measures over stalls and feed alleys helped keep the cows more comfortable, hold milk production steadier, and maintain milk fat percentage,” Ballard noted.

The results of the project will be presented at the 2018 American Dairy Science Association meeting in Knoxville, TN.  Results of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded dairy calf heat stress relief research conducted by Miner Institute were presented at the 2017 American Dairy Science Association meeting.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research on heat stress and its impact on dairy cattle performance continues in 2017 on four commercial dairies in Clinton and Franklin counties.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides research and technical assistance to farmers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.