Northern NY; March 23, 2017.   The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the latest research results from NNY Maple Specialist Michael Farrell, director of the Cornell Uihlein Research Forest in Lake Placid, NY. Farrell evaluated the production efficiencies of two sizes of maple sap tubing in gravity-based collection systems. The “Evaluating 3/16” Maple Sap Tubing Systems Under Natural-Flow and Artificial Vacuum Systems in NNY” report is posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

Newly-developed 3/16-inch interior diameter tubing has been suggested as a way to achieve greater and easier natural vacuum pressure drawing sap from the taphole in the maple tree. Each additional inch of vacuum results in an average increase of five to seven percent more sap.

The research trials hosted by Dr. Sam Yancey in Croghan, Lewis County; Chateaugay High School FFA in Franklin County; Sweeter Creations Sugarhouse at Madrid, NY, in St. Lawrence County; and Paul Smith’s College in Franklin County, in addition to those at the Uihlein Research Forest in Essex County, compared the use of 3/16-inch with 5/16-inch sap collection tubing.

Farrell cautions that his 2016 report offers a first-year trial evaluation and that multiple years of data are needed to draw a firm conclusion. He notes, “This initial research demonstrated the effectiveness of utilizing 3/16-inch tubing systems and-or 3/16-inch droplines within an existing 5/16-inch tubing system to add production efficiency to collecting maple sap.”

The research at the Uihlein Research Forest included switching out the traditional 5/16-inch tubing system with new 3/16-inch tubing in an existing artificially-pumped vacuum tubing system. The 2016 results were promising, leading to an average increase of approximately 5 percent more sap at a lower installation cost. Research there will continue to determine how the system will perform over time.

“Our work now is to evaluate the consistency of the efficiency of this tubing over multiple years,” Farrell says. “Some producers want to know if the smaller diameter tubing is more likely to plug, while early-adopter producers are already interested in technical assistance for converting to or installing new 3/16-inch tubing systems under natural gravity or a hybrid vacuum-assisted system.”

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance program serving all agricultural sectors 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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

March 2017: Evaluating 3/16” Maple Sap Tubing Sytems Under Natural-Flow And Artificial Vacuum Systems in NNY report

Northern NY; March 20, 2017.  Winter weather in recent years has created a variety of conditions for Cornell University researchers evaluating the cold weather hardiness of alfalfa crops. At the request of the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Dr. Julie L. Hansen and Dr. Donald R. Viands of the Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science are evaluating carefully-selected alfalfa varieties in trials at the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY. The preliminary results of this research have been recently posted at nnyagdev.org.

‘The harsh winter conditions typical in Northern New York make winter survival an essential trait in alfalfa variety selection for regional growers,’ says Hansen.

‘The ultimate goal of this research is to lesson winterkill losses of alfalfa, thereby reducing the money and time farmers lose to forage loss and reestablishment costs for this valuable perennial crop that feeds the dairy and livestock industries,’ notes Viands.

Growers have traditionally planted alfalfa varieties that produce less forage after the final harvesting of the growing season and prior to the onset of winter as those varieties have a typically shown better winter survival. Forage breeders, however, are working to develop alfalfa varieties that will produce both more forage into the fall season and have improved winter survival.

Data on the fall dormancy and winter survivability of six alfalfa varieties planted in 2015 and 2016 at Chazy is being correlated to the National Alfalfa and Miscellaneous Legume Variety Review Board standards that require winter survival ratings collected over either two years or two locations to be averaged.

The combined two-year evaluation of the 2015 and 2016 alfalfa trials in Northern New York creates a baseline index to help growers make a more well-informed decision about which alfalfa varieties might work best for their growing conditions and micro-climate areas.

To add to their data set, Hansen and Viands are separately analyzing the winter hardiness of alfalfa populations planted at Chazy for a brown root rot-resistance trial funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. That trial experienced a major winterkill in 2012, providing a small sampling of surviving plants for evaluation.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance grants program serving all agricultural sectors 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.

Northern NY; February 28, 2017.  Delicate grape varieties do not do well under harsh winter weather in Northern New York, so the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has funded research on cold-climate grape varieties to support increasing in interest in NNY-grown table grapes and wines. An update on the most recent work will be offered at the 2nd Northeast NY and Vermont Winter Grape School on March 9, 2017 at the Holiday Inn in Lake George, NY. Registration information is online at https://enych.cce.cornell.edu or call 518-410-6823.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the latest Evaluation of Cold-Hardy Grape Varieties for Production in Northern New York report at www.nnyagdev.org. The report summarizes work in 2016 to revitalize the cold-climate grape nursery at the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, NY.

Input from regional growers, private grape breeders, and representatives of the Cornell-USDA and University of Minnesota grape breeding programs was collected and winnowed to a list of 20 potential new varieties for planting at the research nursery. The list includes varieties from the Cornell and Minnesota programs, one each from the USDA ARS grape breeding trials in California and at the University of Arkansas, and from Ontario, Canada, and private breeders.

Removal of old vines, soil testing, and replenishing the soil health at the nursery are among the preparatory work in anticipation of the new planting. The Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program plans to hire a grape specialist to oversee the research planting.

 

Outreach educational programs on cold-hardy grape production research in 2016 reached groups of more than 60 grape growers and winemakers.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a research and technical assistance program serving all agricultural sectors 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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Northern New York; February 20, 2017. Two soybean diseases not previously confirmed in Northern New York crops were identified in 2016 by the annual corn and soybean disease survey and assessment funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. The proactive disease assessment program helps protect the security and profitability of corn and soybean, two major agricultural crops for the Northern New York region.

Survey project leader and Cornell University plant pathologist Dr. Gary C. Bergstrom, Ithaca, NY, notes, “The unusually dry conditions of the 2016 growing season resulted in very low disease pressure for corn and soybeans in general across Northern New York, but provided a unique environment which favored the development of some soybean soil-borne diseases never before confirmed in the region.”

The soil-borne charcoal rot and Phythophthora root rot were confirmed in soybean in Northern New York for the first time in 2016. Fusarium root rot was first diagnosed in soybean in the region in 2015 and was present again in 2016. Northern stem canker was first identified in soybeans in Northern New York in 2014 and in 2015 and 2016.

Northern corn leaf blight was observed at relatively low levels in NNY cornfields in 2016. Bergstrom suggests regional growers plant corn hybrids with moderate resistance to the disease in 2017. Northern corn leaf blight has been identified as the most prevalent disease affecting corn production every year since this survey effort began in 2013. It occurred at its lowest levels, however, in 2016.

Prior to 2013 no systematic assessment of corn and soybean diseases had been made in the region for decades. Bergstrom is urging Northern New York growers to be alert to a potential resurgence of corn head smut which has not been a major concern in the region since the 1980s but was identified in crops in the western part of the area in 2014 and 2015.

Fifty-six farms located across the six-county Northern New York region participated in the 2016 survey. Cornell University Cooperative Extension Field Crop Specialists Mike Hunter and Kitty O’Neil noted disease symptoms and collected samples for analysis by the Bergstrom Lab at Cornell University and as needed by Wang Lab of the USDA at Cornell University.

The results of the regional work are being added to Cornell’s statewide mapping of the distribution of corn and soybean diseases to help growers make well-informed seed selection and crop management decisions.

The Northern New York corn and soybean disease survey work will continue in 2017 with new funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, a research and technical assistance program serving 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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Click here to go to the 2016 NNY Corn and Soybean Disease Survey Results Report

Northern NY; February 16, 2017. Representatives of the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program met with NYS Senate Agriculture Chair Senator Patty Ritchie recently to recognize her support of the regional research and technical assistance program serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Program Co-Chair Jon Greenwood, Program Committee members Kevin Acres and David Fisher, and Program Coordinator Michele Ledoux provided the Senator a copy of the 2017 Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Economic Impact and Project Highlights Report.

Senator Ritchie commented on the value of the farmer involvement in directly selecting priority projects. More than 100 farmers serve on the committee that provides small grant funding for on-farm research and technical assistance projects in the six northernmost counties of New York State. Senator Ritchie has championed restoration of funding for the Program in recent State Budgets.

The discussion noted that the 2017 Crop Congresses in NNY featured five Northern New York Agricultural Development Program projects focused on dairy and crop production. The annual report highlights trials evaluating tile drainage as a critical agronomic practice for soil, manure and nutrient management, erosion and runoff control, crop production, and farm sustainability. The regional research states the use of tiles can return 7 to 12 percent on investment in five to 10 years for some farms.

Kevin Acres told the Senator that installing tiles on his farm in St. Lawrence County has saved him thousands of dollars in annual costs, improved his soil, reduced compaction, and made it easier to plant and harvest crops.

David Fisher noted how efficiently the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program manages the State funding. Jon Greenwood, who Co-Chairs the Program with Joe Giroux and Jon Rulfs, pointed out that while dairy and crops are major focus areas, projects address all facets of the regional agricultural industry, including local food production, grapes, maple, and livestock.

Michele Ledoux mentioned that, as a direct result of Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded trials in regional sugarbushes, NNY maple producers are changing to 3/16-inch tubing for more efficient sap collection. Cornell Northern NY Maple Specialist Michael Farrell estimates the region can grow to meet a $10 million maple industry potential.

Senator Ritchie invited the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program leaders to meet with the Senate Agriculture Committee in Albany, and recognized Senator Betty Little of the 45^th Senate District in eastern NNY as a stalwart supporter of the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

After the meeting Senator Ritchie presented David Fisher with a proclamation in recognition for his service to the agricultural industry in Northern New York and acknowledging his recent election as New York Farm Bureau President.

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