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.

Northern New York; February 8, 2017. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the results of a project exploring opportunities for regional maple sugarmakers to produce birch syrup. Four sugarhouses participated in the 2015-2016 birch syrup project; one each in Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Jefferson counties.

“All species of birch trees produce sap that can be processed into syrup that sells at a high price point,” says project leader Dr. Michael L. Farrell, author of The Sugarmaker’s Companion: An Integrated Approach to Producing Syrup from Maple, Birch and Walnut Trees.

“In some areas a gallon of birch syrup can sell for $200 with gross revenues of $20 per tap, which is significantly higher than most maple syrup operations generate,” says Farrell, director of the Cornell University Uihlein Forest in Lake Placid, NY.

But, Farrell quickly points out that while birch syrup production has the potential to be a profitable enterprise for existing maple producers in Northern New York, several prerequisites are required, including a proper number of birch trees to produce a sufficient amount of sap to support efficient use of commercial-scale maple processing equipment.

One option for smaller sugarmakers that Farrell suggests in the Producing Syrup from Birch Trees in NNY report posted at www.nnyagdev.org is to pool their birch sap for processing by one larger commercial operation.

Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center Maple Program transported the sap collected from 61 paper birch trees there 20 miles to the Uihlein Forest sugarhouse for processing into syrup.

Farrell notes that the research trial at Paul Smith’s produced conclusive evidence that using 5/16-inch spouts will provide significantly more sap than 3/16-inch spouts. (See graph below.)

In Ellenburg Center, Brandy Brook Maple Farm owner Joy Herfurth tapped 40 white and yellow birch trees and gathered data on sugar content and sap volume. She made about two gallons of birch syrup. A half-gallon sold for $80.

“I was interested to participate in this research as a way to develop an opportunity for extra income. We used a smaller boiling rig that typically helps extend our maple season when the sap volume and quality decrease,” Herfurth says.

“This type of regional research is part of helping landowners discover untapped resources they may not be aware of or may be cutting down for firewood,” Herfurth adds.

For now, producing birch syrup is on hold at Brandy Brook Maple Farm which has 10,000 maple taps and has opened a new maple-influenced winery, but Herfurth says if birch syrup catches on with consumers, specialty food stores, and restaurants to build market demand she will consider tapping the 150 or so birch trees she has in the future.

Birch syrup is produced on a commercial scale by sugarmakers in Alaska and Canada.

Farrell says, “More birch syrup production research and consumer awareness building could help North Country sugarmakers expand their use of the Northern New York landbase with this niche product.”

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is 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.

Producing Syrup from Birch Trees in Northern NY 2015-2016 Report

Smithville, NY.  A management solution developed with funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program for controlling one field crop insect pest may also help corn growers protect their crop from another.

The protocol for applying biocontrol nematodes to manage alfalfa snout beetle shows potential for managing corn rootworm, says research leader Cornell University entomologist Elson Shields.

Biocontrol nematodes are microscopic worms that eat the larva of alfalfa snout beetle, thereby reducing beetle populations to less damaging levels in alfalfa crops. Shields says his research in Northern New York indicates the nematodes persist, even increase, at effective populations over multiple years even when the field is rotated to corn or soybeans for 4-5 years.

“We are seeing an increasing biocontrol nematode population when the field is rotated to corn, strongly suggesting the nematodes are reproducing in corn rootworm which is attacking the corn. An associated study initiated in 2014 at the Cornell Musgrave Research Farm demonstrated nematodes applied there persisted in continuous corn until 2016 at a level to completely protect non-BT rootworm corn at the same level as rootworm BT corn,” Shields notes.

The farmers who prioritize on-farm research for Northern New York Agricultural Development Program grant funding want to know if the impact of biocontrol nematodes on corn rootworm may be significant enough to eliminate the need for Bt-rootworm corn seed or soil insecticide.

Bt corn seed is genetically modified to express one or more proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that is poisonous to certain insect pests and is used in organic production systems.

The potential for corn rootworm resistance to Bt corn is increasingly a concern for agricultural producers as is the cost of Bt corn seed, making the potential use of biocontrol nematodes to manage corn rootworm particularly timely.

Grant funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 2016 established research plots to evaluate the effectiveness of biocontrol nematodes on corn rootworm at Morning Star Farms in Smithville, NY.

Results are not expected until the end of the 2017 growing season as corn rootworm becomes a pest of corn starting in year 2.

Farmers interested in applying biocontrol nematodes on alfalfa crops will find a how-to manual on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at nnyagdev.org.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is 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.

Chazy, Canton, NY; January 23, 2017. The 2017 North Country Crop Congresses will feature updates on research projects funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. The Program provides small grants for on-farm research and technical assistance projects in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

The Crop Congresses on February 1 in Chazy and on February 2 in Canton include presentations on Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research evaluating ways to manage the crop pests corn rootworm, alfalfa snout beetle, and western bean cutworm; and on field trials with forage sorghum.

The February 1 Crop Congress at the Burke Education and Research Center at Miner Institute in Chazy will also include an update on Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded tile drainage research, and other Miner Institute research updates. This event is free to attend. Pre-registration is encouraged; call 518-846-7121 x117.

The February 2 Crop Congress at the Best Western University Inn, 90 East Main Street, Canton, will also include a presentation on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded field trial of late summer-planted oats as a forage option. Weed control management, neonicotinoid seed treatment restrictions, and crop insurance presentations are also on the agenda. There is a fee to attend this event; call 315-788-8450 or 315-854-1218.

More than 100 regional farmers serve on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program committee that identifies and prioritizes research and technical assistance projects for attention in the six northernmost counties of New York State.

Project leaders receiving funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 2016 included Cornell University and State University of New York faculty, and personnel with Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm, Willsboro, NY; W. H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, NY; Quality Milk Production Services, Canton, NY; and Uihlein Maple Research Forest, Lake Placid, NY.

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. Project results are posted online at www.nnyagdev.org.

Chazy, NY; January 10, 2017. Water quality is critical to maintain healthy, productive dairy cows. Eighteen farms in the Northern New York region participated in research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program evaluating the impact of water quality on fiber digestion by dairy cows.

Researchers with the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY, sampled and analyzed water from participating farms for such factors as minerals, pH, hardness, sulfates, nitrates, and bacteria.

“To evaluate how water quality, specifically levels of mineral, nitrate, or bacteria, affects dairy cow fiber digestion, the water samples were used to conduct fiber digestion analyses of a variety of forages, including corn silages, alfalfa hay, grass silage, and wheat straw,” says Miner Institute Forage Lab Director Kurt Cotanch.

Previous research conducted in South Dakota has indicated that low water quality, defined as water having mineral, bacterial or other compound levels above a prescribed ‘normal’ range, could decrease fiber digestion.

Other research has shown that high concentrations of sulfur or iron can produce unpleasant taste or odor that may cause cows to decrease water intake and that may result in decreased milk production.

None of the water samples collected for the Northern New York project were identified as being of poor quality, Cotanch says.

The results of the fiber digestion analyses in Northern New York indicated a slight positive correlation between sodium and nitrate levels and fiber digestion; a slight negative correlation was found with magnesium and potassium. For example, the digestibility of conventional corn silage was significantly reduced as magnesium levels in water samples increased, while an increase in sodium level showed a moderate increase in the fiber digestibility of some forages, including grass silage.

“Water quality deserves consideration for the nutrients the water can provide in dairy ration formulation, and for potential negative nutritional and palatability factors that could inhibit water consumption. How water quality affects fiber digestion is an area for further exploration,” Cotanch notes.

The report titled ‘Do High Mineral Concentrations in Water Affect Fiber Digestibility, Cow Health and Performance on Northern New York Dairy Farms’ is posted on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at nnyagdev.org.

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 through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.