Mastitis Under Farmer-Driven Northern NY Agricultural Development Microscope; Results Set for National Meettng Presentation

Canton, NY: December 26, 2016. The most recent results of research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program investigating an emerging cause of mastitis in regional dairy herds will be presented at the 2017 National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting.

Early results of research funded by the farmer-driven research program alerted the Northern New York dairy industry to the Lactococcus species as an emerging cause for mastitis infections that can remove dairy cows from the milking line, sometimes permanently.

Ongoing research prioritized by farmers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties for attention is investigating ways to help dairy owners more effectively identify mastitis-causing bacteria and target treatment based on more precise identification of the specific pathogen causing the mastitis.

There can be a significant difference in the risk of a cow permanently leaving a milking herd based on the genus of the mastitis-causing organism.

Prior to the start of this Northern New York Agricultural Development Program project, the Lactococcus bacterium was not previously targeted for specific identification in milk sample testing in the region or at most major mastitis diagnostic labs using microbiological procedures.

“Our first-year results, in 2014, with dairy herds in Northern New York strongly indicated some lesser-known mastitis-causing species, specifically Lactococcus, were potentially having a larger impact on some dairy farms than previously thought, resulting in chronically-infected cows that did not respond as well to intramammary therapy,” says project leader Dr. Jessica Scillieri Smith, a veterinarian with the Cornell University Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS) laboratory at Canton, NY.

Second-year data evaluating the distribution of clinical and subclinical mastitis infections across 229 cows in the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program project included the response to treatment targeted at mastitis caused by pathogens in the Lactococci and Streptococci genus, the impact on future mastitis events, risk of leaving the herd, and impact on milk production.

Scillieri Smith has presented the results of this Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research by invitation at National Mastitis Council meetings and veterinary and dairy producer meetings in several states, including the American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC, in September 2016, and the upcoming National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, FL, in January 2017.

The results of Scillieri Smith’s 2016 investigation into the presence of Lactococcus on teat skin, in bulk tanks, and in bedding that may transfer the infection to the cow will be available in early 2017 on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org.

The testing of bedding and bulk tank milk samples is being conducted in collaboration with a QMPS project funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute and overseen by Dr. Paula Ospina with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides small grants for on-farm research and technical assistance projects 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.

Congratulations to David Fisher, a Northern New York Agricultural Development Program committee member from St. Lawrence County, who has been elected as New York Farm Bureau (NYFB) President.

Click here to listen to his vision for NYFB with WAMC Public Radio interviewer Pat Bradley.

Moira, NY; December 13, 2016. As she promised one year ago, Mary DeBeer established her own biocontrol nematode rearing lab in Moira, NY, in 2016. The young agricultural entrepreneur is on the leading edge of business development prompted by the success of pest management research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

“This new agri-business development by a young entrepreneur is an added benefit to our regional economy and we are pleased it was sparked by the science developed with Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funding,” said Jon Greenwood, co-Chair of the farmer-driven research and technical assistance program serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

“With the development of her own biocontrol nematode rearing facility, Mary is leading the way for new business opportunities as a result of the long-term commitment the farmers of Northern New York made to finding a science-based solution for alfalfa snout beetle,” says Dr. Elson Shields, the Cornell University entomologist who pioneered the use of native NY nematodes as a biocontrol for managing the destructive crop pest.

DeBeer, who earned an agronomy degree at SUNY Morrisville and a dairy degree at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, learned how to rear and apply the biocontrol nematodes with Cornell University Research Support Specialist Tony Testa who developed the nematode rearing protocol at the Shields Lab at Cornell.

In the new facility at her family’s farm, DeBeer raises the nematodes and helps schedule their custom application by her father Ronald DeBeer of DeBeer Seeds and Spraying. In 2016 they tripled the number of farm acres protected by the microscopic worms proven to reduce alfalfa snout beetle populations and showing promise for managing corn rootworm in Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research trials that Shields currently has underway on regional farms.

The number of acres treated by the DeBeers has grown from 125 acres in Franklin County in 2014 to 435 acres across six farms in the county in 2015 to 1200 acres on farms in Franklin and St. Lawrence counties in 2016.

DeBeer gained three new customers in 2016 after the farmers discovered alfalfa snout beetle in their fields. The insect can destroy entire fields of alfalfa, a high value dairy and livestock feed crop, in just one growing season.

“My goal is to grow my nematode rearing capacity to supply other custom applicators and farmers who apply the nematodes on their own to protect their crops,” DeBeer says.

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 www.nnyagdev.org.

“Scouting vigilance and proactive application of the biocontrol nematodes are key to limiting the spread and impact of alfalfa snout beetle,” Shields notes.”

Funding for the farmer-driven 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.

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The Cornell University PRO-DAIRY Program has posted the results of corn silage variety testing done in 2016. That testing included trials in Northern New York on a Madrid, NY, dairy farm.

Click here for the full report that includes a data table for the 29 hybrids tested at Madrid, NY.

Northern New York; November 10, 2016.  Restaurants and caterers are interested in purchasing local food products from growers in Northern New York, but they require a high quality, consistent supply; timely delivery; and below-retail price points, according to a survey of food buyers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.

With funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension personnel interviewed food buyers purchasing locally-sourced foods. The survey was a sampling of the more than 1,800 restaurants, grocers, convenience store operators, and food service and institutional buyers in the six-county Northern New York region.

Major food marketing areas were identified as Canton, Lake Placid, Lowville, Malone, Plattsburgh, and Watertown.

The investigation into food hub development opportunities for Northern New York also included input from 125 farmers and 254 consumers. Nearly 60 percent of the consumers surveyed indicated they purchase local products at least once a month. They define local as food produced in Northern New York or in their home county.

The Opportunities for Food Hub Development in Northern New York Executive Summary identifies cautions, considerations and potential in the areas of food hub aggregation, infrastructure development, marketing, distribution, and food safety education, and organization. The summary is posted in the Local Foods section of this farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website.

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

This survey project also received a USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and funding from the New York Farm Viability Institute.

What is a Food Hub?
The USDA identifies a regional food hub as “a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand.”