Northern New York Agriculture
Suzanne Moore of the Plattsburgh Press Republican has written a story on a Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded project at Miner Institute. Click here to read “Calf study evaluates heat stress vs. nutrition.”
This story includes a nice note about how the farmer-driven program engages young agriculturists, namely project leader and Miner Institute intern Kayla Hultquist, in its projects.
Congratulations to Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Co-Chair Jon Greenwood who received a PRO-DAIRY 2016 Agriservice Award at the Great New York State Fair yesterday.
NYS Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball and PRO-DAIRY Director Thomas Overton presented Jon with the award that recognizing outstanding contributions of New York State agriculture through support of the PRO-DAIRY program.
Jon is the owner of Greenwood Dairy in Canton and guides the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program with Joe Giroux of Plattsburgh and Jon Rulfs of Plattsburgh/Peru, NY.
Rick Zimmerman, executive director of the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance, was also honored with a PRO-DAIRY 2016 Agriservice Award during the Dairy Day festivities at the Great New York State Fair yesterday.
“Both Jon and Rick have been excellent supporters of PRO-DAIRY programs and tremendous leaders within the New York dairy industry. Jon is an active collaborator on applied research and through his co-leadership of the Northern NY Agricultural Development Program has been a staunch ally to applied research and extension,” Dr. Overton said.
Click here to read the PRO-DAIRY press release on the awards
Reporter Julia Botero with North Country Public Radio interviewed Dr. Kitty O’Neil about what the late summer-planted oats project funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program might mean for farmers who need an added source of forage, particularly in dry years like 2016.
Click here to hear that interview
First Micro-Nutrient Database for NNY Soybean Growers Established by Farmer-Driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Project
Northern New York; August 25, 2016.
The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has funded the first systematic assessment of the micro-nutrient status of soybeans in northern New York State.
To support optimal production of soybeans, an increasingly popular crop in northern New York, the two-year project has begun establishing a database of critical crop nutrients for the six-county region that includes Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.
In 2015, plant samples collected from 39 soybean fields located across 29 farms on the west side of the region were analyzed by the Analytical Laboratory and Maine Soil Testing Service in Orono, ME, for boron, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc levels.
The project team was most interested in learning manganese levels as application of a common herbicide can decrease availability of the nutrient to plants causing growers to sometimes overapply manganese.
The complete first-year results of the project are posted on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org.
In 2016 the project includes collecting soil samples and field histories with plant samples, and evaluating soybean response to various levels of manganese application. The additional data will begin to identify the impact that such factors as soil type, planting date, soybean variety, soil pH, or manure or fertilizer applications may have on soybean nutrient levels.
More than 100 farmers help guide research project selection for small grant funding from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. 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. NNYADP economic impact reports, project results, and resources are posted at www.nnyagdev.org.
Farmer-Driven NNYADP Posts Early Evaluation Results
Northern New York. Hot, dry summer conditions can lead to insufficient hay and pasture forage for dairy farms. Could late summer-planted oats be an option to fill that forage gap? The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the results of field trials in 2015 as field crops specialists prepare to plant a new trial at three NNY farm sites.
Drought conditions early in the 2015 growing season and a fungus impacted the summer oat trials planted in 2015 at the St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm in Canton, W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, and at a farm near Alexandria Bay, NY.
Research plots planted in 2013 and 2014 at the privately-owned farm near Alexandria Bay served as a preliminary indicator suggesting that late summer-planted oats are capable of producing high quality, high yielding forage.
Lack of soil moisture caused the plots at Alexandria Bay to fail completely in 2015. Forage quality of the crop harvested at the other locations was very good, but the lack of rain caused very poor yields. Crown rust, a common fungal disease of wild and cultivated oats, damaged plantings at all three farms in the study last year.
The research project funded by the farmer-led Northern New York Agricultural Development Program continues in 2016 with crown rust-resistant varieties. The research team, led by Kitty O’Neil and Mike Hunter, field crops specialists with the Cornell University Cooperative Extension NNY Regional Ag Team, expects results from the 2016 trial to give a clearer indication of the potential of summer oats to provide Northern New York farmers with an emergency annual forage crop option.
Data including a summary of weather conditions during the 2015 growing season, trial plot forage yields, the incidence of crown rust infections, and a summary of nutritional quality is posted in the 2015 project report posted in the Field Crops Research: Oats section of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org.
The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides 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.
Click here to read the complete 2015 NNYADP Late Summer Oats Project Report