The Shields Lab at Cornell University is asking farmers interested in ordering or applying the biocontrol nematodes proven successful for limiting the highly-destructive alfalfa snout beetle to contact the Lab at 607-591-1493 before April 29 if they are planning to apply the nematodes before July 1.

The Shields Lab is also interested in talking with anyone interested in rearing the biocontrol nematodes as a business enterprise.

Farmers have the option to purchase a shipment of the biocontrol nematodes from the Shields Lab or to request assistance in rearing the nematodes themselves.

The cost to purchase the biocontrol nematodes from the Shields Lab is $26 per acre. Growers using their own labor to rear the biocontrol nematodes may reduce the cost to approximately $15 per acre.

Approximately five agribusinesses in the region provided custom application of the nematodes in 2015.

Applications must be made by September 1. The April 29 ordering date from the Lab includes the opportunity for a ten percent discount for delivery for application by June 15. A ten percent discount will be provided to participants paying upon delivery.

The Shields Lab recommends applying the nematodes to alfalfa fields in the seeding or first production year for best economic impact.

If farmers choose to apply the biocontrol nematodes to more established alfalfa fields, the nematodes will establish and attack snout beetle larvae present in the fields, but will not assist with stand retention.

The Shields Lab plans to discontinue its rearing of the nematodes by 2021. Cornell entomologist Elson Shields says, “Alfalfa snout beetle will remain a potential threat as long as alfalfa is grown in the region, so we are also very interested in assisting anyone interested in rearing these biocontrol nematodes as a business enterprise so this control agent remains available to Northern New York farmers after 2021.”

With long-term funding by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Shields and Cornell University Research Support Specialist Tony Testa developed a complete understanding of the life cycle of alfalfa snout beetle and created the science-based, field-tested protocol for using a combination of two species of native New York nematodes to control the beetle. Their guide to rearing and applying the biocontrol nematodes is online at www.nnyagdev.org.

In 2015, with cost-sharing assistance from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, 22 farms applied the biocontrol nematodes for the first time. To date, 77 farms have applied the biocontrol nematodes, protecting a total of 14,000 acres.

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. Economic impact reports for 2012-2015, project reports, resource links, and NNY events are posted on nnyagdev.org.

MORE INFO:
Click here to learn more about the NNY agribusinesses that assisted nematode applications in 2015: www.nnyagdev.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/NNYADPASBagbusinessPR.pdf

Click here for more info: including critical ordering and application timelines.

Innovative Mastitis Research Data to be Presented Feb. 5 in Chazy, Feb. 12 in Watertown

The results of Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research into the lesser-known causes of mastitis in dairy cows will be presented at the NNYADP annual meetings on February 5 at Miner Institute in Chazy and February 12 at the Ramada Inn in Watertown. The meetings are open to all farmers, agribusiness operators and the public. Registration for the meetings is not required. For more information, contact 315.376.5270.

Project leader Dr. Jessica Scillieri Smith, a veterinarian with the Cornell University Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS) laboratory at Canton, NY, will report on testing that focused on five dairy herds identified in the first year of the NNYADP-funded project in 2014 with higher numbers of cows with mastitis caused by the Lactococci species of bacteria.

Lactococci organisms represented more than 23 percent of the cause of nearly 500 ‘other Strep’ infections diagnosed in milk samples from 143 farms in NNY in the 2014 phase of this NNYADP project, and was identified as the cause of more than 50 percent of mastitis cases on some farms.

The NNYADP funding supported development by QMPS of enhanced laboratory testing methods to help farmers and veterinarians accurately identify Lactococcus infections in milk samples. Prior to this project in NNY, Lactococcus had not previously been identified using standard microbiology techniques in testing labs.

“Success with new testing methods will lead to more accurate diagnosis and better informed management decisions by dairy herd managers, and supports the opportunity to better understand mastitis and improve management decisions,” says Smith.

Smith has presented this research at veterinary and dairy meetings in New York, Vermont and Louisiana and at the National Mastitis Council meeting last week.

The 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. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org. 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 NY. The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has announced the dates of its annual meetings that are free, open to the public, and feature highlighted research projects. The meetings are also an opportunity for regional farmers to provide input on current research and technical assistance projects and suggestions for future projects through the farmer-driven program serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

The meetings will be held from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm on Friday, February 5 at Miner Institute in Chazy, and on Friday, February 12 at the Ramada Inn in Watertown.

Presentations on NNYADP-funded projects will include:

. Timely information on tile drainage research conducted in northern New York presented by Miner Institute agronomist Eric Young,

 

 

 

. Dr. Quirine Ketterings, director of the Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Management, with tips to enhance crop production developed over several years of on-farm research in northern NY and statewide,

 

 

 

. Anita Deming, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County and director of Adirondack Harvest, sharing the results of a survey asking farmers, consumers and food service buyers about interest in developing a northern NY food hub, and

 

 

. a research update with results from 5 dairy farms with cows impacted by lesser-known causes of mastitis with Dr. Jessica Scillieri-Smith, a veterinarian with Quality Milk Production Services, Canton, NY.

 

 

 

Registration for the meetings is not required. A light working lunch will be provided. Breakout sessions will be offered by interest area for farmers, growers, market gardeners, maple producers, and agribusiness operators. For more information, contact 315.376.5270.

More than 100 farmers participate as committee members with the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program that provides practical, on-farm research and technical assistance on a diverse range of crops to agricultural producers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. NNYADP project results often serve as a proactive sentinel alerting producers elsewhere in New York State to opportunities to enhance crop and livestock production and ag environmental stewardship.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and is administered through the New York State
Department of Agriculture and Markets. Economic impact reports, project lists, research reports, and event notices are online at www.nnyagdev.org.

Northern NY Agricultural Development Program Providing Beef Producers with Tool for Managing Pasture Resources in 2016

Northern NY. The right tool can make any job easier. Northern NY beef producers looking to improve the quality and quantity of their land resources for grazing livestock in 2016 can take advantage of a pasture measurement tool purchased with a grant from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

A rising plate meter, or RPM, is an instrument that measures forage availability per acre of pasture. A Northern New York Agricultural Development Program grant purchased two new rising plate meters for use by Cornell Cooperative Extension educators in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Click here to learn more and for information on how to reserve an RPM for use on your farm in 2016

The January 10 issue of Hoard’s Dairyman has a full-page article titled “Nematodes are countering alfalfa-killing beetles” by Ev Thomas and Dan Wiersma. The authors credit the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program for “the vast majority of the research” that developed the use of the nematodes for controlling the destructive alfalfa snout beetle. The article also notes the development of alfalfa snout beetle-resistant alfalfa varieties (developed by Cornell University in NNYADP-funded field trials on NNY farms).

With permission from Hoard’s Dairyman, please click here to read the complete article

See the Crops: Alfalfa section of this website for research details