NNYADP DAIRY RESEARCH RESULTS TO BE PRESENTED AT 2024 AMERICAN DAIRY SCIENCE CONFERENCE
Miner Institute to Share Cow Comfort Before-and-After Cooling Fans Data with Dairy Industry Professionals

Northern New York; May 28, 2024.  The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has announced that the result of its latest dairy cow heat stress abatement research funded by the farmer-driven program will be presented at the June 16-19, 2024 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) conference in Florida and in the Cornell Cow Convos podcast at 12:00 pm on June 27, 2024.

“This study provided a unique before-and-after opportunity to evaluate the impact of the installation of fans on animal well-being and performance during the short periods of heat stress that are common in northern New York and do not allow the time needed for cows to acclimate,” says Katie Ballard, Director of Research at Miner Institute, Chazy, New York. Ballard has overseen a number of NNYADP-funded dairy animal heat stress research projects.

Ballard will travel to the ADSA conference in West Palm Beach  to present the before-and-after impact of fan installation on cow comfort and performance on a farm not previously using fans. Earlier NNYADP-funded research provided no-fans-in-use baseline data from that farm at which the farm management team installed 51-inch variable-speed, auto-control fans in 2022.

The earlier on-farm heat stress abatement conducted by Miner Institute with NNYADP grant funding showed the impact of periodic and short duration environmental heat stress events on dairy cows, particularly on higher-producing cows under northern NY conditions. The data showed decreased milk production, changes in milk composition, decreased reproductive performance, and increased rates of lameness during the episodic heat events.

The data collection includes environmental temperature and relative humidity, reticular temperature of the cows in the study, lying and standing time, lameness, bulk tank yield and milk composition, and measures of reproduction performance.

“In our earlier projects, improving air movement on one farm resulted in an hour more of lying time by the cows. One hour of increased lying time has been equated to the opportunity to gain 2 to 3.5 pounds more milk per cow per day,” Ballard explains. “Our date in 2023 in terms of lameness, milk production and composition, and reproduction impact clearly showed the economic value from the use of fans.”
Table 3 shows the impact of environmental heat stress events on the reticular body temperature and lying time of dairy cows before and after installation of fans on a northern New York dairy farm; source: Miner Institute, NNYADP The Effectiveness of Fans for Heat Stress Abatement in Lactating Dairy Cows in Northern New York results report.

 

Figure 5 shows the before and after impact of fan installation on average milk production per cow per day on a northern New York dairy farm participating in NNYADP-funded heat stress abatement research in 2019 and 2022-2023.

The economic impact of climatic heat stress alone on the U.S. dairy industry was estimated at $900 million in annual losses in a research report published by R. J. Collier et al. in the ADSA Journal of Dairy Science in 2006.

The NNYADP-funded research over time suggests the question of whether recommended windspeed to increase animal comfort and mitigate the physiological impact of heat stress on dairy cows in northern New York needs to be increased over current recommendations.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature through the New York State Assembly and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The results of NNYADP projects are publicly-accessible at www.nnyagdev.org.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) now has 11 high priority agricultural research projects underway with $300,000 in funding provided by the New York State Legislature through the support of the New York State Assembly. Click here to see the list of projects by name under the categories of Agricultural Environmental Stewardship, Crops, Dairy, Horticulture/Local Foods, Maple Production, and Technology-Focused Research. Funding for the NNYADP is administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has received $300,000 in the 2024-2025 New York State Budget. State funding makes possible high-priority projects selected by the farmer-driven agricultural research program for New York’s northern-climate region that includes Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

NNYADP project results are helping farms to continually adapt to such challenges as weather extremes and emerging crop and livestock pests and diseases, and to meet opportunities to grow such sectors as northern New York’s maple industry and local foods production.

Funding for the NNYADP is supported by the New York State Legislature through the New York State Assembly and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. New York State Assembly Members Billy Jones and Ken Blankenbush serve on the NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee chaired by Assemblymember Donna Lupardo.

NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Donna Lupardo said, “The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is a statewide leader, providing quality research and technical assistance to farmers in the North Country. They are exceptional stewards of the resources they receive, providing practical solutions to challenges farmers are facing across the state. I’d like to acknowledge and thank all my Assembly Agriculture Committee colleagues, and recognize Assembly Members Billy Jones and Ken Blankenbush for their strong advocacy on behalf of the NNYADP.”

NYS Assemblyman Billy Jones said, “I am proud to have secured funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in this year’s budget to help North Country farmers conduct groundbreaking research. As we continue to experience warmer seasons and extreme weather, this research helps local farmers identify crops and innovative methods to help make the most of our short growing season. This is funding I have delivered to our region every year since I was elected, and I will always support our North Country farmers. I look forward to continuing to support this vital program and learning more about their important research.”

NYS Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush said, “In Jefferson, St. Lawrence, and Lewis counties we rely on agricultural cultivation as a primary source of economic activity. The inclusion in the State budget of $300,000 for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program will create massive agricultural improvements across all of these counties. This investment will allow farms to be ready to combat issues when they emerge and to transform the North Country into the farming capital of New York state.”

NNYADP Co-Chair Joseph Giroux said, “The farmers of northern New York recognize our responsibility to meet the mission for which the New York State Legislature established the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program – to develop the region’s unique natural potential to be a farm-based economic powerhouse for the State. We are grateful for the leadership of Assemblyman Billy Jones and the support of his Assembly colleagues and fellow northern New York legislative representatives to continue this mission in 2024.”

Giroux serves as Co-Chair of the NNYADP program with Jon Greenwood of Canton and Jon Rulfs of Peru, NY. The results of the NNYADP’s 2023 projects are posted online at https://www.nnyagdev.org.

Morning Ag Clips has posted an article on research funded by the NNYADP and NYFVI. Click here to read “Manure Can Offset Nitrogen Fertilizer Needs and Increase Corn Silage Yield: Statewide project evaluates nitrogen (N) and yield benefits of various manure sources and application methods.“

Click here to read the complete NNYADP Value of Manure: Year 2/2023 Project Results Report.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is supported by the New York State Legislature through the New York State Assembly and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

 

 

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted an updated 2002-2022 summary of Census of Agriculture data for New York’s State 6 northernmost counties. This quick snapshot shows the scope and importance of the NNY regional agriculture sectors that are so critical to the local, regional, and state economies, and includes:

• more than 1.029 million acres of land in agricultural production
• 3588 farms with more than 63.5% small farms of 179 acres or less
• a farm products market value that exceeds $1.174 billion
• a farm employee payroll that adds more than $139.5 million to the NYS economy, an increase of 65.1 million over 2017 data
• 624 young farmers younger than 35 years old
• 643 producers with military service
• fewer dairy farms, but steady dairy cow numbers across the total # of farms 2007-2022
• $21.4 million in organic product sales from 142 organic production farms
• 392 maple farms producing 36% of New York State’s maple syrup from 40% of all of the taps in the state; NNY’s # of taps has grown exponentially since 2000
• 97 honey farms, an increase of 16 since 2017
• and more insights in the updated Census of Agriculture for NNY.

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