NNY Ag Development Program

Northern New York Agriculture

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NNYADP research supports Maple Tap Act

Read this WBNG Action News 12 story about the federal Maple Tap Act and then visit the Maple information section of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website to learn more about the groundbreaking research and survey work by NNY Maple extension specialist Michael Farrell that supports the purpose of this legislation.

The story calls the North Country region the epicenter of the New York maple industry, with the potential for 70 million new maple taps and an additional $19 million in annual maple revenue in the NNY region.

 

 

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NNYADP Funding Farm Tile Drainage Research in NNY

In 2013, the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is funding research to evaluate the agricultural benefits and environmental impacts of using tile drainage on farms.

The use of tile drainage has been a critical best management practice on American farms since 1835. In the early 1900s, William H. Miner, for whom the agricultural research institute in Chazy, NY, is named, championed the use of patterned tile drainage to dramatically improve drainage efficiency and crop production potential on poorly-drained North Country soils.

The farmer-driven NNYADP has identified the need for research to better understand how the use of tile drainage interacts with the soil, crop production and the environment in the Lake Champlain Basin region of Northern New York, where agriculture is considered a major nonpoint source of phosphorus to the lake.

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NNY Tall Fescue Variety Trial Data Online

Tall fescue in Northern New York will yield as much or more than other cool-season grass species. There continue to be new varieties, most endophyte-free, but a number of the new varieties also have a “Novel endophyte” version.

An endophytic fungus in the fescue gives the plant added vigor without the toxic side effects of typical endophyte-infected fescue.

The question for the NNYADP-funded research is are the “friendly-endophyte” varieties worth the extra seed cost.

Click here for the 2011-12 results of the NNY tall fescue variety trials evaluated by Cornell University Crop and Soil Sciences Professor Dr. Jerry Cherney and Cornell Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael Davis.