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NNYADP Dairy Calf Diarrhea Pathogens Research Part of Dairy Days Webinar Series; Learn Results on January 15

Canton, N.Y.; December 8, 2020. Which pathogens cause diarrhea in pre-weaned dairy calves and can farms more precisely target treatment to the specific causal agent? And, will precision treatment have a positive impact of their milk production potential?

Participants in a free Dairy Days Calf Management webinar will learn the preliminary results of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research investigating these questions. The webinar will take place via Zoom on Friday, January 15, 2021, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Dairy Specialists Casey Havekes and Lindsay Ferlito conducted the research in collaboration with Dr. Robert Lynch, a veterinarian with the Cornell PRO-DAIRY Program, and with Sarah Morrison, Ph.D., a research scientist with Miner Institute.  Ms. Havekes will present the group’s findings during the January 15th webinar as part of a four-session agenda.

The 2014 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Calf Health Report identified neonatal diarrhea, or scours, as the leading cause of death in pre-weaned heifers. A 2017 Northern New York Agricultural Development Program project indicated that calves between the ages of eight and 31 days were most commonly treated with antibiotics for diarrhea.

“The project was designed to identify the most prevalent enterpathogens, including bacteria and viruses, that cause diarrhea in pre-weaned heifer calves, with a long-term view toward being able to reduce antibiotic usage when appropriate,” Havekes explains.

Earlier research trials have observed that bacterial causes account for only 30 percent of diarrheic calves, yet the NAHMS report of 2011 indicated that more than 87 percent of diarrheic calves were treated with antibiotics.

“This research collected approximately 100 fecal samples from calves on farms across northern New York. The aim of this research was to establish baseline data for next-step research to validate an on-farm test that would allow farmers to quickly diagnose the cause of scouring  in their calves and thus to precisely target treatment to the specific cause,” Havekes notes.

The research also evaluated how access to water and electrolytes was implemented on farms as a recovery tool for diarrheic calves.

The January 15 webinar is the final webinar in four days of dairy industry webinars featuring dairy specialists, veterinarians, and agricultural industry representatives from the U.S. and Canada. The January12-15, 2021 series is free via Zoom. Contact Casey Havekes at 315-955-2059 for details or register online at https://ncrat.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=1367.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

Left: Cornell PRO-DAIRY Forages Specialist Joe Lawrence speaks about no-till methods for dairy farms at the 2019 Soil Health Field Day at McKnight’s River Breeze Farm in Chase Mills, N.Y. Right: NNY farmers and NNY ag professionals discuss no-till methods and soil health strategies at McKnight’s River Breeze Farm in Chase Mills, N.Y. Photos: CCE North Country Regional Ag Team

Northern N.Y. ; October 30, 2020. Cornell University Cooperative Extension researchers funded by a Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) grant worked with farms in the NNY region to identify optimal sampling levels for seven key soil health indicators. This findings of this research work to more accurately assess the restorative effectiveness of farms’ efforts to improve soil health over time.

Because soil health improvements are slow and subtle, more precise and accurate sampling strategies are needed. The goal of this NNYADP-funded research project was to identify specific sampling guidance for farms, county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), and other agencies that often use soil health testing as part of their environmental conservation and crop management work. Participating farmers were from Chazy, Fort Covington, Madrid, Malone, Sackets Harbor, West Chazy, and Willsboro. The complete report is posted on the NNYADP website at www.nnyagdev.org.

Soil health supports both crop growth and environmental stewardship. Soil type and texture, climate, topography, and land management all influence soil health. Improvement in soil health occurs gradually and can vary within a single field. Sampling sites for the NNYADP-funded project were selected with the use of aerial soil maps.

Cornell University Cooperative Extension (CCE) regional soils and crops specialist Kitty O’Neil, Ph.D., led the research with assistance from SWCDs, CCE, and the Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program. Soil samples are collected in spring and fall at two soil depths in row crop fields on the participating farms.

Soil sample analysis determined the number of samples needed to detect a 10 percent improvement in soil health based on soil pH, soil organic matter, surface hardness, subsurface hardness, within-field phosphorus, aggregate stability, and soil respiration.

The number of samples needed varied widely across the indicators under evaluation. The least variable soil health indicator within a field in this project was soil pH. The most variable within-field soil health indicator was soil phosphorus.

The data from this project will be compared with historical yield data to investigate linkages for additional soil and crop management enhancement.

As a general guideline, based on this project’s findings, the researchers suggest a minimum of 40 to 50 subsample locations per field for farmers who wish to begin monitoring soil health status and improvements over time on a broad scale. To evaluate individual soil health components, more intensive sampling can be done.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

Click here to read the NNYADP Soil Health project results

The success of the NNYADP-funded project for the Surveillance of Johne’s Disease in NNY Sheep Flocks has led to Extension receiving a NESARE grant for a new Johne’s disease study in NNY goat herds.

Click here to read the NNYADP final report and fact sheet on the sheep study, conducted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets:
https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/livestock/research/.

For more information on the goat project, contact Betsy Hodge, CCE St. Lawrence County, 315-379-9192, bmf9@cornell.edu.

Lowville, N.Y.; September 16, 2020.  The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has published the second-year results of research into whether re-tapping maple trees in one sap season increases single-season syrup production. The report is posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

Uihlein Maple Research Forest Director Adam D. Wild will share the results of the re-tapping research at the October 3, 2020 Lewis County Maple School in Lowville, N.Y., and via a free Cornell Maple Program virtual workshop on November 24, 2020. For October 3rd workshop cost and registration, call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County at 315-376-5270 before September 30. To register for the six-program Cornell maple virtual series, go to www.cornellmaple.com.

Changing weather patterns are causing maple producers in northern New York to seek information on the best time to tap trees for maximum production value. Research conducted outside of northern New York has indicated that tapping for early sap run and re-tapping later in the maple season could potentially increase syrup production yields by at least 20 percent or $6 per tap profit. The farmer-driven NNYADP- funded trials in 2019-2020 tested that opportunity under northern New York conditions and regionality played a role in the results.

“Our timing-of-tapping research was done in Lake Placid’s northern forest environment which traditionally experiences extremely cold winters, deep snowpack, and a maple season that starts later than maple-producing areas to the south. In those southern areas where heavy sap flow starts in January followed by intermittent freeze-thaw cycles re-tapping provided more of a benefit than we saw in our trials in the northern New York-type maple-producing region,” Wild noted.

“Although re-tapping by adding a second dropline with a new spout here produced an average of 23 percent more syrup per tap, once time and material were factored into the economic equation, there was a loss of 73 cents per tap. Although droplines and T-fittings could be used for a few seasons, there is still added labor time and droplines must be capped off completely to prevent vacuum loss,” Wild added.

An additional outcome of the NNY project emphasized the importance of preserving tap hole cleanliness as a best management practice. The data showed that increasing sanitary practices in the sugarbush to limit microbe growth within any tap holes drilled well before the season starts is warranted.

“Everyone should consider implementing practices, such as the use of check-valve spouts, new droplines, or cleaning, to preserve tap hole sanitation and achieve optimal sap production,” Wild said.

At the October 3^rd workshop in Lowville, Wild will cover factors that influence how the timing of when maple trees are tapped impacts sap yield and, in a separate session, present basic tubing design and installation for gravity-fed and vacuum sap collection systems. In the 7 pm Cornell Maple virtual workshop on November 24, Wild will present “Maximizing Production in Your Sap Collection System” with a live discussion.

The Northern New York maple industry has grown from a $3.25 million annual industry in 2008 to an estimated $10-12 million industry with room yet to grow in 2021 .

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

Willsboro, N.Y.: September 1, 2020.   Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP)-funded research evaluating harvesting and production respectively of ground cherries and goldenberries produced mixed results. The good news: a harvesting frame built to efficiently collect ground cherries worked well. The unwelcome news: three methods of trellising of the upright-growing goldenberry proved too costly.

The farmer-driven NNYADP funded the research conducted by Cornell University and Cooperative Extension vegetable specialists at a commercial greenhouse in Essex, New York, and under the high tunnels at the Willsboro Research Farm at Willsboro, New York. The complete project report with production and harvesting data and costs and a video are posted on this website.

Ground cherry (Physalis pruinosa) and goldenberry (Physalis peruviana) are warm season annual crops that yield a yellow fruit popular as a healthy snack food. Golden cherry is currently grown and sold by farms in northern New York. It grows close to the ground and drops its fruit when ripe, making harvest labor-intensive. Goldenberry grows upright, is harvested by picking, and is being evaluated as a new crop for growers in northern New York.

“New York farmer interest in growing Physalis crops has increased in recent years with the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell evaluating their potential as crops here,” said project co-leader Elisabeth Hodgdon, Ph.D., based in Plattsburgh, with the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program.

The research team started ground cherry and goldenberry, with seed from the Boyce Thompson Institute, in a commercial greenhouse in Essex, New York, in March 2019. The plants were transplanted into an unheated high tunnel at the Willsboro farm in May.

The ground cherry demonstration project grew the low-growing crop without any trellising support. The research team used a harvesting frame built of aluminum pipe and cut flower support netting by Willsboro Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., to efficiently gather ground cherry fruit. A video of this trial is posted under NNY Farm Videos under the News tab of this website.

For the goldenberry trial in the high tunnel at the Willsboro farm, the research team applied four treatments, including those studied in an earlier NNYADP-funded cherry tomato production trial: single leader, double leader, and stake-and-weave trellising, and untrellised.

The average marketable yield per goldenberry plant was less than one pint. Economic calculations showed that a grower would have needed to receive $91 per pint for the goldenberry grown by single leader, $67 per pint for the double leader crop, and $13 per pint for the stake-and-weave crop.

“These unrealistic prices reflect only the recovery of the expense of trellising and not the cost of seeds, potting soil, greenhouse space, or the time to remove the fruit from its husk and sort the goldenberries to determine marketability,” Hodgdon noted.

Serious pressure from multiple pests was also problematic with this trial.

Will the researcher try again with goldenberry?

“If goldenberry is to be come a viable crop for New York State, more research and development are needed to determine any opportunity to reduce costs, identify shorter season varieties, and improve pest management, particularly for the Heliothis moth that burrowed into the fruit in the trial,” said Hodgdon.

Goldenberry pest resistance and varietal difference research continues at Cornell University studies are underway at the Boyce Thompson Institute. New varieties may allow goldenberry to be a more viable crop for northern New York in the future.

NNYADP project reports on the ground cherry and goldenberry trials and high tunnel and field-grown fruit, berry, and vegetable production are posted on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org. Growers may also contact their local Cornell Cooperative Extension office for more information.

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