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News from the Farmer-Driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program

Following written protocols helps prevent and reduce calf health issues

Northern N.Y.; February 11, 2019.   Dairy calf health research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program and conducted by Cornell University Cooperative Extension dairy specialists demonstrates the value of keeping good calf health records and following proper calf management and, when needed, treatment protocols.

In 2018, Cornell Regional Dairy Specialist Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D., worked with eight dairy farms in Northern New York to analyze dairy calf treatment protocol impact on calf health and costs. With assistance from Cornell PRO-DAIRY Dairy Herd Health and Management Specialist Robert Lynch, Morrill collected and analyzed more than 6,200 on-farm treatment records for non-lactating dairy heifers from birth to calving on eight Northern New York dairy farms.

The data analysis included age and treatment by illness, treatment frequency, farm compliance with established protocols, and standardized drug cost per animal per event and in total for the eight-month study period from January 1 to August 31, 2018. Written on-farm protocols were followed to treat 91.64 percent of the illnesses over the eight-month period.

“Following best management practices that have been developed with the herd veterinarian and other consultants to prevent and reduce calf health issues from ear infections to respiratory illness early in life positively impacts calf growth, future milk production, and farm costs. This type of research supports opportunities to enhance animal welfare, farm efficiency and consumer confidence in dairy products,” said Morrill.

This research builds on previous projects evaluating the impact of environmental conditions, housing, ventilation and climate stress on calves on Northern New York dairy farms. Learn more on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org.

An abstract of this research project has been submitted for consideration for presentation at the June 2019 meeting of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). ADSA featured Morrill’s NNYADP dairy research focused on reducing calf respiratory illness at its 2018 annual meeting.

Funding for the 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.

CLICK HERE to read the full NNYADP report on calf health protocols research

 

Northern N.Y.; January 15, 2019.  Dairy farms face a variety of challenges, including how cold weather affects their animals. Progressive research by the farmer-led Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is advancing the science-based understanding of how climate and farm management practices impact dairy calf health in the winter season.

Dairy farmers across the six-county Northern NY region have participated in the NNYADP research focused on calf health evaluation by Cornell University Quality Milk Production Services, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute.

A series of NNYADP research projects conducted since 2015 have focused on how adjusting housing type, bedding, the number of calves in a pen, temperature, airflow, wind chill, humidity, and ammonia concentration in calf pens can help reduce the rate of respiratory illness in pre-weaned calves under extreme cold stress.

Proper winter care of calves positively influences weight gain in the young animals and, longer-term, their future milk production and calving potential.

A dairy calf health risk assessment tool, built by Cornell Cooperative Extension using data collected from NNYADP dairy calf research projects since 2012, helps farmers identify on-farm environmental and farm management factors that can be adjusted to achieve the greatest positive impact on calf health.

“We have seen a reduction in winter-related calf health issues, primarily respiratory challenges, on the farms that have implemented management changes based on the research data and the calf health risk assessment,” says Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D, Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Dairy Specialist.

The calf health risk assessment tool is available to agricultural educators by contacting Morrill at 315-379-9192. Training is required to conduct the on-farm evaluations.

Other NNYADP research into the variable climate, environmental and farm management factors related to heat stress on dairy calves and cows is providing the basis for adapting best care practices for application farm-by-farm and by season. Learn more on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org.

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

 

From Winter Spinach to Bell Peppers: Free Webinar Nov. 29 Focus on High Tunnel Vegetable Research

Northern N.Y.: November 8, 2018.   Fertility for winter spinach production, the earliest warm season crops, red bell pepper varieties, and efficient pruning and training systems for pepper and cherry tomato production under high tunnel management will be in focus during a one-hour, free webinar with Cornell experts on Thursday, November 29, 2018, starting at 7 pm.

The free webinar will be offered via Zoom; participants do not need a Zoom account, but high-speed internet access by computer or smartphone is required. Access information will be provided upon registration at https://enych.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=1013. The webinar will be recorded and posted for viewing at a later date. For more information, contact Amy Ivy at adi2@cornell.edu, 518-570-5991.

Webinar presenters are Cornell Extension Vegetable Specialist Judson Reid, Willsboro Research Farm Manager Dr. Michael Davis, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist for Northern and Eastern New York Amy Ivy.

Horticultural research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is addressing opportunities to lengthen the growing and sales seasons and to enhance soil health and farm sustainability through the use of cover crops and other best management production practices.

Farmers across the six-county Northern NY region and the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, N.Y., have hosted on-farm vegetable research trials and field days. The free webinar on November 29 is conducted in partnership with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern NY Commercial Horticultural 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.

 

10/30/18 At the end of this article: see responses to two inquiries from readers about this research.

Northern N.Y.;  October 15, 2018.   Northern New York dairy farmers are using a whole-farm nutrient mass balance software tool to identify opportunities to improve their farmwide use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The ultimate goal is enhancing watershed and agricultural stewardship while simultaneously increasing on-farm efficiency, milk production, and crop yield.

Farms participating in the assessment of the use of the software have adjusted management practices over the last decade, resulting in an estimated 25 to 30 percent decrease in the import of nitrogen and phosphorus statewide, without a decrease in milk production.

With funding support from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Dr. Quirine M. Ketterings, director of the Nutrient Management Spear Program at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., leads the research and extension project that is using the whole-farm management approach to help farmers evaluate opportunities to reach optimal balance.

“We are working with farmers and farm advisors on whole farm nutrient mass balance assessments to help identify opportunities for better nutrient use and to document improvements over time, with the ultimate goal to be both economically viable and environmentally sustainable,” said Ketterings.

The whole-farm nutrient mass balance software tool allows farmers to compare the nutrient imports brought onto the farm in feed, fertilizer, animals and bedding with the amount of nutrients exported off the farm as milk, crops, animals, and manure. The difference is called the farm balance that can be presented as a plus or minus balance per acre of cropland or per hundredweight of milk produced.

Practices that help increase nutrient use efficiency include increasing on-farm forage production of higher quality forages; better distribution of manure on the farm’s land base; improving feedbunk management; adjusting feed rations to meet varying nutritional needs of calves, heifers, and milking cows; and other changes that result in better use of nutrients across the farm.

“A number of farms have shown tremendous progress in nutrient use efficiency over time by adjusting management practices that reduce imports such as feed and-or fertilizer, by better aligning crop and animal nutrient needs, and supplying nutrients only as needed to eliminate excesses and losses,” Ketterings said.

With grants from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program and other funders, Ketterings and her team have developed feasible mass balance ranges for New York dairy operations, based on actual balances from commercial dairy farms in New York. Farms operating outside the optimal operational zone most likely have opportunities to improve their nutrient use efficiency.

Farmers interested in learning more about whole-farm nutrient mass balance assessment will find information on the Nutrient Management Spear Program website at http://nmsp.cals.cornell.edu/NYOnFarmResearchPartnership/MassBalances.html. Farmers can download an input sheet to submit to Ketterings and her team for confidential review.

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.

UPDATE 10/30/18:
Inquiry received: Can this work be applied to other types of farms?
Yes, while the software and feasible balance range is being developed for dairy farms where the main export is milk the approach applies to all farms.

Response from Dr. Quirine M. Ketterings: “The concept is equally valid for  sheep, goat, beef, and even crop farms; the nutrients-per-acre value that the software provides can be used directly, but the interpretations (to reach the optimal production zone, known as the “green box” in the software charting) need to be adjusted if something else than milk is your main export. For dairy farms we use N, P, and K per acre and per hundredweight milk produced. If you were to pursue this for beef farming or for poultry, you would still want to derive the N, P, K balance per acre, but then express the production indicator on pounds (lbs) of meat sold for beef or eggs produced for layer hens, etc.

Inquiry received: Is nutrient mass balancing being done elsewhere?
Farmers in other states and around the world are increasingly interested in the evaluation of whole farm nutrient balances as key performance indicators. Dr. Ketterings notes that similar nutrient mass balance approaches have been implemented in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, for example. Farmers in other states or countries are encouraged to check with local colleges’ agricultural or Extension programs or agricultural education organizations to learn about NMB opportunities in their area.