Search Results for: extension

Northern N.Y.; September 17, 2018.  A handbook for improving soil health in both organic and conventional vegetable, row crop, and small grain systems is now available at no charge from Cornell Cooperative Extension and partners that made possible a popular field day event that served as the basis for the handbook development.

The Reduced Tillage Field Day Handbook is available free in the Horticulture: Vegetables section of this website.

“The field day was such a hit with the 70 people who attended and received the handbook that are making the information available on a broader basis to encourage interest in soil health practices that reduce tillage intensity and mechanical soil disturbance. Over time, this helps maintain or increase crop yields, while reducing production costs due to reduced labor, equipment wear, and fuel use,” said field day organizer Amy Ivy, a vegetable specialist with the CCE Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program.

Highlights and excerpts from the 107-handbook include:

• 2018-2019 New York Soil Health Priorities and Plans
• More than 60 percent of farmers who used reduced tillage or cover crops and responded to a New York Soil Health survey reported that flooding prevention, drought resilience, and less erosion resulted from those practices.
• Stacking tillage tools can save time for field preparation and reduce labor and fuel needs.
• Cultivation is typically most effective for improving weed management with small weeds in dry, loose soil.
• A project in Virginia is evaluating the potential for farmers to increase their use of cover crop rolling, which has been used successfully by individual farmers from Alabama to Pennsylvania but has yet to see widespread use in the U.S.
• High-residue conservation tillage systems involve using large amounts of cover crop residue to suppress weeds, reduce soil erosion and conserve soil moisture.

Although the event, held at the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, N.Y., was targeted to meet organic growers’ expressed interest, the practices discussed in the handbook will also benefit conventional growers.

Materials are included from the field day presenters, including Bryan Brown of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program on managing weeds in small-seeded crops; Ryan Maher of the Cornell Small Farms Program on zone tillage systems; and John Wallace, Cornell University Specialty Crop Systems, on weed seedbank management.

The resource materials in the handbook consider crimpers, rollers, the biology of soil compaction, understanding microbes and nutrient recycling, caring for soil as a living system, and the use of reduced tillage and cover crops for organic and conventional vegetable production. Other sections look at how to avoid roller crimper problems, winter-hardy cover cropping, using cover crops to convert to no-till and no-till management for organic systems.

The handbook includes information from a variety of sources including Iowa State University, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio State University, Penn State Extension, Rodale Institute, Rutgers University, the Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education Program, and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, New York Soil Health, and Lake Champlain Basin Program sponsored the Reduced Tillage summer field day event. The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, CCE Essex County and the Cornell University Willsboro Research Farm coordinated the field day programming.

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. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

August 28, 2018; from CCE Essex News Bulletin:

The Reduced Tillage in Organic Systems Field Day event held on July 31st was a hit! We had 6 stations and about 70 attendees rotating among each, where a roller-crimper, a zone tiller, and weed management machinery were demonstrated among a variety of discussion topics related to incorporating reduced tillage management into crop production.

Check out the resource booklet that covers some of the topics and also incorporates related information here: Reduced Tillage Field Day Handbook (requires Acrobat Reader 9 or higher; alternate link:
https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/uploads/doc_699.pdf

This day was a collaboration of the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture CCE team, Willsboro Research Farm, North Country Regional Ag CCE team, CCE Essex, Cornell Small Farms program, NYS IPM program, University of Vermont, and Champlain Basin Program. Expert guest speakers included Jean-Paul Cortens of Roxbury Farm and Jack Lazor of Butterworks Farm.

Thank you to the NY Soil Health program, Champlain Basin Program and the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program for your support. Great job, Amy Ivy, for pulling it all together!

Previously reported on this website:
The overall focus of the day (free to attend) on improving soil health was developed to meet grower requests. While the event is geared toward organic vegetable, row crop, and small grain growers, the practices discussed will also benefit conventional growers.

“Decreasing soil disturbance maintains diverse and active biological activity that is critical for well-functioning, healthy soil. Reducing tillage intensity and mechanical soil disturbance can improve soil health. Over time, this helps maintain or increase crop yields, while reducing production costs due to saved labor, equipment wear, and fuel,” notes organizer Amy Ivy, a vegetable specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension, Clinton County.

The field day topics include roller-crimping, zone tillage in high residue, in-row cultivation tools, stale seedbed and weed seed bank management strategies and grower experiences with reduced tillage on their farms.

The field day speakers are Jean-Paul Courtens, Roxbury Farm, Kinderhook, NY; University of Vermont Agronomist Heather Darby; Cornell Willsboro Research Farm Manager Mike Davis; Jack Lazor, Butterwork Farm, Westfield, VT; Chuck Bornt, Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program; Bryan Brown and Ryan Maher, Cornell Small Farms Program; Kitty O’Neil, Cornell Cooperative Extension North Country Regional Ag Team; and Cornell University Weed Ecology and Management Professor John Wallace.

Participants at the day-long event will rotate between three demonstration and discussion stations in the morning and three in the afternoon. Lunch is included. The first 50 attendees will receive a program resource booklet.

The Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County and the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm coordinated this field day with funding support from the New York State Soil Health Initiative, Lake Champlain Basin Program, and the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

For more information, contact Amy Ivy, Cornell Cooperative Extension Clinton County, 518-561-7450, adi2@cornell.edu.

 

Willsboro, NY; July 3, 2018.  In-field demonstrations with agricultural specialists and growers from NY and Vermont and six learning stations are all part of the Reduced Tillage in Organic Systems Field Day to be held Tuesday, July 31, 2018, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm, 48 Sayward Lane, Willsboro, NY. The event is free to attend.

The overall focus of the day on improving soil health was developed to meet grower requests. While the event is geared toward organic vegetable, row crop, and small grain growers, the practices discussed will also benefit conventional growers.

“Decreasing soil disturbance maintains diverse and active biological activity that is critical for well-functioning, healthy soil. Reducing tillage intensity and mechanical soil disturbance can improve soil health. Over time, this helps maintain or increase crop yields, while reducing production costs due to saved labor, equipment wear, and fuel,” notes organizer Amy Ivy, a vegetable specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension, Clinton County.

The field day topics include roller-crimping, zone tillage in high residue, in-row cultivation tools, stale seedbed and weed seed bank management strategies and grower experiences with reduced tillage on their farms.

The field day speakers are Jean-Paul Courtens, Roxbury Farm, Kinderhook, NY; University of Vermont Agronomist Heather Darby; Cornell Willsboro Research Farm Manager Mike Davis; Jack Lazor, Butterwork Farm, Westfield, VT; Chuck Bornt, Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program; Bryan Brown and Ryan Maher, Cornell Small Farms Program; Kitty O’Neil, Cornell Cooperative Extension North Country Regional Ag Team; and Cornell University Weed Ecology and Management Professor John Wallace.

Participants at the day-long event will rotate between three demonstration and discussion stations in the morning and three in the afternoon. Lunch is included. The first 50 attendees will receive a program resource booklet.

The Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County and the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm coordinated this field day with funding support from the New York State Soil Health Initiative, Lake Champlain Basin Program, and the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

For more information, contact Amy Ivy, Cornell Cooperative Extension Clinton County, 518-561-7450, adi2@cornell.edu.

Corn and Soybean Disease Surveys Alert Farmers to Recent Trends

Ithaca, NY: July 3, 2018.  As Northern New York farmers scout corn and soybean fields for any diseases that may impact crop health and yield, they can use five years’ worth of survey results as a guide to newly-emerging and common crop pathogens in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

The corn and soybean disease survey project is funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. In addition to identifying current areas of concern and trends, the project provides regional farmers with the expertise of Cornell Cooperative Extension specialists who scout 12 sentinel fields of corn and 21 sentinel fields of soybeans. These fields on Northern New York farms represent different soils and growing conditions, and a variety of cropping practices.

Fields are assessed at various stages of crop growth. The Bergstrom Lab at Cornell University has cultured and analyzed field samples since 2013.

“Multi-year surveys better capture variations in weather from year-to-year, from a wet spring to drought in the past five years. The data helps farmers make more informed corn and soybean variety selections, evaluate soil and crop debris for potential problems, and plan management strategy,” said project leader and Cornell plant pathologist Dr. Gary C. Bergstrom, Ithaca, NY.

This disease survey project was started in 2013 as the first systematic assessment of corn and soybean diseases conducted in Northern New York in recent decades.

Results of the most recent NNY corn disease survey by county is online at https://fieldcrops.cals.cornell.edu/corn/diseases-corn/corn-disease-survey.

A statewide soybean disease survey is online at https://fieldcrops.cals.cornell.edu/soybeans/diseases-soybeans/soybean-disease-survey.

For more information, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension NNY Field Crop Specialists Kitty O’Neil, 315-854-1218, and Mike Hunter, 315-788-8450.

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. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

MORE INFORMATION:
An Overview of NNY Crop Disease Survey 2013-2017

. 2013-2016: Northern corn leaf blight was the dominate disease in corn
. 2014, 2015, 2017: Head smut re-emerged in corn, not identified in NY since the 1980s
. 2014: Northern stem canker identified in soybean; first confirmation in NY in Northern NY and Western NY
. 2016: First confirmation in NNY of Charcoal rot and Phytophthora root rot and charcoal rot, which favor dry conditions, in soybean
. 2017: Four corn diseases and four soybeans diseases identified, with common rust a widespread challenge in corn crops, and white mold, stem canker, and pod and stem blight the most commonly identified disease problems in soybean crops.

White mold discovered in Jefferson County, NY, 2017.
Photos: Mike Hunter

Dairies Cannot Afford to Ignore Alfalfa Snout Beetle,
Even in Low Milk Price Cycle

Northern NY: June 5, 2018.  Untreated, alfalfa snout beetle is costing Northern New York farmers with 100-cow dairies between $30,000 to $60,000 per year every year, depending on the size of the pest infestation and the speed of alfalfa stand loss.

The current cost of controlling alfalfa snout beetle with biocontrol nematodes in a single application for multi-year control is $28 per acre plus the cost of application by the farmer or a custom service.

“Even with the terrible milk prices farmers are currently facing, the cost of biocontrol nematode application should be weighed against the cost of not protecting your alfalfa crop,” says Dr. Elson Shields, the Cornell University entomologist who pioneered the biocontrol nematode solution to combat alfalfa snout beetle and that now appears to be useful for protecting other crops

With assistance from Ev Thomas, Oak Point Agronomics, Ltd; Mike Hunter, Cornell Cooperative Extension; Tom Kilcer, Advanced Ag Systems, LLC; and Michael Miller, W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Shields and Research Support Specialist Antonio Testa estimate the true cost of alfalfa snout beetle moving onto the farm in three distinct areas:

1. alfalfa stand and yield loss: average $325 per acre (per cow) per year; range: $200-$500 depending on speed of loss of stand

2. expense of off-farm protein purchased to replace forage quality of lost alfalfa crop; for example, extra soy costs: average $120 per cow per year; range: $56.40 -$201; plus
3. the resulting impact on farm CAFO plan from increased phosphorus brought on farm with increased purchases of protein-like soybean meal.

When a nematode-treated alfalfa field is rotated into corn, research has shown a positive impact on reducing wireworms and corn rootworm. After 4 years of corn production, research has shown that the biocontrol nematodes remain in the field at sufficient populations to provide continual control of alfalfa snout beetle.

Biocontrol nematode applications must be made before September 15. Best results are obtained by applying to alfalfa fields in their seeding year or first production year. It requires 3 to 5 years to totally inoculate a farm with nematodes to reduce the snout beetle population to a manageable level. Learn more at www.alfalfasnoutbeetle.org.

A long-term research commitment by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program supported the development of the science needed to pioneer the use of native nematodes, tiny insect-attacking worms, as a biocontrol to suppress the spread of alfalfa snout beetle.

Subsequent research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, New York Farm Viability Institute, and others is showing application of the biocontrol nematodes for controlling berry pests, white grub, and other crop pests in New York State and elsewhere in the U.S.

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. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

MORE INFORMATION: from Cornell University and collaborators

Increased Feeding Costs Due to High Quality Forage Loss to Alfalfa Snout Beetle
With the assistance of Ev Thomas, Oak Point Agronomics, Ltd., and Michael Miller, W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, the Cornell Department of Entomology has estimated the cost of soybean meal to replace the lost alfalfa in a diet of 30 percent forage and 70 percent corn in various scenarios as follow.

Situation 1: Clear-seeded alfalfa lost, replaced to high quality grass (15% CP)
Extra Soy Cost in Diet = $9.30 per cow per month ($111.60 per cow per year); 100 cows = $930 per month or $11,160 per year.

Situation 2: 50% alfalfa, alfalfa is replaced with high quality grass (15% CP)
Extra Soy Cost in Diet = $4.70 per cow per month ($56.40 per cow per year); 100 cows = $470 per month or $4,230 per year. 5640

Situation 3: Clear-seeded alfalfa lost, replaced to average quality grass (11% CP)
Extra Soy Cost in Diet = $16.80 per cow per month ($201 per cow per year); 100 cows = $2,010 per month or $20,100 per year.

Situation 4: 50% alfalfa, alfalfa replaced with average quality grass (11% CP)
Extra Soy Cost in Diet = $8.40 per cow per month ($100.80 per cow per year); 100 cows = $840 per month or $10,080 per year.

A middle of the road figure would be $10 per cow per month ($120 per cow per year) and 100 cows = $1,000 per cow per month ($10,000 per year) (range $5,640 – $20,100 per 100 cows per year).

This brings the cost of alfalfa snout beetle on the farm to $445 per cow per year every year, not accounting for the impact on the CAFO plan for the dairy:
Stand and Yield Loss: $325 per acre (per cow) per year, range: $200-$500

Extra Soy costs: $120 per cow per year, range: $56.40-$201

Total: $445 per cow per year every year; 100 cows = $44,500, range $30,000-$60,000

The Cost of Stand Loss from Alfalfa Snout Beetle Damage
With the assistance of Ev Thomas, Oak Point Agronomics, Ltd; Mike Hunter, Cornell Cooperative Extension; and Tom Kilcer, Advanced Ag Systems, LLC, the Cornell Department of Entomology estimated that alfalfa stand loss from alfalfa snout beetle cost the farmer between $200-$400 an acre per year in a three-cut, 4-year rotation system and $200-$500 per acre per year in a 4-cut, 3-year rotation system. The cost figure is a combination of establishment costs, loss of yield, and fixed land costs.

The variation in cost is dependent on the speed of stand elimination by alfalfa snout beetle. If the stand is eliminated in a single year, the higher cost is appropriate and if the stand is eliminated over 2-3 years, the lower cost is appropriate. A middle of the road figure would be $325 per acre per year. Using the rule of thumb that one acre of forage feeds a cow for a year, stand losses from alfalfa snout beetle equals $325 per cow per year.