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Willsboro, New York; August 7, 2024.  The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has published production data and enterprise budgets analyzing melons as an alternative crop for farms with high tunnels. This research is one of NNYADP’s horticultural projects evaluating opportunities to diversify crop options for spring-to-fall season extension and year-round local foods production.

Regional Vegetable Specialist Elisabeth Hodgdon, Ph.D., and Agricultural Business Development and Marketing Specialist Lindsey Pashow with Cornell University compared the use of two vertical trellising systems – a double leader system and a mesh netting system – to untrellised production in a 30-foot by 96-foot unheated high tunnel. The trial was hosted at the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, New York.

Two varieties of miniature muskmelon, “Sugar Cube” and “Tasty Bites,” were grown using each system and organic production methods, including the use of pest exclusive netting and beneficial insects, including bumblebees, parasitoid wasps, and ladybeetles.

A May 18^th frost stunted the first planting. After reseeding, transplants were moved to the high tunnel on July 6, 2023. The melons on the trellising systems were pruned and clipped for six weeks until they reached the high tunnel rafters in late August.

The melons were harvested two to three times per week beginning in early September and harvest continued until the first fall frost on October 30^th. Marketable yield ranged from four to six marketable fruit with weights ranging from 7.28 pounds to 9.51 pounds per plant.

“Plants harvested in the untrellised system were harvested slightly earlier than with the trellising treatments, which can be beneficial to farms interested in being the first to market with a particular crop,” Pashow noted.

Six enterprise budgets were calculated to identify gross and net income for each variety grown under each of the three systems. Total market weight, yield, and unmarketable melon numbers were all considered in calculating income opportunity. The income potential was compared with the income estimates in studies by Pennsylvania State University and Iowa State University for the popular high tunnel-grown crops of tomatoes and cucumbers.

The net income range of $1,184.43 to $2,835.66 calculated for the melon production systems in northern New York was compared with rough net income potential in studies by Pennsylvania State University and Iowa State University for the popular high tunnel crops of tomatoes ($1,374.00) and cucumbers ($2,550.00).

“While our data suggests that melons likely will not replace tomatoes and cucumbers in a high tunnel system, they may be a valuable addition to a farm’s high tunnel cropping plan. Growers must compare the various aspects of the data from this trial and decide whether the addition of melon production is a good fit for their farm,” Dr. Hodgdon said.

Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., and Cornell Vegetable Specialist Judson Reid collaborated on the project; program aide Jennifer Stanton assisted with harvest and trial data collection. Click here to read the complete report for this project.

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.

New York State Assemblyman Billy Jones, a member of the NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee, and a steadfast advocate for New York agriculture and for funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) stopped by the NNYADP table at the Rural Resource Fair today in the Well of the Legislative Office Building in Albany. He was welcomed by NNYADP Coordinator Michelle Ledoux, left, and Mellissa Spence with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County. The Northern New York region includes Lewis, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties.

The NNYADP thanks NYS Senate Agriculture Committee Members Senators Rachel May and Angelo Santabarbara for their invitation to attend the 2024 Rural Resource Fair in Albany.

Update: Thank you to all who attended!

Research focused on growing the tree syrup industry in Northern New York will be among the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) research update presentations on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at the Joseph C. Burke Education and Research Center at Miner Institute, 586 Ridge Road, Chazy, NY.   The meeting to be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. is free to attend; however, registration is requested by contacting Cornell Cooperative Extension at 315-376-5270.

Uihlein Maple Research Forest Director Adam Wild from Lake Placid, New York, will share information on how a warming climate creates new challenges for sugarmakers and how tapping into other-than-maple tree species for syrup production can increase maple producers and landowners’ economic potential.

Wild notes, “Maple production in Northern New York has increased in recent years in part due to increasing demand, research, and equipment innovations. Beyond maple, tapping into other tree syrups can increase landowners’ economic potential.

Other presentations will focus on dairy sustainability; the importance of whole farm nutrient mass balance and managing greenhouse gas emissions; and the use of technology, including satellites, for stabilizing crop yield.

At the Chazy meeting, Willsboro Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D. will present an update on NNYADP-funded trials of specialty fruit and nut crops for northern New York growers. Miner Institute Research Scientist Laura Klaiber will be sharing a summary of ten years of farm tile drainage and water quality research in the Lake Champlain watershed.

Research funded by the farmer-driven NNYADP is progressively building real-world, field-tested, data-based foundations that help agricultural producers across the six-county northern region of New York and statewide to manage and adapt to the complex mix of factors that influences farm sustainability and agricultural environmental stewardship.

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. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

March 15 NOTICE: The March 20 meeting has been postponed.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has announced NNYADP Research Update Meetings:

Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 10 am-12:30 pm, Chazy, NY
Joseph C. Burke Education and Research Center at Miner Institute
586 Ridge Road, Chazy, NY, and

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 10 am-12:30 pm, Lowville, NY
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County Education Center
7395 East Road, Lowville, NY

Free to attend; however, registration requested for either date to CCE at 315-376-5270.

Research funded by the farmer-driven NNYADP is progressively building real-world, field-tested, data-based foundations that help agricultural producers across the six-county northern region of New York State and statewide to manage and adapt to the complex mix of factors that influences farm sustainability and agricultural environmental stewardship.

Presentations at the NNYADP Research Update Meetings will share the latest data and information as one or both meetings as follows. At both meetings, Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program Director Quirine M. Ketterings, Ph.D. will present data from a suite of whole farm sustainability projects, including nutrient mass balance and greenhouse gas emissions footprinting; the value of manure, and the use of satellite imagery to determine crop yield stability zones.

Also at both meetings, Uihlein Maple Research Forest Director Adam Wild will share information on how tapping into other-than-maple tree species for syrup production can increase maple producers and landowners’ economic potential, plus how a warming climate creates new challenges for sugarmakers.

The March 13th meeting in Chazy will also include a report by Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., on field trial testing and evaluation of promising varieties of elderberry, juneberry, honeyberry and aronia berry and on the first year of trial plantings of hazelnut; and

Miner Institute Research Scientist Laura Klaiber will share data from 10 years of edge-of-field drainage on the quality of surface runoff and tile drainage, the environmental and agronomic impacts of systematic tile drainage in corn and grass fields and when planting cover crops after corn harvest, and crucial insights into the water quality impacts of widely adopted farming practices.

 

Presenters at the March 20th NNYADP Research Update Meeting in Lowville will include Dr. Ketterings and Adam Wild as well as Cornell PRO-DAIRY Dairy Forage Systems Specialist Joe Lawrence discussing how producers can gain the most value from corn silage evaluation data from regional on-farm trials and how the evaluation process has change to determine the best fit for any single farm.

Also on March 20th, Cornell Cooperative Extension Tree Fruit Specialist Michael Basedow will present the results of four years of research on apple crop load management, including evaluation of new crop thinning materials and the use of crop load management models to help regional apple growers fine tune practices for fruit quality and returns.

 

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. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

NNYADP Rye Cover Crop Research Adds Data to Local, State, National Programs
Northern NY region a high priority for this work

Northern New York (Canton, Chazy, Croghan, Mooers, Plattsburgh): July 31, 2023. The first-year results of cover crop research funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program are contributing data to New York State, Northeast, and national programs. The regional project is being conducted by Virginia Moore, Ph.D., who is leading a new research program at Cornell University focused on breeding plants to support sustainable cropping systems in colder climate regions.

Moore is also a project director with the nationwide Cover Crops Breeding Network, the largest effort of its kind in the United States. Moore’s research includes an effort to develop cereal rye as a cover crop.

Moore’s first trials in northern New York planted six different varieties of cereal rye on four different dates in the fall of 2022 on working farms in Croghan, Mooers, and Plattsburgh, New York, and at agricultural research farms in Canton and Chazy in the fall of 2022.

Moore explains why Northern New York is ideal for her research.

“Northern New York’s colder climate and year-round agricultural conditions make it a high priority region for this research. Due to the regional climate and soil variability within New York State, it is critical to expand cereal rye variety development to northern New York where fall and spring growing conditions vary from other parts of the state,” said Moore.

Cereal rye is the most common cover crop in northern climate areas due to its cold tolerance and ability to suppress weeds. It also helps filter surface and groundwater, adds organic matter to support soil health, reduces soil erosion, and sequester carbon in the soil.

Participants in a focus group that Moore convened with northern New York growers, agronomists, Cornell Cooperative Extension specialists, and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff identified challenges, including limited availability of cereal rye varieties suited to the northern New York region, a short planting window for cover crop seeding after fall harvest, and inconsistent growth in the spring. Moore’s research is helping to address these challenges, which all impact the potential of cereal rye as a double forage crop.

Early Data Promising, Work Continues
“Data from the first year showed excellent emergence and plant vigor with all varieties at all sites. Most plots, regardless of the planting date, reached 100 percent emergence before the onset of winter,” Moore noted.

The work continues with more data expected on the cereal rye stand quality, winter survival, maturity, termination, and biomass metrics later this year. A new planting will be made this fall.

Moore’s NNYADP “Cereal Rye Cover Crops for Northern New York: Variety Selection and Research Needs” project report for year one is posted under About: NNYADP Projects By Year: 2022 at www.nnyagdev.org.

SWCD personnel in Clinton and Lewis counties assisted the plantings following cash crop harvest at the three working farms. Data from a trial conducted at Cornell’s research farm in Freeville, New York, are also inducted in the report.

This NNYADP-funded research is also contributing data to the Northeast Cover Crop Council that has cereal rye trials located throughout the Northeast.

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