Search Results for: extension

Canton  N.Y.; June 9, 2020.   The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has awarded a grant to Cornell Cooperative Extension Dairy Specialists Lindsay Ferlito and Casey Havekes to assess and troubleshoot barn ventilation systems and their  impact on the health of pre-weaned calves on farms in northern New York in 2021. The researchers will demonstrate barn fogging, a process that makes air flow visible as part of calf barn ventilation and calf health workshops on regional farms on July 27 in North Lawrence and July 28 in Carthage. Registration is free, but space is limited. Contact 607-592-0290 or lc636@cornell.edu for details.

This new research in 2021 builds on a series of dairy calf health assessment projects previously funded by the farmer-driven NNYADP:

• An observational baseline study evaluating 437 pre-weaned calves on 29 dairy farms in the region in 2015 indicated a slightly higher rate of respiratory illness than the national average. Research has shown ventilation to be one of the critical factors influencing calf respiratory health.
• An NNYADP-funded follow-up study with 2,408 pre-weaned calves in 2016-2017 highlighted how management practice changes and environmental factors impact calf health on a seasonal basis.
  
  
• In 2017 and 2018, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Quality Milk Production Services created the “Calf Health Risk Assessment Tool for Northern New York Dairy Farms” to support development of farm-specific best management practices planning to address key areas of calf health management, particularly during periods of cold winter temperatures. Every farm participating in that project made management adjustments as a result of the research.
  
  
• In 2019, the results of the NNYADP calf health project showed calfhood illnesses occurring most frequently at 8 to 31 days of age, with neonatal diarrhea, or scours, as the primary concern, and at 61 to 120 days of age with pneumonia as the primary distress. Participating farms developed or enhanced their protocols for preventing and treating calfhood illness.
• A follow-up study in 2020 identified the pathogenic causes of neonatal diarrhea and the benefit of supportive recovery care with electrolytes and plentiful water access.

Throughout this series of NNYADP-funded research, project leaders have been alert to the role of ventilation, housing, and management in reducing the rate of respiratory illness in calves.

Ferlito notes, “Our work in 2021 involves barn fogging and capturing video to analyze the ventilation efficiency in each barn and to identify any necessary changes to enhance calf health.”

The research team, which includes Cornell University PRO-DAIRY personnel, will deploy data loggers inside and outside barns. Data collection will include calf-level air speed and ammonia concentrations in bedding, monthly calf health scoring and weight gain, and bedding nesting scoring. Each participating farm’s calf management reporting and treatment protocols will be assessed. Final project results and insights will be shared via workshops, and posted on the NNYADP website at https://www.nnyagdev.org. The results of past project work are posted there now.

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.

    Photo, left: Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) livestock specialist Betsy Hodge leads the 2021 NNYADP project evaluating indoor-outdoor summer feeding options to enhance lamb health.  Photo, right: The CCE St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm in Canton, New York, is hosting Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research evaluating indoor-outdoor summer feeding options for lambs. Photo courtesy of Betsy Hodge.

NOTE: Cornell University Animal Science Extension Associate tatiana Stanton, Ph.D. spells first name with lower case t

Canton, N.Y.; May 26, 2021.   Can the health of young lambs be enhanced by raising them in a barn or on summer pasture?  The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is funding research investigating if the protective environment of a barn, away from the risk of infection and death caused by the parasites that buildup on summer pastureland, will enhance lamb health.

The project, funded by the farmer-driven research program, will evaluate whether weaning lambs at 8 to 10 weeks old, bringing them into the barn, and feeding them a completely balanced diet will help the young sheep grow faster than lambs that are raised on pasture.

“As summer progresses, hot, dry weather can cause a decline in the quantity and quality of pasture available for lambs and sheep. Sheep on pasture can experience a buildup of parasites as well as increased risk from predators. Additionally, mother ewe milk production tends to drop off after 10 weeks after lambing. Sheep owners need more strategies for protecting their animals,” Betsy Hodge, a livestock specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, explains.

Hodge manages the sheep flock at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm in Canton, New York.  This NNYADP 2021 project will wean one group of lambs at 60 days of age and feed them a complete dietary ration in a barn. A second group of lambs will remain on pasture with mother ewes for 95 to 105 days.

A preliminary study in the summer of 2020 favored leaving the lambs on pasture. This second year of data will help identify and evaluate year-to-year variables before any recommendations are developed.

“We are interested to see if this new research will provide different insights into whether the lambs in the barn will take off on the grain and grow faster than their pastured counterparts. Will they require less de-wormer treatment because they are inside? How will the heat of summer impact each group? Will the ewes be in better body condition and therefore easier to breed back?” says Hodge.

The project data sets will include lamb growth, weight gain, health scoring, and parasite loads for each group of lambs. Analysis of the complete feed ration, forages, and pasture diet will evaluate the role of different nutritional sources. Body condition scoring will also be recorded for both groups of ewes. A cost comparison is also part of the project objectives.

Cornell University Animal Science Department Chair Thomas R. Overton, Ph.D. and Animal Science Extension Associate tatiana Stanton, Ph.D. will provide project oversight and analysis. A Cornell University undergraduate student will assist with the project through the Cornell Cooperative Extension Summer Internship program.

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 https://nnyagdev.org.

May 13, 2021.  The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is investigating the influence of soil compaction on corn crop yield and yield stability. Severely compacted soils limit plant root development and can reduce soil function, particularly in wet seasons. A new research project funded by the NNYADP aims to address the question of whether wide variation in soil compaction severity across a field is directly proportional to variable crop yield within that field.

This soil compaction research project, led by Kitty O’Neil, Ph.D., a Soils and Crops Specialist with Cornell University Cooperative Extension’s North Country Regional Ag Team, has begun collecting data on two farms in northern New York.

“Soil health influences crop yield, farm economics, and ecological functions on farms. Quantifiable data on the role of soil compaction in soil health and crop performance is missing. This project is designed to fill that knowledge gap,” notes O’Neil.

Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program Director Quirine M. Ketterings, Ph.D., will provide data analysis. Dr. Ketterings’ earlier research has informed the design of this new project.

In a 2019 study of nine conventionally-tilled dairy farm corn fields in northern New York, compaction was found at the surface and at depths of six to 18 inches in all nine fields with consistent and highly variable levels of compaction within each field and among the fields.

The New York State Legislature established the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 1961 in recognition of the opportunity for agriculture in the northern region of the state to become a major economic engine locally and for the state.

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

Canton, N.Y.;  March 16, 2021.  With direct input from 18 farms in northern New York and a grant from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP), the completion rate of an alternative training system for dairy workers increased from six percent in the first year to 100 percent in year two. The project, conducted by Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS), evaluated the feasibility of e-learning modules as an alternative to face-to-face training for milker personnel.

This pilot project produced critical insight into module development, the need for ongoing learning for dairy workers, and the added value of hands-on training for the dairy industry. The report, “E-Learning Training Systems as an Educational Approach for Dairy Farm Workers on Milk Quality and Parlor Performance” is posted on the NNYADP website at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

An initial survey at each participating farm identified farm-specific priority issues with 93 percent of the farms identifying milking equipment operation and milking routine procedures as high priorities. This baseline survey data informed the design in 2019 of the first e-learning module focused on the seven steps in a proper milking routine and a second module, in 2020, highlighting the five basic checks of milking equipment that need to be made prior to the start of milking.

Both modules were available in English and Spanish, with video and images augmenting the text that described how to perform each task and why each check is important to the health of the cows and to the quality of milk produced.

“The testing of the 2019 module influenced the design of the 2020 module and vastly improved the response and results focused on educating the milkers on proper equipment handling,” said project leader Dr. Paul D. Virkler, DVM, a veterinarian and senior extension associate with the QMPS Canton Laboratory and Animal Health Diagnostic Center in Canton, New York.

The 2020 module included faster entry into the module, an added section outlining the major milking system components and functions with narrated video options, and an illustrated glossary. The farms participating inthe project in 2020 provided one hour of paid time for the milkers to receive the training.

“In 2020, we addressed a literacy issue by adding an audio option to have the text read aloud for two of the module’s five sections. An unexpected benefit was one Spanish-speaking employee asking to log-in to the English version to hear the text so he could improve his pronunciation of the words in English,” Virkler noted.

Spanish is the native language of 90 of the 95 milkers who participated in the e-learning pilot project in 2020. Twenty-nine percent of the milkers had had prior training on the use of milking equipment, 46 percent had not milked cows before arriving at the farm. All milkers in the project in 2020 had last received any training more than six months earlier.

“Access to strategic and focused training is an ongoing challenge in the dairy industry, even more so in 2020 with COVID-19 severely limiting in-person training events,” Virkler pointed out.

Following the e-learning training in 2020, 95 percent of the milkers indicated that they would now be able to check the milking equipment and 87 percent reported now feeling confident they could inform farm management about an equipment problem.

“Although the module results indicated the milkers had potentially gained knowledge through the training, we also wanted to know if that translated to actually performing the skills, so we piloted a model-based test in which a feature of the milking equipment specifically covered in the module was disabled,” Virkler said.

Even though the majority of milkers had potentially gained knowledge about the required skills, the hands-on testing indicated that an in-person demonstration of what to do to check the equipment was needed to enable the milkers to evaluate the equipment problem.

The research team is now considering how to best incorporate model-based testing into the e-learning educational system as a tool that farm management could use as follow-up to assure the training success in practical, hands-on application.

“This project demonstrates a need for structured training programs that support an ongoing learning culture on the farm. Providing education and feedback to milkers on a regular basis promotes learning, job performance improvement and satisfaction, can reduce employee turnover; and enhances farm efficiency and production success,” Virkler said.

Virkler would like to next develop a module that would train dairy employees to properly conduct tasks related to milking cow health.

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.

To read the full report: “E-Learning Training Systems as an Educational Approach for Dairy Farm Workers on Milk Quality and Parlor Performance”: https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects