CCEFM Master Gardeners to Hold Plant Sale

Vegetable growers and flower gardeners alike will find quality-stock plants at the annual Master Gardener Plant Sale sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension in Fulton and Montgomery Counties. The sale will be held in the parking lot of Udderly Delicious, North Comrie Avenue (State Highway 30A) in Johnstown on Saturday, June 1, 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.  A wide variety of vegetable bedding plants, including several varieties of tomatoes, annuals and perennial flower plants, and some house plants will be featured in this year’s sale.  

Home-owners who wish to spruce up their grounds in preparation for backyard celebrations, add some color to their landscapes, fill some window boxes or patio planters, or just plant a flower garden, will find beautiful color and selection. Volunteer master gardeners will be on site to help individuals make selections to plant together into containers or directly into the landscape.

A major goal of the plant sale is to provide one-on-one expertise on-the-spot to local customers. “This plant sale is a unique experience because there are trained volunteer master gardeners who can answer your questions about preparing your space and planting the plants to help you be successful with the plants you decide to buy,” according to master gardener Deb Landrio.

Questions about the sale may be directed to Cornell Cooperative Extension in Fulton and Montgomery Counties at 518-673-5525 x 101. Proceeds from the sale will augment learning opportunities for the Fulton/Montgomery Master Gardener Program. Cornell Cooperative Extension in New York State provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Program description:

This FREE lecture will cover parasite management options for small ruminants. The event will satisfy FAMACHA workshops requirements. These events are designed to equip sheep and goat producers with the skills and knowledge to determine the degree of infection of Haemonchus contorutus (barber pole worm) in sheep and goats using the color of the tissue around the eye. The barber pole worm is a blood sucking internal parasite that is a common cause of poor-doing, bottle jaw and death in small ruminants. FAMACHA certification and the standard eye chart will be available for a $10 fee.

Dr. Miller is a professor in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Louisiana State University (LSU), in Baton Rouge, LA. His current research program investigates  breed  specific nematode resistance  and  novel (non-chemical) approaches for protection against nematode infection. His is responsible for evaluating nematode-trapping fungi, condensed tannins, copper wire boluses and vaccination protocols in conjunction with strategic use of anthelmintics.

Date:               Thursday, April 18, 2013

Time:               6:00 – 8:00pm

Location:         Cornell Cooperative Extension of Fulton and Montgomery Counties

                                50 East Main St

                                Canajoharie, NY 13317

The event is free; RSVPs are requested for those attending.

Please RSVP to: judy@dutchbarnfarm.com

The starting date for the 4-H Tractor Safety Program has been pushed one week to Monday, April 8.  Be sure to register today!

Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie & Otsego Counties will be offering The Farm Tractor and Machinery Operator’s Certification Course in cooperation with SUNY Cobleskill’s Agriculture Engineering Department.  Classes will be offered on Mondays from April 8 to April 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Cobleskill.  This program is available to youth who are at least 14 years-of-age.  Instruction includes classroom sessions, self-guided instruction, and driving practice.  The cost is $25.00 per person.

The Farm Tractor and Machinery Operators’ Certification Course provides an opportunity for youth who are 14 and 15 years-old to earn a Certificate of Exemption from the labor laws in order to be employed on a farm.

Please contact the Schoharie County 4-H Office at 518- 234-4303 or 296-8310 to register.  Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.  Accommodations for persons with special needs may be requested by contacting Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties prior to the program.

Food Gardening 101: A Beginner's Course on Fruits and Vegetables

Are you a beginner gardener who would like to learn how to grow food in your backyard successfully to feed a family? Four classes are arranged sequentially, but one may register for all four classes or select the sessions which he/she wishes to atend.

March 28th: Starting Your Seeds
April 11th: Selecting a Site for Your Garden
April 25th: Mapping Your Garden
May 16th: Post-Planting Care

All classes are held at the Shirley Luck Senior Citizen Center in Johnstown and are $5 for each class or $15 for all four clases. Pre-register by calling Cornell Cooperative Extension at 673-5525 ext. 101. The full brochure with class descriptions is attached below. 

New York’s fossil fuel: Gone with the wind, water and sun

ITHACA, N.Y. – Converting all of the state’s energy sources from natural gas, coal and fossil fuel to wind, water and sunlight by 2030 will stabilize electricity prices, reduce power demand by about 37 percent and create thousands of permanent jobs, suggests a new report in the journal Energy Policy (March 12, 2013).

“Can New York State rid itself of fossil fuel in the near future? The answer is ‘yes.’ The economics of this plan make sense, now it is up to the political sphere,” says Anthony Ingraffea, Cornell University professor of engineering and a co-author on the report.

The report, “Examining the Feasibility of Converting New York State’s All-Purpose Energy Infrastructure to One Using Wind, Water and Sunlight,” includes Robert W. Howarth, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, as co-author. Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University is the lead author.

Register for 4-H Tractor Certificate Program

Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie & Otsego Counties will be offering The Farm Tractor and Machinery Operator’s Certification Course in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Fulton and Montgomery Counties and SUNY Cobleskill’s Agriculture Engineering Department. Classes will be offered on Mondays from April 1 to April 29, from 6-9 pm in Cobleskill.  This program is available to youth who are at least 14 years of age.  Instruction includes classroom sessions, self guided instruction and practice driving.

The Farm Tractor and Machinery Operators’ Certification Course provides an opportunity for youth who are 14 and 15 years old to earn a Certificate of Exemption from the labor laws in order to be employed on a farm.

The course will cost participants $25.  Registration deadline is Wednesday, March 27.  Please contact the Schoharie County 4-H Office at (518) 234-4303 or 296-8310 to register. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension in an equal opportunity affirmative action program provider.  To request accommodations to participate in this program call 518-234-4303.

With a NASA-approved energy bar loaded with DHA omega-3 fatty acids, a company called Solar Flare beat out 11 other teams of Cornell students who pitched their business startup ideas to venture capitalists.

Solar Flare won a $500 prize in the Johnson Shark Tank competition, held Feb. 5 in Duffield Hall.

BROOKINGS, S.D., Feb. 27, 2013—Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan visited South Dakota State University today to announce more than $75 million in grants for research, education and extension activities to ensure greater food security in the United States and around the world. The awards were made to teams at 21 U.S. universities to conduct research that will find solutions to increasing food availability and decreasing the number of food insecure individuals.

USDA Announces Request for Applications for FY 2014 Farm to School Grants

Program Description
The purpose of the USDA Farm to School Grant Program is to assist eligible entities in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. On an annual basis, USDA awards up to $5 million in competitive grants for training, supporting operations, planning, purchasing equipment, developing school gardens, developing partnerships, and implementing farm to school programs.

In this funding round, USDA is soliciting applications for three types of grants:

1. Planning grants are intended for school districts or schools just starting to incorporate farm to school program elements into their operations.
2. Implementation grants are intended for school districts or schools to help scale or further develop existing farm to school initiatives.
3. Support Service grants are intended for state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers, and non-profit entities working with school districts or schools to further develop existing farm to school initiatives and to provide broad reaching support services to farm to school initiatives.

Proposals are due at midnight EST, April 24, 2013. In all cases, a 25% cash or in-kind match of the total project cost is required.