The Cornell Department of Horticulture blog today offers “10 tips for gardeners to beat late blight.”

Earlier this week, state Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine alerted gardeners and commercial growers of the possibility of late blight again this year.

“The exceptionally cool, damp spring we are experiencing throughout New York State this year heightens our concern for late blight,” Aubertine said in a news release. “We saw the devastation it can do to a tomato crop in 2009, and we have already received reports of early late blight detection in neighboring states.”

While late blight has not been detected in New York at this time, it has been detected in  Michigan, Connecticut and Maine.

“Last year, the Department initiated a concerted strategy to enhance the State’s detection and eradication efforts that involved training its horticultural inspectors, surveying plants at the retail level and in commercial greenhouses, and working with Cornell Cooperative Extension to conduct outreach and follow up in the field with growers and gardeners,” the Ag and Markets news release said. “This year, inspection of tomato plants has been a priority, and to date, more than 150,000 tomato plants have been inspected with no signs of late blight detected.”

The Cornell Horticulture blog offers the following 10 tips for gardeners to beat late blight:

Kill volunteer potatoes. Dig up, bag and trash any potato plants that pop up in your garden or compost pile. It may take repeated efforts to get them all.

Buy healthy tomato plants. Learn what late blight looks like. If you spot any infected plants while shopping, alert store management and your local Cooperative Extension office, and buy your plants somewhere else. Or you can grow your own plants. (Late blight isn’t spread on tomato seeds.) Start seed about 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date.

The Central New York Dairy and Field Crops Team has announced they, together with the Cornell Cooperative Extensions in Chenango, Herkimer, Madison, Otsego and Schoharie counties, “will be monitoring first cutting hay fields this spring to help suggest when producers should begin cutting for the highest quality forage for producing milk.” 

“Alfalfa height has been shown to be a strong predictor of in-field NDF (Neutral Detergent Fiber) and gives a reasonable indication of forage quality without the need of forage testing. It has been shown that alfalfa height can not only predict alfalfa NDF but also the NDF content of mixed alfalfa grass stands and pure grass stands,” a May 16 communication from the Dairy and Field Crops Team said.

The Dairy and Field Crops Team has provided a First Cutting Forage Quality Update containing alfalfa height measurements and predicted NDF values for fields in Chenango, Fulton, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Otsego and Schoharie counties. 

The Dairy and Field Crops Team intends that this information provides encouragement for farmers to check their own fields so that they are aware of whether or not they should be harvesting. 

“There are considerable differences in maturity depending geographic location, elevation, soil drainage and which direction the slope is facing. Fields that are in some combination of south facing, well drained and in the valley are much further along. We cannot emphasize enough you need to check your fields!” the Dairy and Field Crops Team notice announcing the forage update said. 

The New York Farm Service Agency (FSA) is asking farmers to contact them immediately if adverse weather has delayed planting or damaged their crops.

Producers must report the acreage to FSA within 15 days of the final planting date of the crop.

Final planting dates are as follows:

May 10            Oats, spring barley, spring seedlings, onions

May 20            Peas

June 10           Corn, soybeans, potatoes

June 30           Dry beans

July 20            Green beans

Aug. 30           Fall seedling

Sept. 30          Winter barley

Oct. 10            Wheat

The requirement applies to all crops, whether covered by crop insurance, not covered by crop insurance, or covered by FSA's Non-insured Assistance Program.

For more information about reporting prevented planting or failed acres, contact your local FSA county office or visit www.fsa.usda.gov.

Rising consumer interest in local foods in the Capital District has provided the impetus for a study that will examine its impact on the economy. 

This summer an intern, working under the direction of professors from the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, will gather data about the impact and contribution of local food production on the greater Capital District economy including Fulton, Montgomery, Albany, Columbia, Greene Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington counties.

At the local level, the Cornell Cooperative Extension Capital District Vegetable and Small Fruit Team along with several area CCE educators will assist with the project. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension and the student intern, Rosy Cohane-Mann (pictured above), will gather economic data from local farmers that participate in summer and winter farmers markets; community supported agriculture (CSAs); farm stands; wholesale sales including food brokers, restaurants, traditional supermarkets, and produce auctions. This work seeks to describe the effect that local food purchases have on imported food and also describing how local food purchasing enhances additional, unrelated local purchasing.

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine will hold a series of public meetings over the next five weeks to discuss the federal Farm Bill scheduled for reauthorization in 2012.

The meetings will begin this Friday. All five of the meetings are scheduled to take place at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse from 10 a.m. to noon in the Bistro of the Arts and Home Building, a news release from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets said.

The following meetings have been scheduled:

Friday, April 29, 2011 - Conservation Title    

Thursday, May 5, 2011 - Rural Development, Forestry & Energy Titles        

Friday, May 13, 2011 - Horticulture & Organic Agriculture Title

Friday, May 20, 2011 - Nutrition Title

Friday, May 27, 2011 - Commodities Title (including Milk Pricing)     

“At the start of each session, invited stakeholders will have an opportunity to present their ideas for that particular title in the Farm Bill.  Those ideas will be used to garner discussion with a panel of subject-matter experts.  Members of the public are also invited to participate and will have the opportunity to submit written questions during the session,” the news release said.

The Ag and Markets Department says space is limited at the meetings and is asking people to RSVP by the Wednesday prior to the meeting by calling 518-457-8876.

Sweet corn has come in as the favorite in a recent New York Farm Bureau Facebook poll which asked what the state vegetable should be.

“Farm Bureau's informal Facebook poll on the state vegetable debate resulted in sweet corn with 725 votes versus onions with 311 votes. Other vegetables like cabbage, potatoes and pumpkins received 240 votes,” a Farm Bureau news release said.

The Farm Bureau survey was in response to two competing bills introduced in the state Senate this month that seek to designate an official state vegetable. One bill introduced seeks to designate the onion and the other sweet corn.

"Certainly there are bigger pressing issues in Albany, but at the same time naming an Official State Vegetable recognizes the importance of the vegetable industry to the economy of Upstate New York and the farm towns of Long Island," Julie Suarez, New York Farm Bureau Director of Public Policy, said in the news release. "We appreciate the efforts of Senators Nozzolio and Carlucci to highlight the importance of our state’s vegetable farms to our New York consumers.”

According to the Cornell Horticulture Department, New York ranks fifth in the nation for planted acres of fresh market and processing vegetable.

“The state ranks in the top four in planted acres for fresh market cabbage, sweet corn, cauliflower, fall storage onions, pumpkins and squash as well as processing snap beans,” a recent post on the Cornell Horticulture Department blog says.

For more information read two reports by Cornell University Associate Horticulture Professor Stephen Reiners: New York Vegetables Rebound in 2010 and New York Vegetable Industry Ranks Number 5 in 2010.

Also read New York is an Agricultural State, a publication of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Unless you have a history of weed problems, early spring probably isn’t the best time to fertilize or apply herbicides to grass, the Cornell Horticulture blog recently posted.

In the recent post Lawn myth busting: Skip spring ‘weed and feed’, the blog explores the dos and don’ts of lawn herbicides and fertilizers.

“If weed and feed has become a ritual for you, it’s time to break the habit,” the blog post says. “Try skipping it this year and applying fertilizer and herbicide only if you need them and in separate treatments at the times when they will be most effective.”

The blog post also shares other lawn tips such as to seed thin areas and damaged spots.

“Spring is a race for space between grass and weeds,” the blog says. “If you can see soil, broadcast and rake in grass seed to fill that space.”

Cornell University has announced a small farms poultry workshop scheduled for May 14.

Management for Success: Basic to Advanced Information will feature:                       

Pastured Poultry 101: Learn about basic small farm poultry production, housing, slaughtering, marketing tips and suggestions. Broiler and Layer programs will be included.

Pastured Poultry 201: Includes more in-depth information and management practices related to breed selection, brooding chicks, feed and water requirements, nutrition, feeding for profits, etc. Organic poultry production will be included.

Poultry Health: This will cover vaccinations, common health problems in poultry flocks and biosecurity.

There will also be an open forum with question and discussion and networking

The event is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. at 15 Silver St. in Norwich. Space is limited. Registrations will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Bring your own lunch or eat at nearby restaurants. For more information or to register, call: 607-334-9962 or visit www.cornerstone-farm.com.

Cornell University veterinarians and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets are investigating two confirmed cases of Equine Herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) in New York State.  

“Both cases of EHV-1 were inpatients of the Equine Hospital at Cornell University, and could have potentially exposed 69 other horses,” the state Ag and Markets Department said in a news release.

The news release provides guidelines to follow if you have a horse that was at the Equine Hospital at Cornell on or after March 18, 2011 or if you believe your horse may have come in contact with a potentially exposed horse.

The guidelines are:

-Isolate your animal, if possible. It is always recommended that horses returning from veterinary hospitals be isolated for three weeks when possible.

- Check your horse’s temperature twice a day for ten days. If the temperature is 102 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, contact your veterinarian immediately.

- If you care to test your horse, consult your veterinarian. At this time, the preferred test is PCR analysis performed on nasal swab specimens.

The Equine Hospital at Cornell is under quarantine and only accepting emergency cased until April 11, the news release said.

For more information read the complete news release by downloading the file below.

Cornell University’s Garden-Based Learning Blog looks at heirloom seeds in its recent post Yesterday’s Seeds; Today’s Gardens.  

“‘What varieties are best for your garden?’ This question, prominently featured on the homepage of Cornell GBL’s Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners website, may be more complex and controversial than it initially appears,” the blog post says.

“Ultimately, the proof of a seed is in the sowing (as well as the eating!), which means even the most casual gardeners have a valuable opinion to offer about the success of different types of seeds in their region,” the blog continues.

Local gardeners can report their success with heirloom and other seeds at the Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners website or by visiting the Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners Facebook page.