Posted 4/26/2010
by Karen Kosinski
Game of Logging, a chainsaw safety and productivity training is scheduled for May and June at the Arnot Teaching and Research Forest, 611 County Road 13, VanEtten, NY.
This program presents hands-on training with a Game of Logging Certified Instructor, re-designed for private forest owners, firewood cutters, and homeowners wishing to gain a more thorough knowledge and practical, hands‐on experience with safety and productivity.
“I’m happy to bring back certified instructor and awesome teacher Bill Lindloff” says Peter J. Smallidge, Ph.D., NYS Extension Forester and Director, Arnot Teaching and Research Forest. He is also the director of the Cornell Maple Program.
Posted 4/26/2010
by Karen Kosinski via USDA News
The deadline has been extended to May 5, 2010. In addition, the requirements to document losses for honeybee producers who suffered losses due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) were modified to allow documentation by an independent third party for losses in 2010 through Sept. 31, 2011.
On April 15th, USDA announced that it will accept applications for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) for losses that took place in calendar years 2008 and 2009.
ELAP sign-up ended on Dec.10, 2009, for 2008 losses and on Feb. 1, 2010, for 2009 losses. However, because of changes to program eligibility provisions, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting late-filed applications for 2008 and 2009 livestock, honeybees, and/or farm-raised fish losses through May 5, 2010.
Posted 4/19/2010
by Craig Cramer for Cornell News Service
Last year, many broken-hearted gardeners in the Northeast were denied their cherished homegrown tomatoes when late blight -- the same disease that triggered the Irish potato famine -- wiped out their plants.
This year, gardeners can play a key role to help avoid a repeat of 2009.
"Anyone growing susceptible plants needs to take responsibility to ensure they don't become a 'typhoid Mary’,”says Meg McGrath, plant pathologist at Cornell's Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, N.Y. "We need to treat this like a community disease," she adds. "If infested, even a small garden can have a devastating impact on other plantings."
Posted 4/16/2010
by Crystal Stewart
June 6-8, 2010
Houghton College, 1 Willard Avenue, Houghton NY 14744
The 2010 New York State Maple Tour will be hosted by Houghton College in the scenic hills of Allegany County. The tour will begin with registration at 3:00 pm, trade show opening at 3:30 pm and tour social from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Sunday June 6. On Monday June 7th breakfast will be served in the Campus Center from 6:30 to 8:00 am and then we will be loading the busses for touring the following sugarhouses, the Cheese Museum and the Cuba Cheese Shoppe. Download the full details.
Posted 4/12/2010
by Jennifer Martin
An international team of scientists funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has learned remarkable things about how fungi evolve to cause disease on crop plants. This novel information will help develop new ways to protect plants from these pathogens. The team was led by researchers at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the Broad Institute and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Their results were reported in the March 18 issue of the journal, Nature.
The researchers unlocked genetic secrets of the plant pathogenic fungi in Fusarium oxysporum, which causes a variety of diseases in economically important crops. Some of the fungi within this species cause disease on bananas, while others infect tomatoes, canola, melons or cotton. Not only do these fungi cause plant diseases that decrease crop productivity, they also produce toxins that threaten the health of animals that eat the infected plants.
Posted 4/9/2010
by Krishna Ramanujan for the Cornell Chronicle Online
Most studies of food webs look at how predators at the top of the food chain control prey and plant populations below them. But a new Cornell study, published March 26 in Science, is one of the first that shows how plants at the bottom of the food chain have evolved mechanisms that influence ecosystem dynamics as well.
"The ecology and interactions of most organisms is dictated by their evolutionary history," said Anurag Agrawal, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB), the study's senior author.
In food webs, predators help suppress populations of prey by eating them; that frees species lower in the food chain, such as plants, to flourish, a dynamic called a "trophic cascade." Most trophic cascade studies have focused on the ability of predators to increase plant biomass by eating herbivores. Such studies typically find strong trophic cascades in aquatic environments, where big fish eat minnows, which eat the tiny algae-eating crustaceans called daphnia.
Posted 4/7/2010
by Cornell Chronicle Online
As of March 29, Cornell Dining began serving local, natural beef, initially using three head of cattle per week that are raised at the Cornell Research Farms in Dryden, N.Y. That equates to about 1,000 pounds of ground beef, along with 128 pounds of rib section, 108 pounds of short loin and 120 pounds of sirloin.
"This new program drastically reduces the food miles and carbon footprint Cornell Dining was experiencing under its former beef program," said Gail Finan, director of Cornell Dining.
The local beef program was started in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and the Department of Animal Science, through funding from the New York State Farm Viability Institute.
Posted 4/2/2010
by Laura McDermott
On Tuesday, April 20th, the Cornell Cooperative Extension Capital District Vegetable and Small Fruit Program along with NYS Integrated Pest Management will host a workshop on using beneficial insects in high tunnel production systems. This meeting will provide commercial vegetable growers a hands-on opportunity to see how these insects are delivered to their farm, what types of environment favor the insects and explore the costs and benefits of using them as a pest control alternative.
The 10:00am meeting is hosted by Kilpatrick Family Farm in Middle Granville NY. The program is limited to commercial growers and you must pre-register to attend. The cost is $10/person. There will be 2 DEC credits available. For more information about this program and the larger educational opportunities offered by the Capital District Vegetable and Small Fruit program, please contact Laura McDermott at 518-746-2562.
Posted 4/2/2010
by Karen Kosinski
According to a posting on the New York Farm Bureau website, farmers in New York are being asked to tell their stories. The New York Farm Bureau Foundation for Agricultural Education is working on collecting short personal stories to be included in a collection they will name "A Day in the Life of a Farmer."
Farmers are asked to provide a one-page story that focuses on a personal experience connected to agriculture or that tells about a day in the life of a farmer. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about farming by painting a picture through the written word.
Stories should be submitted by August 15th. The foundation's web site, www.nyfbfoundation.org offers guidelines to writers.
Posted 3/25/2010
by Curt Petzoldt, Contact for IPM Program
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today announced the availability of nine new organic production guides for farmers. The new guides provide information for farmers on how to produce certified organic apples, blueberries, grapes, lettuce, potatoes, spinach, strawberries and cole crops, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. There is also a new guide to help control dairy cattle related pests using organic IPM methods.
"Farmers indicated to us that there was a lack of clear, research-based information available to help them transition from conventional to organic production," the Commissioner said. "These free guides are in direct response to those pleas and we hope they serve the farmers interested in transitioning by providing practical and proven information to make the transition as smooth and possible."