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 15^th, 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.

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."

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 7^th 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

With pruning season upon us, NYS Farm Bureau reminds us of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s open burning regulations that changed in the fall. While this change allows the burning of many agricultural waste components for disposal, it would still prohibit the burning of plastic in the state.