Berry production topic of seminar
PLATTSBURGH — On Tuesday, March 2, from 12:30 to 4 p.m., at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Plattsburgh, state berry specialist Cathy Heidenrich and regional berry specialist Laura McDermott will discuss the production of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in Northern New York.
Topics covered include site selection, pest and disease management, weeds and pruning. Dr. Marvin Pritts, department chairman and state specialist, will join in by polycom to discuss the nutritional needs of these three crops. Pesticide recertification credits have been applied for.
The cost is $15 per person, and registration is due by Feb. 26. For more information, contact Amy Ivy, adi2@cornell.edu, or call 561-7450.
Forage quality competition begins soon
PLATTSBURGH — The new Northern New York Forage Quality Cup competition offers farmers a friendly competition as a way to have their forage evaluated with cash prizes going to the producers of the top forage samples. The competition, organized by the Cornell Cooperative Extension associations of Northern New York and Dairy One, will accept samples from Feb. 16 through March 26, 2010.
"Forage is a critical component for maintaining dairy-herd health and strong milk production. This competition is a great way for farmers to get an evaluation of their forage quality and measure their forage-production practices against other regional entries," said Northern New York Forage Quality Cup organizer and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County Agronomist Joseph R. Lawrence.
Forage samples will be judged on a county-by-county and a regional basis for forage quality analysis and the milk-per-ton calculation based on the University of Wisconsin MILK2006 program.
Farmers may submit entries in three categories: conventional (non-BMR) corn silage, BMR corn silage and haylage/baleage. A $5 per entry fee will be collected.
Farmers submitting entries will receive a standard forage analysis (valued at $16) from the Dairy One Forage Lab in Ithaca for each entry.
The Dairy One Forage Lab; Miller Spraying; Blue Sea Richer Dairy Nutrition; Farm Credit East, ACA, Burrville and Potsdam; Feed Commodities International Inc.; Cargill Animal Nutrition; Countryside Veterinary Clinic; and Renaissance Nutrition, Inc. are sponsoring the competition.
The top rated samples in each county will receive $50 cash prizes with a $200 cash award presented to the regional winner from all six counties for non-BMR corn silage and haylage/baleage. BMR corn samples will be accepted with one overall regional winner receiving a $200 cash prize.
Farmers in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties will have the opportunity to bring forage samples to the Wednesday, Feb. 17, Crop Congress at W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy.
Entries will be accepted at all six Northern New York Cornell Cooperative Extension offices until March 26, 2010.
"High-quality forages are the backbone of ruminant nutrition," Dairy Specialist for Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties Emily Myers said. "Without them you can almost guarantee that milk production will be down and/or feed expenses will be up. This competition will give your farm an idea of how it's doing compared to others across the region along with a chance at a little extra spending money."
County contacts for more information on entering the contest are, for Clinton and Essex counties, Anita Deming, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County, Westport, 962-4810, Ext. 409; and for Franklin and St. Lawrence counties, Stephen R. Canner, Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, Canton, 315-379-9192.
Insight offered on improving milk checks
PLATTSBURGH — Dairy farmers struggling to hold on until milk prices recover are looking for ways to add income now. With funding from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Cornell University researchers collected and analyzed data from 52 Holstein dairy herds in Northern New York to help farmers learn how to increase milk protein levels, which bring a premium from processors.
Dr. Mark Stephenson of Cornell University's Program on Dairy Markets and Policy concluded in a 2005 report that Northern New York dairy farmers consistently received the lowest milk price per hundredweight (cwt) and that improving the production of milk components, such as milk fat and protein, could add income under our multiple component pricing plan.
"With the current pricing structure, the value of milk fat and milk protein account for more than 80 percent of the milk price received for 100 lbs. of milk and higher milk protein levels equate to higher cheese yields/unit of milk," he said. "Higher component milk is better for farmers and dairy processors in the North Country."
Research Project Leader Larry E. Chase, a Cornell University animal science professor, said that milk components — the pounds of milk fat and milk protein — are critically important in determining the size of producers' milk checks, and a large number of factors affect component levels. "Our work with dairy farmers in Northern New York has provided a basis to help herdsmen adjust their production practices to increase milk protein levels that bring a premium," he said.
The research team used October 2009 pricing from the Federal Milk Marketing Order No. 1 for Northeastern farms to calculate the potential impact of improving components.
"The price per 100 lbs. of milk increases by 26 cents/100 lbs. if milk protein increases by 0.1 point. For a cow producing 70 lbs. of milk per day, that equates to an increase of 18 cents per cow per day," Chase said. "Balancing the dairy ration fed to cows is one way farmers can improve milk protein levels. Farmers need to design a feeding and management program that enhances the production of milk protein content and yield by providing the right quantity and profile of the intestinally absorbed amino acids in their feed ration."
The "Can We Feed for Higher Levels of Milk Protein" article posted on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Web site at www.nnyagdev.org offers suggestions for evaluating a dairy herd before amino-acid balancing and how to develop an amino-acid formulation dairy ration.
For more information, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension Dairy Educators Emily Myers at 353-4949.
Workshops to focus on farm workers
CHAZY — The Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Northern New York have organized workshops to help dairy-farm managers and direct-market farm managers address employee recruitment and selection, labor regulations, training and employee expectations.
Thomas R. Maloney, senior extension associate with Cornell University's Department of Applied Economics and Management, will speak at each workshop.
"Farm employees are a critical component to making farms function efficiently and productively," Maloney said. "Good management starts with hiring the right people and then training and supporting them to maximize their contributions to the farm business or farm market."
The workshops are split into two sections. The noon to 3 p.m. session will focus on management of dairy-farm labor and the 6 to 9 p.m. session will address labor management for non-dairy farm managers and growers with employees who sell direct to consumers at farm stands, farmers' markets and elsewhere.
The sessions will be held on Feb. 23 in Chazy at the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, 1034 Miner Farm Road, call 962-4810, Ext. 409 to register.
"Farmers and market managers attending these workshops will learn ways to build, refresh or improve their plans for dealing with essential employment issues and opportunities, such as retaining good employees, giving incentives to keep employees motivated and efficient, and writing job descriptions," Farm Business Management Educator Jessica Prosper with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Franklin County said. "The workshops will also cover the state and federal employment regulations that all employers must meet."
Registration is encouraged. To learn more about agriculture in Northern New York, contact your local Cornell Cooperative Extension office or visit www.nnyagdev.org.
Small fruits, vegetables to be discussed
PLATTSBURGH — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County will be hosting a vegetable and small-fruits farmer discussion group on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
The meeting will be at the Cooperative Extension Office located at 6064 State Route 22, Plattsburgh, and will begin at 6:30 p.m. There is no cost, but participants are welcome to bring a dish to pass. Topics to be discussed this week will include group purchasing and favorite seed varieties.
More information can be obtained by calling the horticulture educator, Anne Lenox Barlow, at 561-7450. Farmer discussion groups have grown out of farmers' and farm families' need to create farming systems that better meet their unique needs. These networks help farmers distribute information, offer moral and technical support, and share resource leads.
Meetings to exchange ideas for dairy farmers
CHAZY — A Northeastern New York group of DairyFAST (Farm Advisor Skills Training) is being launched at a breakfast on Feb. 25 beginning at 8 a.m. in Chazy at Miner Institute. Although a lot of thought and diversity of opinion went into launching this group, the format itself will be up for discussion at the end of the session.
Risk management is the topic of the first meeting. John Berry of Penn State Cooperative Extension will be the presenter. He will give an overview of the Managing the Margins workshop he is presenting across the state. This workshop provides producers with concepts and tools to determine break-even prices, market strategies and crop-insurance decisions appropriate for their operations under various conditions with the end goal of being able to identify and capture profitable margins.
The session will be held in the Miner Center Auditorium. There is no fee. The objectives are to mix with colleagues from the area, enjoy a good breakfast, deepen knowledge about ready-to-use risk-management tools, and affect the format and content of future meetings.
RSVP by Feb. 20 to Emily Myers at 353-4949 or erm35@cornell.edu.
