Knowing when to start first cutting haycrop can be a challenge. Harvest can not be tied to a particular calendar date but instead is dependent on heat and soil moisture. Alfalfa height has proven to be the best indicator of alfalfa and grass quality in the field and can give producers a heads up as to when to harvest.

To give producers some idea of when to start harvesting first cutting, the CNY Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Team staff measures alfalfa height on over 55 fields across the eight counties. Those locations were chosen to reflect the diversity of heat, elevation, and soil moisture found in our area.

Hemp Grain and Fiber: Production, Pests, Processing, and Policy in NY State

July 6 - July 7, 2021

Free evening webinars with presentations by Cornell University and NYS Ag and Markets.

Pigweeds and Soybean Cyst Nematodes ID & Management Workshop

July 27, 2021
Ballston Spa, NY

Join CCE Capital District and the CNYDLFC Team for a free workshop focused on the identification and management of Pigweeds and Soybean Cyst Nematodes. 

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We Want to Collect Your Cereal Leaf Beetle Larvae!

Many of you have had issues with cereal leaf beetle in small grains. In the late 1960s and 1970s, USDA released a parasitoid the controlled cereal leaf beetle at very high levels. It was established and did a good job on control for many decades. In some parts of NYS there are very low levels of these parasitoids. We are looking to reestablish them in those areas. In 2020 NYS IPM (Jaime Cummings) conducted a survey on the percent parasitism of cereal leaf beetle larvae in several areas of the state.

Most areas of the state are very low. We are looking to conduct the same survey in 2021 as well as continuing to develop a parasitoid insectary refuge on the Cornell Farm in Aurora. This can help us reestablish the parasitoid in areas of the state that might need them. If you have cereal leaf beetle in your fields please let Erik Smith (eas56@cornell.edu) or Ken Wise (klw24@cornell.edu) know and we can come and collect them. We will also let you know the rates of parasitism of the beetles in your fields.

Farmland Protection Implementation Grants Program

$52.5 MILLION AVAILABLE TO PROTECT NEW YORK FARMLAND
 
State Dedicates Highest Level of Funding Ever to Protect Valuable and At-Risk Farmland 

Each of New York's 10 Regions Will Be Allocated $5 Million for Conservation Easement Projects 

Eligibility Opportunities Expanded to Agroforestry, Equine, and Wine Sectors
Round 18 FPIG continues New York State's commitment to provide financial assistance to locally led farmland protection efforts. The Farmland Protection Implementation Grants Program provides financial assistance to counties, municipalities, soil and water conservation districts, and land trusts to enable them to implement farmland protection activities consistent with local agricultural and farmland protection plans. The most frequently funded activity is the purchase of agricultural conservation easements on individual farms. However, the program may also award funding to enable other implementation activities, such as amendments to local laws affecting agriculture, option agreements, and covering the transaction costs of donated agricultural conservation easements.

All farmland protection project applications must be submitted electronically through the New York State Grants Gateway. More information regarding the Grants Gateway can be found here.

Municipalities, counties, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and land trusts are eligible to apply for grants of up to $2 million each to help offset the costs of individual conservation easement projects that protect viable agricultural land from being converted to non-agricultural use.
 
Eligibility criteria for the program have been adjusted to include the agroforestry, equine, and wine sectors, reflecting New York's diverse agricultural industry.  In addition, other closely aligned State goals have been integrated into the eligibility criteria to allow multiple objectives for certain projects, including food security, climate resiliency, and source water protection.  Another first for the program, an incentive payment is now available to participating landowners whose project specifically incorporates climate resiliency or source water protection. Soil health assessments are also now an eligible project cost.
 
There is no application deadline and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until available funds have been awarded to eligible projects. 
 
This funding opportunity continues the state's commitment to provide financial and technical assistance for farmland protection on a predictable two-year cycle and builds on the recent additions of the successful FPIG Dairy Transitions Farmland Protection Initiative and the FPIG Farm Operations in Transition Farmland Protection Initiative.