GDDs April 9, 2021
Erik Smith, Area Field Crop Specialist
Central New York Dairy and Field Crops
The sun is out and the trees are budding, and depending on when you seeded your winter annual forage crops last fall, you may be ready to harvest in only a few weeks. Springtime degree day accumulations may not be as precise at predicting harvest timing for these crops as others (especially in light of planting date last fall), but they can give you an idea of how fast your crops (or weeds…) may be progressing.
Winter annual small grain forage crops should be harvested at the flag stage (Feekes 9, when the last leaf has fully emerged) for optimum nutritive value. Triticale requires around 100 GDD per growth stage, while wheat requires up to 140. Here is this week's table, designed to include a wide range of latitudes and elevations around the CNY region. All values are base 32 degrees F from January 1:
Upcoming Events
New York State Fiber Conference
June 9, 2024
Bouckville, NY
Theme for this year: Quality Matters
Announcements
Cash Rent and Custom Harvest Survey
To date, there is limited information available about rental rates and fees for crop harvesting. Farms can use this valuable information for their farm business planning to help improve decision making and profitability.Farmers Can Join MeatSuite For Free!
MeatSuite.com is a free resource provided by Cornell University where NY meat farmers can create a farm profile and list their bulk (wholes, halves, quarters) and bundled (i.e. Grilling Bundle) meat products.Why should farmers join?
1. It's free and easy!
2. Connect with more local customers. In the past year the MeatSuite.com farm directory had 8,300 visits from New York consumers. Farm profiles get as many as 25 views per month from potential local customers. We also spotlight MeatSuite farms on social media and bring attention and purchases to farms through highlights and giveaways.
How do I join?
Farmers can visit https://www.meatsuite.com/farmers/ to create a free farm profile. You must list at least one product for your farm's profile to go live. You'll also have access to Cornell's free Meat Price Calculator, a helpful tool for pricing your meat to make a profit.
While you're on MeatSuite, check out the "Creating Consumer-Friendly Bulk Meats" publication on the log-in page. It has tips on how to create bulk meat products that are easier for first-time buyers to say "yes" to.
If you have any questions as you create your farm profile or products, we're here to help! Please email Matt LeRoux at mnl28@cornell.edu.