Pest and Disease Monitoring May 24, 2022
Erik Smith, Area Field Crop Specialist
Central New York Dairy and Field Crops
Still no leafhoppers in alfalfa, but I have seen some alfalfa weevil damage in a few fields that were farther along. Going forward I will monitor several fields around the region for this pest.
This year we will again monitor for several pests of corn using pheromone-baited traps, including black cutworm (BCW), western bean cutworm (WBC), and true armyworm (TAW). We monitor BCW and TAW populations first, then transition to BCW and TAW through the middle part of the season, and we may eventually track fall armyworm (FAW) at some point this year as well. So stay tuned.
This week, all of our traps yielded BCW, but TAW populations are still thankfully AWOL. The last of our traps went up this week, so the first results from those will be reported next week:
As winter grains such as barley and wheat begin to flower, now would be the time to decide whether to protect crops from fusarium head blight. According to the Fusarium Risk Tool, the risk in our region is currently low, except for perhaps eastern Fulton County, where the risk is medium if your crops are currently flowering:
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?
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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.