A partnership between Cornell University and the CCE Associations in these six counties:
Broome, Chemung, Cortland,
Onondaga, Tioga & Tompkins.
Upcoming Events
Practical Soil Health - A 4-week Meeting Series - Session 4
March 2, 2021
Practical Soil Health 2021 A Weekly Meeting Series
Weekly Series: Tuesdays, February 9 - March 212:30 pm - 1:45 pm
March 2nd
Topic: Soil Health Practices in Dairy Systems - A Farmer Panel
Pasture Prep: Virtual Ruminations for your 2021 Grazing Program
March 2, 2021
March 9, 2021
March 16, 2021
March 23, 2021
March 30, 2021
April 6, 2021
: Pasture Prep: Virtual Ruminations for your 2021 Grazing Program
CCE SWNY Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops and SCNY Dairy and Field Crops teams are excited to offer a grazing series with an emphasis on dairy herds, but all grazers are welcome! Join us VIRTUALLY for a 6 week series on unique topics around grazing.
Dairy Manager Discussion Group Winter Series
February 17, 2021
March 3, 2021
March 17, 2021
FREE and Open to dairy farm owners & managers in Central & Western NY
February 17th - Santiago Ledwith, Director, Talentum4, Fostering Employee Engagement in a Multi-Cultural Workforce
March 3rd- Dr Rich Stup, Cornell Ag Workforce Development, Employee Handbooks: What's important & How to Start
March 17th - Betsy Hicks & Margaret Quaassdorff, CCE, Preliminary NY Dairy x Beef Cross Calves Survey Results & Lee Hodge & Tim Timmons, ABS Global - InFocus Program Updates
Announcements
From Our Team to Yours: COVID-19 Resources for Dairy Farmers
Regional Team Operations During COVID-19
Click here for an operations update.Dairy Acceleration Program Funds Available
- organization of financial records/benchmarking up to $1,000
- continued business planning (for farms awarded in a previous year) up to $2,500
- business planning up to $5,000
HEMP GROWER'S EXCHANGE BOARD
2018 Drug Residue Prevention Manual
For more than 30 years, the U.S. dairy industry has focused educational efforts on the judicious use of antibiotics through the annual publication of a Best Practices Manual. The 2018 edition of the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management? Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual is the primary educational tool for dairy farm managers throughout the country on the judicious and responsible use of antibiotics, including avoidance of drug residues in milk and meat.The manual is a quick resource to review those antibiotics approved for dairy animals and can also be used as an educational tool and resource for farm managers as they develop on-farm best management practices necessary to avoid milk and meat residues. Visit the Manual and Form Library to download copies of this important tool!
Follow us on Facebook
The team updates our facebook page frequently - follow us to be updated on our events, see some fun videos and get local area updates!facebook.com/SCNYDairyandFieldCropsTeam
Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship
ProDairy Forage Management
Are you prepared to change your routine this spring?While spring tasks vary by farm, there are many "rites of spring," and they are often completed in a fairly rigid sequence. Depending on the farm, these often include fixing fence, spreading manure, planting new seedings, planting corn and harvesting first cutting, and are often performed in this order.
We are optimistic that the upcoming turn in weather will allow these task to be accomplished in a timely manner, but at this point it is time to ask yourself: Are you willing to change your spring routine?
In addition to adverse weather it is no secret that everyone is facing extremely tight economic times, and dealing with forage inventories of poor digestibility forages from 2017. This combination of factors makes it more critical than ever to be ready to tackle the task that will have the most impact on your business at the proper time.
Recent reference articles on dealing with tough times:
• Key Opportunities to Optimize 2018 Crop Production Efficiency
• Resources for Dealing with Spring Weather Delays
First Cutting
The number one focus should be on timely harvest of first cutting.
• Park the corn planter when a field of first cutting is ready for harvest.
o Monitoring 1st cut harvest timing
• Approach harvest by the acre, not by the field. Be ready to skip over a field that has passed its optimum harvest stage.
o Dynamic Harvest Schedules
• Strategically plan feed storage to best utilize forage inventories for the right group of animals.
o Strategic Forage Storage Planning
o When More is Better
Corn Planting
The window for planting for silage is generally wider than for grain, which is why first cutting can and should take priority over corn planting. However, in the event of extreme delays in planting corn, performance will diminish with late plantings. If corn planting progresses into late May or early June, begin to consider alternative options for those acres. Previous research from Cornell and Penn State suggest a 0.5 to 1 ton/acre per week decline in silage yield for planting after mid to late May.
Multi-Tasking
First and foremost during a time of year that can be very busy and stressful, taking every precaution to keep your team safe is critical.
The idea of fitting all of this work into a condensed time period, and still getting key tasks completed before critical deadlines can seem impossible, but year after year many find unique ways to get it all done. Consider working with neighbors, custom operators or renting equipment to accomplish these key tasks on time.
If you currently utilize custom operators, now is a good time to set up a time to meet with them and make sure you are on the same page to get tasks accomplished in the time-frame needed. Make sure that your expectations and goals are clearly defined. They will also be under stress to fit their work into a condensed period and meet their customers' expectations, so defining expectations and pre-planning how to most efficiently get the work accomplished when the custom operator arrives can go a long way to increase the chances for success.
NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program
NYSERDA offers energy audits to help eligible farms and on-farm producers identify ways to save energy and money on utility bills. Reports include recommendations for energy efficiency measures.For more information and the NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program Application click here