American Farmland Trust - Virtual Women for the Land Learning Circle
Event Details
Date
August 17, 2021
Time
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location
Zoom
Host
American Farmland Trust
Stephanie Castle, NY Ag Stewardship Coordinator
518-703-7203
email Stephanie Castle, NY Ag Stewardship Coordinator
WHAT: Virtual Learning Circle - Conservation in Action
WHEN: Tuesday, August 17th, 6:30 PM-8:00 PM Eastern
WHERE: Zoom, link to be provided upon registration
The environmental and economic health of our working lands are critical factors every farmer must consider. Conservation-minded decisions often carry long range impacts and come with hefty price tags. Across America, women are increasingly in decision making roles in agricultural conservation, but they face considerable barriers to reaching their conservation goals. Here in western New York, AFT is working to bring these women together through open dialogues about working lands, hands-on conservation experiences, and connecting local service providers to the women they serve. We help address questions you might have when considering conservation options for your land. Open to all women involved with New York agriculture, AFT invites you to join us for a discussion on conservation this August.
By participating in this discussion, you will:
- Engage with women at the forefront of agricultural conservation and innovation.
- Virtually tour an award-winning dairy operation in western New York, Table Rock Farm, to see conservation in action.
- Learn about the steps you can take to implement good farming practices on your land.
- Meet key agricultural resource providers in your community who can connect you to financial and technical resources and information for your farm.
- Network with other women in agriculture in your region.
- Share openly about the challenges you are facing so that our service providers can design future opportunities for education and support.
This virtual meeting offers the same material as our in-person event on August 9th. We will learn about how conservation is put into action and answer questions about best management practices for agricultural land. We will virtually tour Table Rock Farm and have a co-owner of the farm, Meghan Hauser, on hand to answer your questions. In the virtual meeting, we will outline action-focused conservation steps you can take on your own land and help you efficiently plan your farm. You will still have the opportunity to informally interact with one another and reflect on goal-setting and personal learning experiences.
To learn more about AFT's national Women for the Land initiative, visit www.farmland.org/WomenForTheLand.
FACILITATORS: Facilitators: Stephanie Castle, AFT
Joan Petzen, Cornell Cooperative Extension Northwest New York Dairy and Livestock Team
Meghan Hauser, Table Rock Farm
Upcoming Events
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Announcements
Farm Participants Needed for Bale Grazing Grant!
Information on the Project:- Approximately 10 acres total needed to bale graze two different bale densities
- "Core" farms will graze two winters, "Demo" farms will graze one winter.
- Payments for both "Core" farms and "Demo" farms
- Baseline soil sampling by bale grazing team
- Forage measurements in early season by bale grazing team
- Late season clipping if residual not trampled down by farm
Cornell Cow Convos - New Podcast
On-going podcast, New episodes released on the last Thursday of the month.Guest speakers, CCE Dairy Specialists.
Housed on Soundcloud Channel is CCE Dairy Educators
- Preventative healthcare for cows
- The trend of beef on dairy
- What to look forward to in the new year for dairy
- Socially grouping or pair-housing calves
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
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
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