Grazing

GrazingFor links to more resources that contain diverse information about grazing animals in our region, 'View Complete List of Grazing Content' at the bottom of the page, or type into the search bar above.




Grazing Heifers - An Opportunity for Large Dairy Farms

A. Fay Benson, Small Dairy Extension Educator
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops

Last Modified: March 14, 2019

Grazing Heifers - An Opportunity for Large Dairy Farms

This booklet, authored by Fay Benson,  explains the management and opportunity to reduce the costs of raising dairy heifers by utilizing Management Intensive Grazing for a portion of the heifer's life. This savings can be substantial since the dairy heifer program on Dairies is 25-30% of milk production costs according to Penn State's "Heifer Economics".

CONTENTS: An Overview of economics and 10 Fact Sheets covering the resources required to operate a farm owned heifer grazing system or contracting with a Custom Grazer.


1. Grazing Management
2. Nutrition
3. Animal Control and Movement
4. Infrastructure: Fencing
5. Infrastructure: Water
6. Immunity and Vaccination
7. Fly Control
8. Avoiding Pasture Pitfalls
9. Grazing Checklist
10. Custom Grazing Contract


Custom Machinery Rates

Nancy Glazier, Small Farms & Livestock Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Last Modified: June 1, 2016

Trying to figure out how much to pay or charge for custom machinery operations? Check out the 2016 custom rate summaries from Pennsylvania.

Soil Sampling for Field Crops

Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Last Modified: February 13, 2014
Soil Sampling for Field Crops

Not sure how to sample your soil? Download this Cornell Agronomy Fact Sheet. More Agronomy Fact Sheets are available at the Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program website.

Alfalfa Management Guide

Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Last Modified: February 7, 2014
Alfalfa Management Guide

Have a question about growing alfalfa? You will probably find the answer in "The Alfalfa Management Guide". This is a must have reference for anyone working with "the queen of forages".

Getting the Most Out of Your Manure Presentation

Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Last Modified: January 23, 2014
Getting the Most Out of Your Manure Presentation

There are many practical, cost-effective manure management practices can be adopted on farms of all sizes.

Apps for Ag

Nancy Glazier, Small Farms & Livestock Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Last Modified: December 20, 2013

List of some apps for smartphone users.

Annual Farm Business Summary and Analysis Season Is Right Around The Corner

John Hanchar, Farm Business Management Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Last Modified: December 2, 2013

  • Sound financial planning and control are keys to successfully managing agricultural risks.
  • The next few months present good opportunities to evaluate your business' financial management practices.
  • The NWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program has the capacity to work with a variety producers as they seek to improve their business' financial management practices.

Grazing in the Grass - The Movie

A. Fay Benson, Small Dairy Extension Educator
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops

Last Modified: July 22, 2013

This video shows Tim Willsallen's farm in Tompkins County NY, and how he manages his pasture to feed a flock of 1000 sheep year round and also custom grazes 70 head of dairy heifers for the summer. He uses turnips for winter grazing and has a unique fence set up with no gates and he changes the fence while the elcectricty is still on. 

Sprouted Barley Fodder

A. Fay Benson, Small Dairy Extension Educator
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops

Last Modified: July 17, 2013
Sprouted Barley Fodder

This Facebook group serves as a forum for dairy farmers who want to know more about using sprouted barley fodder as feedstock. Connect to the community of barley fodder producers and dairy farmers by posting questions and pictures and engaging with the group's resources, including a webinar with John Stultzfus of Be-A-Blessing Organic Dairy, and Fay Benson from Cornell University. 





more content - left
Dairy

Dairy

Livestock

Livestock

Grazing

Grazing

Forages

Forages

Grains

Grains

more content - right

Upcoming Events

Manure Storage Cover and Flare Farm Tour

March 28, 2024
King Ferry, NY

See different covered storage designs. 

Speak with an experienced farm operator. 

Discuss design changes, performance, maintenance, cost, and funding opportunities

North American Manure Expo

July 17 - July 18, 2024 : North American Manure Expo
Auburn, NY

Save the Date for the North American Manure Expo

Professionalism in Nutrient Management - www.manureexpo.com


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
Interested farms can enroll for this winter or next.

Looking for 2-3 dairy farms to enroll! If interested, please reach out to Betsy Hicks, 607.391.2673 or bjh246@cornell.edu 


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


Topics:
  • 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

Funds available for the
  • 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
Guidelines remain the same DAP covers 80% of the cost up to the value of the award and the farm is responsible for 20%.  Visit https://prodairy.cals.cornell.edu/dairy-acceleration/

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?

By: Joe Lawrence, Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY and Ron Kuck, Cornell Cooperative Extension North Country Regional Ag Team


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.

Eligibility
Eligible farms include but are not limited to dairies, orchards, greenhouses, vegetables, vineyards, grain dryers, and poultry/egg. The farms must also be customers of New York State investor-owned utilities and contribute to the System Benefits Charge (SBC). Please check your farm’s current utility bills to see if your farm pays the SBC.

Energy Audit Options
You can request the level of energy audit that best fits your farm’s needs. NYSERDA will assign a Flexible Technical Assistance Program Consultant to visit your farm and perform an energy audit at no cost to you.

For more information and the NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program Application click here


NEWSLETTER   |   CURRENT PROJECTS   |   IMPACT IN NY   |   SPONSORSHIP  |  RESOURCES   |   SITE MAP