Soil
SOIL CATEGORIES
Relevant Event
The first ever Bale Grazing Winter Pasture Walk
January 11, 2025
Watkins Glen, NY
The Slow and Furtive Nature of Pasture Soil Compaction: Project Develops Ratio..
A. Fay Benson, Small Dairy Extension Educator
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops
In my work, first as a grazing dairy farmer and now as a Cornell University Cooperative Extension educator working with graziers across New York State, I have been aware of pasture soil compaction but one experience in particular gave me the insight into the slow and furtive nature of compaction in pastures. This article summarizes my findings from a three-year, Northeast Sustainable Agricultural Research and Extension (NESARE)-funded project developed to better understand soil compaction in pastures.
A Possible New Technique To Monitor Soil Compaction
A. Fay Benson, Small Dairy Extension Educator
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops
A Northeast Sustainable Agricultural Research and Extension (NESARE)-funded project conducted by Cornell educators has begun evaluating a possible new technique for monitoring and managing soil compaction specifically in pastures. This article provides a summary of that project; the results may have implications for future use in managing pastures and other types of production land
Tillage and Planting Reminders in a Wet Spring
Tom Kilcer outlines some precautions to prevent compaction when tilling and planting under wet conditions with some other spring tips
NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program - Fact Sheet
Janice Degni, Team Leader, Field Crop Specialist
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops
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.
Webinar Series On Organic Weed Management
Janice Degni, Team Leader, Field Crop Specialist
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops
Organic farmers and specialists from across the U.S. led a free webinar series on organic weed management. The webinars discuss several approaches and practices for managing weeds including crop rotations, cover crops, and soil management. Each session was recorded. They can be viewed here.
Variable Rate Fertility Management
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
An expanded version of the February 2014 Ag Focus Article, Variable Rate Fertility Management.
Cover Crop InterSeeder
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
Want to plant a cover crop into standing corn or soybeans, apply a herbicide, and sidedress nitrogen all in one pass? Check out the cover crop InterSeeder developed at Penn State in this PDF. For additional information go to InterSeeder website.
Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test (ISNT)
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
Curious about what the ISNT soil test is and how to use it? Download this Cornell Agronomy Fact Sheet describing the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test. More Agronomy Fact Sheets are available at the Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program website.
Soil Sampling for Field Crops
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & 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.
Mapping Management Zones with Soil Conductivity
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
Interested in creating soil management zones with soil conductivity on your farm? Download this PDF.
Getting the Most Out of Your Manure Presentation
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
There are many practical, cost-effective manure management practices can be adopted on farms of all sizes.
Abnormal Corn Ears Poster
“Check out this poster describing the cause of abnormal corn ears.”
Upcoming Events
The first ever Bale Grazing Winter Pasture Walk
January 11, 2025
Watkins Glen, NY
Cultivating Success with Better Bookkeeping
January 16, 2025
January 30, 2025
February 13, 2025
February 27, 2025
March 13, 2025
March 27, 2025
: Cultivating Success with Better Bookkeeping
Winter Crop Meeting 2025 - Dryden
January 23, 2025
Dryden, NY
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!
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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