CCE News is a weekly electronic newsletter with information of interest to Cornell Cooperative Extension educators on the Cornell campus in Ithaca and across New York State.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NYFVI-Morrisville State Project Building E-Commerce Storefront for NY Ag Producers --- HTML will soon stand for High-Tech Marketing Line for New Yorks agricultural producers and processors. With funding from the New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc. (NYFVI), Morrisville State Colleges Computing and Information Technologies Professor Kim Mills, Agricultural Business Assistant Professor Sheila Marshman and 20 producers and processors are developing a model for farmer-to-consumer selling via the Internet. The new online farmers market aims to increase the profitability of each participating farm by at least ten percent in the first year with a four-year cumulative profit in excess of $4 million for more than 500 participating farmers from across New York State.
The website will immediately showcase the diversity of New York farm products. The initial product line-up from 20 producers/processors, will include maple products, fruit jams and jellies, herbs, alpaca yarn, evergreen wreaths, sausage, wine, honey, ice cream and other frozen prepared foods featuring NY-grown produce and products.
New York Farm Viability Institute-funded projects are known for making a broad network of expertise available to farmers. In addition to access to the e-commerce skills provided by Morrisville State College, farmers participating in the online farmers market are working with the NY FarmNet Program at Cornell University to incorporate online selling into their farm business plans. Food processing specialists at the New York State Food Venture Center at Cornells Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and at Morrisville States Nelson Farms will help connect farmers developing innovative food products to the online market.
Mills and his Morrisville State College students are developing product profiles and the electronic storefront. The initial target audience will be primarily within New York State to draw on the increasing consumer loyalty to buying New York products. The new website at www.newyorkfarmmarket.com is expected to be live by the end of the year.
For more information on the Online Farmers Market Project, contact Professor Kim Mills, Morrisville State College, 315-684-6746, millsk@morrisville.edu .
For more information, contact the New York Farm Viability Institute, 159 Dwight Park Circle, Suite 104, Syracuse, NY 13209, 315-453-3823, www.nyfarmviability.org.
NYFVI Grant Helps Fast Track Grower Testing of New NY Apple Varieties -- New York's next big apple will reach the marketplace quickly thanks to a New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc. (NYFVI) grant that is fast tracking grower evaluation of advanced apple-breeding selections from Cornell University. Project leader, Cornell Horticulture Professor and apple breeder Susan Brown says she hopes to identify two new potential varieties over the next two years and if the new apples are even half as successful as their predecessors - the Empire, Jonagold, Macoun and other varieties bred by Cornell, New York's apple producers will harvest great fruit with a tremendous economic impact.
From 1996 to 2004, the annual production of Empire apples in the U.S. averaged a fresh market value of $41.1 million and New York produced half of the nation's total Empire apple crop. Cornell University, with one of only two major apple-breeding programs in the U.S., developed the Empire and 61 other new apples varieties over the past century. And now, Brown says, The New York Farm Viability Institute grant is providing the funds to fast track grower testing of some very promising selections under commercial orchard conditions across New York State.
Brown expects that out of the 20 selections evaluated over the next two years will come two new, high quality apple varieties with strong market potential one with a mild flavor, one with some zip; both distinctive, crisp, aromatic, and with strong sales appeal. The apples under evaluation will be tested for flavor, texture, vitamin C content, winter hardiness, less browning when cut, storage and shelf life, and suitability for large-scale production.
For details on the Fast Tracking of New NY Apple Varieties project, contact Susan Brown, Cornell University, 315-787-2224.
To learn more, contact New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc., 159 Dwight Park Circle Suite 104, Syracuse, NY 13209, 315-453-3823, www.nyfarmviability.org.
Cornell Researchers: No Magic in a Bottle for Tough Perennial Weeds --- Gardeners who want to avoid conventional herbicides have traditionally had two options for weed control: hand weeding and mulching. Until recently, no least-toxic herbicides have been available that meet their needs. Now new alternative products, some used by rganic growers, are lining garden center shelves. Yet few independent evaluations help gardeners choose among them. Researchers with Cornell University's New York State Integrated Pest Management (NYS IPM) Program are comparing two brands of alternative herbicides to help supply the advice that gardeners need. Their trials in Geneva and Rochester, New York, are comparing AllDown, a citric acid and garlic formulation, and BurnOut II, made with clove oil and soap. Both brands list vinegar as an inert ingredient. These products work well on annual weeds -- pigweed, sorrel, and lambsquarter, for example. The spray ruptures the cells inside a plant's leaves and stems. Sunshine does the rest, crisping them like potato chips. The problem comes in gardens where perennials with strong root systems already stand their ground. Because perennials store extra energy in their roots, they can throw up new shoots when their tops are killed back or yanked off. Even with conventional sprays, perennial weeds may eventually bounce back.
The IPM researchers decided to take a different tack. "We're comparing AllDown and BurnOut II to hand weeding in an established garden where you might prefer not to use a conventional herbicide," says Betsy Lamb, ornamentals team leader with the NYS IPM Program. "Whether you weed by hand or spray with an alternative herbicide, the idea is to keep at it until you've removed or exhausted all the roots and killed the plant," Lamb says. "We're asking if alternative herbicides help save time. And which method is more effective?"
Though the season isn't over and they haven't crunched the numbers, Lamb's IPM team sees a pattern emerging. Both the hand-weeded plots and BurnOut II plots look equally as good -- or bad, for those who prefer seeing no weeds at all. Lamb guesses they won't see much difference in how long it takes for gardeners to achieve the same level of control. But Lamb speculates that alternative herbicides may be the best choice in cases where weed roots have penetrated landscape fabric -- a situation where thorough hand weeding is next to impossible.
The take-home lesson? "There's no magic in a bottle for gardeners who need alternatives that work on perennial weeds--and would rather not weed by hand," Lamb says. "But that can be true of any product."
IPM seeks least-toxic solutions to pest problems. Find out more about the NYS IPM Program at www.nysipm.cornell.edu.
Faster-Growing Grass Equals Higher Profitability for NY Sod Growers; --- NYFVI Funds Accelerated Sod Production Project -- With funding from the New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI), Cornell University researchers and New York turf producers are evaluating ways to speed up the production and sales of sod. Cornell University Turfgrass Science Professor A. Martin Petrovic and Senior Extension Associate Joann Gruttadaurio are working with growers in Orange County and Western New York to evaluate the speed, efficiency and costs of various production systems. Growers estimate that speeding up the sod harvest by six months can produce a 40 percent gain in crop value. Results will be shared with sod growers throughout the state. More information will be available at www.nyfarmviability.com.
SEMINARS, CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS
Cancer and Environment Forum is September 28, 2006 --- The Cancer and Environment forum will be held from 10:00am - 3:00pm on September 28 at the Burns Horticulture Center, Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. The agenda is available on the BCERF web site: http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/program/meetings.cfm.
To register for the cancer forum: RSVP to Carmi Orenstein at (607) 255-1185 or cso1@cornell.edu.
GRANTS & PROPOSALS
The Organic Farming Research Foundation Requests Organic Research Proposals --- The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) is resuming its grants program after taking time off from its regular grantmaking schedule to evaluate the impact of its grants on organic agriculture. The deadline for proposals is December 15, 2006.
In reinstating the grants program, OFRF is releasing an open request for proposals in all subject areas, but particularly encourages proposals in the following topic areas:
organic livestock systems; economic constraints and opportunities relevant to the viability of small- and medium-scale organic farms and ranches; projects that investigate the interactions between components of organic systems and that take a systems-management (rather than an input-substitution) approach to solving production problems.
OFRF encourages organic farmers and ranchers to apply for a grant. Many producers find that working with a small group, or with an extension educator or university-based researcher, can make it easier to design and carry out a research project. OFRF encourages applications from such partnerships, and will try to link interested farmers with research partners. Projects must involve farmers in both design and implementation and take place on working organic farms whenever possible.
For more details, please refer to the updated request for proposals on the OFRF website at http://www.ofrf.org/research/application.html. Or contact Jane Sooby, technical program coordinator, at 831-426-6606, email jane@ofrf.org.
INFORMATION
New Book Helps You Shape Your Backyard Environment - ITHACA---Would you like to see more natural beauty-and less manicured lawn-surrounding your home? A new book, The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home, NRAES-184 (138 pages; September 2006), will be an essential tool to help you shape and rebuild your backyard environment. Written specifically for people living on one to ten acres of land, this combination book/workbook explains how adopting various land-management techniques can result in a healthier outdoor environment and a backyard living area families can enjoy for years to come. The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home was published by NRAES (Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service). For ordering information, contact NRAES at (607) 255-7654; e-mail NRAES@CORNELL.EDU; web site WWW.NRAES.ORG
New Dairy Housing Plans Stress Cow Comfort and Farm Profitability --- Specialists at Penn State University have updated and expanded their recommendations for dairy housing facilities. A new book, Penn State Housing Plans for Milking and Special-Needs Cows, NRAES-200, emphasizes greater cow comfort, which translates to increased longevity and productivity for the milking cow and greater profitability for the producer. This 100-page, coil-bound book includes 13 idea plans for free stall dairy cow shelters; 11 idea plans for housing special-needs cows (pre-fresh/maternity pen areas, convalescence areas, and post-fresh housing facilities); and 8 idea plans showing building component details (floor surfaces, feed barriers, watering locations, free stalls, curtain sidewalls, and ventilation openings).
Penn State Housing Plans for Milking and Special-Needs Cows was published by NRAES (Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service). For ordering information, contact NRAES at (607) 255-7654; e-mail NRAES@CORNELL.EDU; web site WWW.NRAES.ORG.
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