North Country Crop Congresses Set for February

From the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program

The 2017 North Country Crop Congresses will feature updates on research projects funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. 

The program provides small grants for on-farm research and technical assistance projects in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

The Crop Congresses Feb. 1 in Chazy and Feb. 2 in Canton will include presentations on Northern New York Development Program-funded research evaluating ways to manage the crop pests corn rootworm, alfalfa snout beetle and western bean cutworm, and on field trials with forage sorghum.

The Feb. 1 Crop Congress at the Burke Education and Research Center at Miner Institute in Chazy will also include an update on Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded tile drainage research by Miner Institute, and other Miner Institute research updates. 

This event is free to attend. Pre-registration is encouraged by calling (518) 846-7121 ext. 117.

The Feb. 2 Crop Congress at the Best Western University Inn, 90 E. Main St. in Canton, will also include a presentation on Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded field trials of late summer-planted oats as a forage option. 

Weed control management, neonicotinoid seed treatment restrictions, and crop insurance presentations are also on the agenda. There is a fee to attend this event; call (315) 788-8450 or (315) 854-1218.

More than 100 regional farmers serve on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program committee that identifies and prioritizes research and technical assistance projects for attention in the six northernmost counties of New York state.

Project leaders receiving funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 2016 included Cornell University and State University of New York faculty, and personnel with Cornell Cooperative Extension; the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm, Willsboro, Essex County; W. H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, Clinton County; and Uihlein Maple Research Forest, Lake Placid, NY.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State and administered by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. Project results are posted online at the following link  www.nnyagdev.org