Empire Farm Days 2017 Kicks Off Aug. 8 in Seneca Falls

From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine

EMPIRE FARM DAYS
 
SENECA FALLS — Lift the hood. Kick the tires. Sit in the cab. Test drive tractors, trucks, applicators, UTVs and construction equipment.
 
“Come See for Yourself!” is the theme of this summer’s Empire Farm Days event Aug. 8 to10 at Rodman Lott and Son Farms, 2973 State Route 414, in Seneca Falls.
 
This show is the largest outdoor agricultural trade event in the northeastern U.S.
 
Here’s a quick look at what’s new at the 2017 show:
 
Expanded, irrigation-fed field demonstrations include:
 
** Hard hose reel system irrigation-fed crops
 
** More pieces of equipment to see and test drive
 
** Renewed focus on ‘big iron’ operating in real-time field conditions.
 
** Field demos starting at 10:30 a.m., with support from Morrisville State College and 15 equipment manufacturers: CNY Farm Supply/ROC, Cummings & Bricker/McHale, Dion-Ag Inc., H & S Manufacturing, John Deere, Marloo Equipment/SIP, Meyer Manufacturing, New Holland, Norwood/KwikTill, Oxbo International, Pequea Machine Inc., Poettinger US Inc, Rangeline Group/K-Line, Tigerco Distributing/Reese, and Unverferth Manufacturing.
 
** 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily: Test drive large applicators with Java Farm Supply/Ag Chem Rogator, John Deere, Monroe Tractor/Case IH, Chandler, Miller and Vector
 
** 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily: Ride and drive Ford Trucks, Honda, Milton Cat, RAM Trucks, and Yanmar tractors and UTVs.
 
** 10:30 a.m. daily: Cover Crops Field Demonstration Tour with King’s AgriSeeds and Seedway: Cool and warm season cover crop species/mixes; best seeding methods, timing, and purposes discussions.
 
Soil Health Center Seminars
 
** USDA NRCS Northeast Regional Soil Health Specialist Jim Hoorman from Findlay, Ohio, opens the Tuesday programs on fertilizer, manure and nutrient management in cover cropping and reduced tillage systems.
 
** Hoorman leads Wednesday’s schedule addressing prevention, reduction and mitigation strategies for compaction problems.
 
** Thursday programs focus on utilizing soil health practices in vegetable cropping systems beginning at 9:30 am with Cornell University Horticulture Professor Dr. Thomas Bjorkman.
 
** Wednesday, 2 p.m.: “The Living Soil” Keynote Presentation/Demonstration with Conservation Biologist Carmen Greenwood of SUNY Cobleskill. Learn how live soil-dwelling invertebrates, such as soil mites, serve in vital ecosystem roles, provide conservation benefits and act as indicators of soil health.
 
** Daily: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service intro to Conservation Client Gateway (1:30 p.m. presentation; one-on-one all day), Web Soil Survey, cell phone Soil Web App.
 
Dairy Profit Seminars
 
The daily 10:30 a.m. Dairy Profit Seminars are made possible by a collaboration by Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY Program, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, and Dairy Business and Holstein World magazine.
 
** The Tuesday, Aug. 8 presentation is on Robotics and Maximizing Milk Per Box: Grouping and Feeding Strategies with Douglas F. Waterman, Director of Technology Application: Dairy for Trouw Nutrition Agresearch.
 
** The Wednesday, Aug. 9 presentation is on Transitioning to Automatic Milking Systems with farmer panelists, Bruce Dehm of Dehm Associates, LLC, and Cornell Senior Extension Associate Jason Karszes.
 
** The Thursday, Aug. 10 presentation is called, “Is Your Farm a Member of the 7 Pound Club?” Leading dairy producers delve into the next frontier of maximizing pounds of components produced while maintaining profitability with representatives of Albano Farms, Thornapple Farm, and Hanehan Family Dairy; Bruce Dehm of Dehm Associates; and Dr. Cargill Feed and Nutrition Senior Dairy Specialist Jay Giesy.
 
New Products
 
Among the new products in 2017: forage mergers, disc blades, manure spreaders, an on-farm mastitis detection system, a patented metal roofing system, a PTO-driven firewood processor from Finland, an expanded reach skidsteer; mower combination, cover crop seeder, rock picker, mineral feeder, bale grapples, apple grinder, and precision fertilizer application monitoring system.
 
Expanded Beef Programs
 
** Designing cattle handling systems with Runnings.
 
** Animal ID and pre-conditioning practices.
 
** Tuesday/Wednesday programs on feeder calf grading and evaluating with NY livestock graders and market news reporter, and how to use blood sampling to check for pregnancy as early as 28 days.
 
** One-Day-Only Programs with NY Beef Council: Wednesday: Livestock Animal Well Being; Thursday: Beef Quality Assurance Training and Recertification: must pre-register: (315) 339-6922.
 
** 11a.m. daily: Live Cattle Handling with Cornell Beef Extension Specialist Dr. Mike Baker and representatives of Hi Hog, Priefert and Powder River cattle systems.
 
Ag Education
 
** Try virtual reality welders aboard American Welding Society Careers in Welding trailer from Miami, Fla.
 
** NYS FFA students compete in NYS welding and tractor driving safety contests on Thursday.
 
** 2017 Cornell PRO-DAIRY Junior DAIRY LEADERS class graduates Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.
 
** Colleges highlighting agricultural degree programs at Empire Farm Days include Alfred State College, Cornell University, Morrisville State College, SUNY Canton and SUNY Cobleskill.
 
** Information on national Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program and info on grass-fed milk emerging markets. in Cornell Marketplace Building.
 
New Craft Beverage Center
 
** New center to meet needs of emerging micro beverage industry in New York State. According to the state Department of Agriculture, the state has seen an increase from 10 farm distilleries in 2010 to 114 today, along with 163 farm breweries and 34 farm cideries.
 
** See bottling equipment, hammermills for grain processing, a new apple grinder that converts to milling malted grains, and high-tech filtration, separation and purification systems; talk with manufacturers.
 
** Tuesday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m., all day Wednesday: Try wine and cider “sniff test” with Cornell University Viticulture and Enology Extension specialists to identify issues and how to avoid them. Learn about Cornell Wine Lab testing and analysis services to help all types of beverage makers.
 
** Tuesday 1 to 5 p.m., all day Thursday: Talk with Brewmaster Jon Paul Partee and co-owner Craig Partee of Fleur De Lis Brew Works and Hop Yards of Seneca Falls, about hops production and their French style of artisan beer making. Their beer garden has been part of the Partee family farming legacy for three generations.
 
Farm Safety
 
** Grain Bin Simulator from National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, Peosta, Iowa, will offer demos and educate show visitors about the four most common ways to become entrapped in a grain bin, the equipment every grain bin operator should have on site, and how to protect yourself form grain dust and mold.
 
** Special Tuesday evening hands-on safety training session will be available by registration for firefighters. Contact is Jim Carrabba at New York Center for Agriculture Medicine and Health, (800) 343-7572, ext. 2216, jcarrabba@nycamh.com
 
** The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health tent will be offering blood pressure, hearing, vision and skin cancer screenings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
** The winner of the new Fastest PTO Shield Installation contest at the NYCAMH booth will receive a free Bare-Co PTO Shield.
 
For the Horse Crowd
 
The rugged horses of the American West and the refinement of dressage riding will be featured in the Equine Round Pen showcases at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
 
** America’s Mustangs: From Wild to Mild will be featured on Tuesday Aug. 9 and Wednesday Aug. 10 with celebrated horse trainers and 2017 Extreme Mustang Makeover regional winners Jack and Emma Minteer of Rose Hill Ranch, Naples.
 
** On Thursday. Aug. 10, Lucretia Galbraith, raised in a family of Standardbred racing royalty and a lifelong horsewoman, will demonstrate the skills that make her a five-time Western NY Dressage Association Professional Rider of the Year and a United States Dressage Association Bronze Medalist.
 
Farm Family Fun and Learning
 
** “Why I Farm,” pumpkin production, and the Chicken Chat large board game are all new attractions at the NY Farm Bureau Family Education Center.
 
** The Dancing Digger will perform ‘hydraulic handstands’ to music daily.
 
** The New York State Grange has added quilting presentations to programming at 11:05 a.m. and 2:05 p.m. Dalmatian Sparks and handler Tibbie Dell lead off at 9:30 a.m. with You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks.
 
** Did you know that in addition to making tractors International Harvester made refrigerators? See tractors, implements and other farm and household items made by agricultural manufacturers at the Old Iron exhibits.
 
Get in the Farm Pond
 
Those 10 and older can try a standup paddleboard or kayak with Morgan Marine in the farm pond. Participants must attend a preceding water safety program by New York Sea Grant, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and New York State Parks Marine Services Bureau.

Empire Farm Days show hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday. Admission is $10 per vehicle. 

For daily schedules and more information, visit www.empirefarmdays.com, check out Empire Farm Days on Facebook, or call 877-697-7837.

Empire Farm Days Contest Winners Announced

Winners of contests and competitions at Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls have been announced.

Lyons, NY, dairyman Dan Wolf won the Kubota RTV 400 sponsored by Kubota and Empire Farm Days.

“We go to Empire Farm Days see what’s new, talk to specific product dealers, and see people we do not cross paths with anywhere else,” Wolf adds. “It was a great surprise to win. It will get used a lot in varied ways because it is so convenient to jump on and go. It is a fair distance between the dairy complex and the shop, so the RTV is already saving us a lot of jogging back and forth,” Wolf says.

Dairy farmer Brad Almeter of Strykersville in western New York won the Savage 10 Trophy Hunter XP bolt action, accutrigger rifle with a Nikon 39x40 BDC scope sponsored by Beikirch’s Ammunition of Rochester.

Almeter says, “I try to go to Empire Farm Days every year. I was very surprised to win the rifle this year and plan to use it to hunt deer and small game.”

Joanne Schoonmaker of Manlius, Onondaga County, won the Empire Farm Days Equine Center saddle sponsored by Empire Farm Days.

Schoonmaker, who grew up on a small farm in the Hudson Valley and now own three horses, says, “I have always been interested in agricultural enterprises and Empire Farm Days is a wonderful place to be among the farming community, to see the equipment, and attend the different equine demonstrations each year.”

The top three winners of the 2013 New York State FFA Welding Contest, sponsored by Haun Welding, Briggs and Stratton Yard Power Products Group, Clinton Tractor and Implement, and the Calidonna Family, at Empire Farm Days received Morrisville State College scholarships. Dakota Pingrey of Pioneer Central School, Yorkshire, NY, earned top individual honors, followed by Perry Lewis of Penn Yan Central School and Hewitt Meeder of Sherman Central School. Meeder and Gabe Rater of Sherman Central School earned the High Team Performance honors.

The New York State Tractor Driving Safety Contest, sponsored by John Deere, Kubota, H&S Farm Equipment, New Holland Case International, the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, Massey Ferguson, Java Farm Supply, Mabie Brothers, and the NYS FFA Leadership Training Foundation at the 2013 Empire Farm Days welcomed students from across the state. The winner of the Junior Division for 14-16-year-olds was Hadley Palmerton of Pioneer Central School. Dakota Pingrey of Pioneer Central School won the Senior Division for 16-18-year-olds.

Michael Murphy of Wayland, NY, received the 2013 Empire State Potato Growers Association Scholarship at the 2013 Empire Farm Days Ag Leadership Luncheon. The scholarship provides $500 per academic year for up to four consecutive years of agricultural education. Murphy has begun studying agricultural science with a business minor at Cornell University.

Sheland Dairy Farms, owned and operated by the Donald, Doug, and Todd Shelmidine of Jefferson County, was presented the NYS Agricultural Environmental Management Award, co-sponsored by the Empire State Potato Growers, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and American Agriculturist magazine at the 2013 Empire Farm Days Leadership Luncheon.

Melanie Wickham, who manages the Northeast’s largest outdoor agricultural show, says, “We thank the Empire State Potato Growers Association, all the agribusiness sponsors, and FFA leaders who make the annual Empire Farm Days prize giveaways and youth contests possible. The prize winners are always thrilled to receive the practical items they can put to use right away on their farms and the students can add their successful competition performances to their resumes.” 

Planning for the Aug. 5-7, 2014 Empire Farm Days is already underway.

For more details, contact Empire Farm Days Manager Melanie Wickham, 877-697-7837, mwickham@empirefarmdays.com.

Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls Continues Through Thursday

Empire Farm Days continues through Thursday at the Rodman Lott and Son Farm on Route 414, Seneca Falls.

The 80th anniversary of the Empire Farm Days is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 7 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 8. Admission is free and parking is $10.

Here are some photos from the show, all taken by show director Melanie Wickham:

 

This shows a live animal demonstration on how to safely handle cattle. It is one of the demonstrations at Empire Farm Days.

Empire Farm Days takes place on a working farm operated by three generations of the Rodman Lott Family in Seneca Falls.

  

Equipment inspection at Empire Farm Days is always a highlight.

Craig Todd of Todd Farms trims this Boer goat’s hooves as part of the goat care demonstrations at Empire Farm Days

Empire Farm Days Set for Aug. 6-8 in Seneca Falls

Attendees watch a demo at Empire Farm Days

Remember everyone!

The Northeast's biggest farm show --  complete with more than 600 exhibitors -- begins Tuesday, Aug. 6.

The 80th anniversary of the Empire Farm Days is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 6 and 7 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 8. The event is at its regular spot, the Rodman Lott and Son Farms, 2973 State Route 414, Seneca Falls.

Admission is free and parking is $10.

Check out numerous displays of farm equipment, learn how to increase your dairy profits, learn how to keep safe on the farm, find out how wind energy can help the farm and sample New York cheeses.  

Here's what else to expect:

** The 2013 Dairy Profit Seminars are focused on the next generation of young dairy operators, robotic milking technology, and how to measure, monitor and improve cow comfort. The free seminars start at 10:30 a.m. and are open to the public at the Empire Farm Days Dairy Seminar Center. The seminars are free and open to the public. Industry updates from the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council and the Beef Checkoff program, and a picnic lunch follow immediately.

** On Aug. 7, the 2013 class of Junior Dairy Leaders graduate with presentations of their experiences with the hands-on program for 16-to-19-year-old youth interested in learning about career opportunities in the dairy industry.

** Dairy operators interested in learning more about how to comply with farm worker housing requirements can take advantage of the new mini-seminars on farm labor offered by the state Department of Labor daily at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. State Agriculture Labor Specialists Parker Filer and Laura Tramontana also will discuss how to use forms developed specifically to assist agricultural employers in complying with New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act.      

** New product exhibits will feature everything from one-piece group hutches for calves and a natural fine-texture agricultural lime for balancing soil pH to cover crop seeders, large capacity mixing wagons, LED lighting, and the latest in smart remote control technology.

** Those interested in farm and home-size wind energy opportunities can see turbines on display and attend daily information presentations at the Wind Center.

** Cattle handlers will want to stop by the 11:30 a.m. daily demonstrations by Cornell University Beef Extension Specialist Mike Baker, who will be working with the latest equipment and demonstrating the farmer-developed Bud Box method for directing cattle into chutes and pens. The NY Beef Industry Center is also adding clipping demonstrations this year.

** The new Alpacas: From Start to Finish exhibit will have live animals, spinning and weaving demonstrations, and finished products made with the luxurious fiber.

** The three exciting Equine Center round pen presenters for 2013 are wild Mustang trainers Emma and Jack Minteer, draft breed horseman Dave Ayers, and natural horsemanship instructor Stasia Newell.

** McCadam Cheese in Chateaugay, Clinton County, will be available for tasting at the Agri-Mark booth as will samples of Cabot Cheese with its new brand logo recognizing its New York farm family owners.

** The Beikirch’s Outdoor Sporting Center is more than doubling in size with the latest sporting equipment and safety information for boating, fishing, and hunting enthusiasts.

** Popular returning exhibits at the 2013 Empire Farm Days include therapy dog Sparks demonstrating fire safety in the NYS Grange Family Center each morning, ag plastics recycling and goat care demonstrations, the FFA student tractor driving safety and welding contests, and the daily Old Iron tractor parade.
 
** New York Sea Grant and US Coast Guard Auxiliary will be in the farm pond demonstrating life jacket and canoe/kayak safety measures.

** The annual Ag Leadership luncheon Aug. 7 will recognize New York’s Agricultural Environmental Management Award and Empire State Potato Growers Scholarship winners, and provide a New York Farm Viability Institute update on cutting edge research taking place on New York farms. 

For more information, go to www.empirefarmdays.com or contact Empire Farm Days Manager Melanie Wickham at (877) 697-7837 or mwickham@empirefarmdays.com.