New York Farm Show Opens Feb. 23 st State Fairgrounds

The 2017 New York Farm Show is the place to visit this winter for information on new innovative farm and woodlot products and equipment.
 
The 32nd edition of the show runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 23, 24 and 25 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes, west of Syracuse.
 
The annual show hosts more than 400 exhibitors in six heated buildings, including the Arts and Home Center, Center of Progress, Dairy, Horticulture, and Science Buildings, and International Pavilion.
 
  “It’s a spring planning show,” New York Farm Show manager Scott Grigor said. “It gets people out of the house. The economy is off a little, and it helps people enjoy life a little bit.”
 
The show had 406 confirmed exhibitors as of Jan. 11 with more expected, Grigor said.  There are 13 new exhibitors this year, including Yanmar Tractor of Georgia

Exhibit area covers more than 222,000 square feet of space.

Topics covered by seminars includes: beef, forestry, and health and safety. There also will be the popular FFA toy auction and 4-H members will again be selling hitch pins as a county fundraiser. 
They are offering Tisco 6-by-¾-inch hitch pins at $5 each or five for $20. They will be located at the main entrance doors of the Center of Progress, Dairy and Horticulture buildings.
 
The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health will offer information on ROPS (rollover protective structures), safe skid steer operation, blood pressure screenings and youth safety activities.
 
The center also will again have its farm hazards display board set up to help people identify hazardous situations on the farm. It will supply information on PPE (personal protective equipment) selection and catalogs and applications for the John May Farm Safety Fund, and roadway safety tips in conjunction with the state troopers.
 
BEEF SEMINARS
Here are some of the beef seminars from the New York Beef Council to be held in the beef area of the Toyota Building:
 
Daily presentations beginning at 10 a.m. will feature:10 a.m.: ABCs of EPDs - Phil Trowbridge, Trowbridge Angus11 a.m.: Trace Minerals - Its role on the Cattle Immune System, Dr. Bob Gentry, MultiminNoon: Quality - The Consumer Expectations, Jean O’Toole/ Katherine Bronson, NYBC - ThursdayNoon: Beef Up Your Marketing, Jean O’Toole/ Katherine Bronson, NYBC - Friday1 p.m.: Johne’s - What it is and Programs Available, Dr. Melanie Hemenway, NYSCHAP 2 p.m.: Unraveling Official Identification, Dr Jane Lewis, USDA Ag. And Markets3 p.m.: Beef showmanship clinic,  Robert Groom/ Jeanne White-  Thursday3 p.m.: Fitting clinic, Robert Groom - Friday
 
Saturday will be dedicated to youth doing the presentations on different related beef topics. Grab a seat on the bleachers as these young individuals demonstrate their experiences and knowledge of the beef industry. Jean O’Toole, the new executive director of the New York Beef Council, and Katherine Bronson will open the presentations. 
10 a.m.: How to Master “Agvocacy,” Jean O’Toole/ Katherine Bronson, NYBC11 a.m.: Our National Livestock Judging Experience in Louisville, KY- By Melissa Keller, NY Junior Beef Producer11 a.m.: Three Ways to get Involved with the Beef Industry, Megan Cranwell, NY Junior Beef ProducerNoon: What I Learned about NYBC (NY Beef Council) through C2C (Cattlemen to Consumers) Program, Jala Murphy, NY Junior Beef Producer12:30 p.m.: What Telling our Story Means and Why We Should, By Sam and Sarah Birdsall, NY Junior Beef Producers1 p.m.: Small Steps to Becoming Socially Savvy in our Beef Industry, By Anna King, NY Junior Beef Producer1:30 p.m.: Important Factors When Doing a Project Beef Animal for Sales at County Fairs - Feed, Nutrition, Record-keeping, Animal Care, Marketing, etc., By Daisy Trowbridge and Jordin Radley, NY Junior Beef Producers2 p.m.: Primal and Retail Beef Cuts, By Loretta and Suzie Lippert, NY Junior Beef Producers 
As you attend the presentations enjoy a hot beef sundae served up daily by the New York Beef Producers, starting at 11 a.m.
 
The New York Beef Council will have a face-to-face presence at this year’s NY Farm Show! Stop by to “Beef Together” with the NYBC’s innovative marketing initiatives to promote YOU, our farmers, and the quality beef you produce.
 
A live beef cattle display representing numerous beef breeds will enhance our Beef Area, including breed information to take home.
 
Engage with the “Face of Our Farmers.” Beef Farmers have filled out questioners to help you get to know them better. Engage in a conversation with beef producers, see their likes, dislikes and ask them beef related questions. 
 
Pick up a Scavenger Hunt paper at the Beef Gazebo and then read our “Face of our Farmers” posters to get your answers and win a prize.
 
Beef recipes and beef related information also will be available in the beef area for attendees to take home and enjoy.
 
FOREST SEMINARS
 
Free programs to help landowners get more benefits from their woodlots will be presented by the New York Forest Owners Association each day of the New York Farm Show.
 
Visitors to the show can meet with a forester from the State Department of Environmental Conservation or speak with a Cornell trained volunteer.
 
Visitors are encouraged to bring their questions and pause at the booth area before or after attending a seminar program. The DEC foresters and trained volunteers are there to help with resource materials, displays and expert advice.

 “Learn More, Earn More” seminars are free and open to all. Topics include federal cost sharing for woodlot improvements, working with foresters, improving bird habitat, heating with wood, and forest farming. Programs start on the hour and allow time for questions and discussion.
 
The booth is on the main corridor of the Arts and Home Center, and the seminars are held in the Somerset Room just steps away on the lower level of the building.
 
These programs are presented by the New York Forest Owners Association in cooperation with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell Cooperative Extension and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.



Seminar topics and speakers for each day include:
 
Thursday, Feb. 23

11 a.m.: DEC Can Help Family Forest Owners, by Matt Swayze, state Department of Environmental Conservation
1 p.m.: Assessing Impacts from Deer, by Kristie Sullivan, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University
2 p.m.: Legacy Planning for Your Property, by Shorna Allred, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University
3 p.m.: Getting Federal Aid for Woodlot Improvements, by Michael Fournier, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service 

Friday, Feb. 24

10 a.m.: Unwanted Vegetation in Your Woods, by Peter Smallidge, NYS Extension Forester, Cornell University
11 a.m.: Woodlot Inventory: How Many Trees Do You Have?, by Peter Smallidge, NYS Extension Forester, Cornell University
1 p.m.: Insects and Diseases that Threaten Your Woods, by Mark Whitmore, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University
2 p.m.: The Law: Rights and Responsibilities of Woodlot Owners, by Timothy Fratesch, Fratesch Law Firm, Syracuse
3 p.m.: Getting Federal Aid for Woodlot Improvements, by Michael Fournier, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service
 
Saturday, Feb. 25

10 a.m.: Heat with Wood While Growing Timber, Michael Kelleher, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
11 a.m.: Improve Bird Habitat with Smart Timber Management, by Suzanne Treyger, Forest Program Manager, Audubon New York
1 p.m.: Working with Consulting Foresters, by Rene Germain, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
2 p.m.: Wilhelm Farm: A Case Study in Agroforestry, by Ann Wilhelm & Bill Bentley, woodlot owners
3 p.m.: Woodlots and Income Taxes, by Hugh Canham, Emeritus Professor, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
 
Visit the New York Forest Owners Association website (www.nyfoa.org for more information.

More Workshops, Exhibits Coming to the New York Farm Show in February

From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine:

By DEBRA J. GROOM

In addition to all the new items at the New York Farm Show, there are some returning workshops and items that everyone must see.

They are:

Machinery galore

Every type of tractor, backhoe, harvester, baler or any other kind of farm machinery a person would want will be on display at the New York Farm Show.

Attendees can see them up close and talk to sales personnel about what they offer. You also can get prices and equipment information to compare. Anyone in the market for something new will find it here.

Woodlot seminars

The New York Forest Owners Association is offering free daily Woodlot Seminars geared to help landowners boost the value of timber and woodlands. The seminars are in the Somerset Room of the Arts and Home Center.

Hot topics this year include cost-sharing for woodlot improvements, finding the right forester, the warning signs of disease and insects, as well as tips for successful timber sales. Other sessions include improving bird habitat, heating with wood, and forest farming, say Hugh Canham and Ron Pedersen, the program coordinators.

The Forest Owners Association is teaming up with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry to put on the program.

Here’s the daily lineup:

Thursday, Feb. 25

11 a.m.: You need a management plan: Step one for your woodlot, by Kristina Ferrare, Cornell Cooperative Extension

1 p.m.: Getting federal aid for woodlot improvements, by Michael Fournier, USDA/Natural Resource Conservation Service

2 p.m.: Improve bird habitat with smart timber management, by Suzanne Treyger, forest management specialist for Audubon New York

3 p.m.: What’s new in home heating with wood, by Guillermo Metz, renewable energy specialist, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Friday, Feb. 26

10 a.m.: Working with foresters: Finding the right one for you, by Peter Smallidge, NYS Extension forester at Cornell University

11 a.m.: Woodland thinning for timber health and production, by Peter Smallidge

1 p.m.: Signs of insect and disease threats to your woods, by Kim Adams, SUNY

2 p.m.: New wood products and opportunities for woodlot management, by William Smith, SUNY

3 p.m.: Getting federal aid for woodlot improvements, by Michael Fournier, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service

Saturday, Feb. 27

10 a.m.: Secrets to harvesting and heating with wood, by Michael Kelleher, SUNY

11 a.m.: Forest farming for mushrooms, medicinals, forest fruits and more, by Steve Gabriel, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute

1 p.m.: Making maple syrup for fun and profit, by Stephen Childs, Cornell Maple Program.

2 p.m.: Portable sawmills for woodlot owners, by David Williams, mill owner-operator from Bainbridge, Chenango County

3 p.m.: Dos and don’ts for a successful timber sale, by Hugh Canham, SUNY emeritus professor

For more on the New York Forest Owners Association, visit www.nyfoa.org

Beef seminars

The Beef Area in the Toyota Building has many seminars during the farm show.

The schedule is:

10 a.m. — Proper Care and Preparation of Cattle, Before The Show Season, Robert Groom and Jeanne White

11 a.m. — Start Them Right: Healthy Cows Raise Healthy Calves, Mark McCullouch, Merck Animal Health

Noon — Diagnosing Scours and the Choices to Treat Calves, Dr. Trent Lartz, veterinarian, Multimin, USA

1 p.m. — Cow Side Diagnostics, what is available to get answers quick, Dr. Trent Lartz, Multimin, USA

2 p.m. — Cattle Grading, grouping pooled cattle, Heather Birdsall, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cortland County

3 p.m. — How Ultra Sounding Improves EPDs and what it means for improving your herd, Andy Weaber

On Saturday, there will be three special presentations by New York Junior Beef Members

10 a.m. — How to prepare for a Junior Team Fitting Competition, Shelby Kelekenberg, junior beef member

10 a.m. — How to prepare for a Junior Team Marketing Competition, a New York junior beef member

Noon — Our National Livestock Challenge Experience in Louisville, Ky., Melissa Keller

Also, each day beginning at 11 a.m., the New York Beef Council will be on hand serving its famous Hot Beef Sundaes.

A live beef cattle display representing numerous beef breeds also will be on hand including breed information to take home.

Health and safety

The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health hosts an interactive exhibit in the NYCAMH booth in the Center of Progress building.

You will see:

n The new “Game of Logging” is hands-on logging safety training.

n Sign up for the Rollover Protective Structure rebate program.

n Check out the interactive youth displays of farm hazards

n Quiz New York State Police on road safety, machinery lighting and gun controls.

n Get your blood pressure checked for free.

4-H fundraiser

The 4-Hers are back with a hitch pin fundraiser.

You can buy Tisco 6-by-¾-inch hitch pins at $5 each or five for $20. Look for those smiling 4-H faces and the hitch pins at the main entrance doors of the Center of Progress, Dairy and Horticulture buildings.

The hitch pins will be available until they all are sold.

We want your opinion

American Agriculturist magazine will be at the show to take polls of show attendees.

Some of the questions may include:

n If the election for U.S. president was held today, who would you vote for?

n Should assault rifles be banned from U.S. sale?

n Are you using cover crops in 2016? If so, which ones?

n Due to current low prices, how will you cut corn production costs?

n What new ag technology (machinery, crops, livestock) are you most excited about?

n What certified organic products are you most interested in producing?

Taking the poll qualifies attendees to win a $350 Tractor Supply gift card, Leatherman tools worth $65 each or free one-year subscriptions. Sample magazine copies and special show-rate subscriptions are also available.

New York Farm Show Opens Thursday, Feb. 20

The New York Farm Show opens at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes.

This year's event, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 20, 21 and 22, will include more than 400 exhibitors in six buildings -- Arts and Home Center, Center of Progress, Dairy, Horticulture, International Pavilion and Science.

The Farm Show also includes many seminars on a wide range of agriculture topics. Included will be 30-minute briefings in the Bistro Room of the Arts and Home Center beginning at 12:30 p.m. each day concerning changes in the recently adopted Farm Bill that will affect crop and revenue insurance options. These briefings are important because farmers must make decisions on insurance programs by the March 15 signup deadline.

These briefings are being put on by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. More details about the Farm Bill's impact also will be available at the Ag and Markets exhibit in the International Pavilion.

Some of the special displays this year include:

Robotics -- Daily Dairy Robotonomics mini-seminars put four robotic manufacturer experts on the platform.

New York Beef Producers -- Offers a pen-of-five beef improvement topics daily on cattle show fitting, fencing and handling, grazing and forage management and more.

Anaerobic Digesters -- There could be big money available for digesters this year, so the UEM Group (AD designer) and New York State Energy and Research Development Authority and the Antares Group (NYS digester ombudsman) are teaming up for a Dairy Anaerobic Digester Profits mini-seminar at 1 p.m. Feb. 21 (Friday) at the show.

New York Forest Owners Association -- Offers many workshops during the show on 14 topics ranging from forest/woodlot management, market outlook, low-impact harvesting, portable sawmills, wildlife habitat, feral pigs, timber pasturing and more.

For an exhibitor list by category, go http://newyorkfarmshow.com/customPage.aspx?p=273 to this link.

Admission is $ 5 at the door; children under 18 are free. Tickets are available for free from Northeast Equipment Dealers.

Parking is free, and shuttle buses run all day to the six farm show buildings.

New York Farm Show is co-sponsored by the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association and American Agriculturist magazine.