This course will educate growers on disease and pest management, varieties and marketing issues in open field and high tunnel vegetables. Topics such as disease resistant varieties, pest/disease, cultural management, biological controls and appropriate spray options. The meeting will include grower and buyer panels and auction updates. 1.75 DEC credits will be offered in categories 10, 1a, 23, 24.

UPDATE 12/23/21: Due to the ever changing COVID-19 pandemic, the Empire State Producers Expo and Becker Forum is going virtual.

The Becker Forum will stay the same date and time, January 10, in a virtual format.

The vegetable workshops and DEC credits will be virtual and further information will be going out to people who have registered and others who plan to attend. Please check back for more information on the New York State Vegetable Growers Association website. There will be no Trade Show until 2023.

Tax Management for Beginning and Small Farm Businesses.

A one-night virtual meeting for beginning and part-time farmers that provides useful tax information enabling participants to be make better tax decisions for their business.   Federal and state income taxes will be covered. Tax regulations specific to NYS will be covered as well. 

This course will educate growers on disease and pest management, varieties and marketing issues in field grown vegetables. Topics such as disease resistant varieties, pest/disease, cultural management, biological controls and appropriate spray options. 1.5 DEC recertification credits in categories 10, 1a, 23 will be offered. 

Tax Code Benefits and Last Minute Tax Updates for Farms

For farm businesses of all shapes and sizes, tune in to learn more about key tax benefits and tax incentives that are available for farms. Because this is our last class, this workshop will also include updated tax information for the current tax season.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Commodity Procurement Program invites you to a live, interactive webinar on lessons learned in becoming an approved USDA
food vendor. AMS purchases approximately $6 billion of U.S. grown and processed foods annually for both domestic and international food assistance programs.
USDA purchases over 300 different food products that directly support the nutritional needs for millions of school children, families, and other qualified individuals. 

The CCE Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Team is happy to invite vegetable and berry growers to our virtual series of webinars on February 15, 16, and 17.

Thinking about becoming a certified pesticide applicator in New York?  Join DEC representative Brayton Pendell and ENYCHP specialists for a discussion on who needs a pesticide license, license types, examination procedures, and recertification. Participants will have ample opportunity to ask questions during the program.  

Cornell Cooperative Extension ENYCHP tree fruit specialists are pleased to offer three in-person pruning workshops at our region's orchards in March.  Dr. Terence Robinson will be joining us to demonstrate how to prune young and mature tall spindle trees, and will walk us through his precision pruning protocol to reduce crop load early in biennial bearing varieties like 'Honeycrisp' and 'Fuji'.

Cornell Cooperative Extension ENYCHP tree fruit specialists are pleased to offer three in-person pruning workshops at our region's orchards in March.  Dr. Terence Robinson will be joining us to demonstrate how to prune young and mature tall spindle trees, and will walk us through his precision pruning protocol to reduce crop load early in biennial bearing varieties like 'Honeycrisp' and 'Fuji'.

If you have an interest in using hummingbirds as a management technique to help control SWD in your crops, this seminar is for you!  

Join us on March 10th for the 2022 Onion School.  We will be discussing several subjects including Managing Onion and Seedcorn Maggot without Lorsban, Fungicide and Insecticide Seed Treatment Options for 2023 and Beyond, Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Amaranth Management, and much more!

Cornell Cooperative Extension ENYCHP tree fruit specialists are pleased to offer three in-person pruning workshops at our region's orchards in March.  Dr. Terence Robinson will be joining us to demonstrate how to prune young and mature tall spindle trees, and will walk us through his precision pruning protocol to reduce crop load early in biennial bearing varieties like 'Honeycrisp' and 'Fuji'.

Cornell Cooperative Extension ENYCHP and LOFP are presenting a webinar on biological orchard IPM tactics. Julianna Wilson of MSU Extension will present on mating disruption and biological insecticide options, while Dr. Kerik Cox will review what's available for biological control of diseases.  

NYCAMH will be offering respirator fit testing clinics across the state this year.  For more information, contact NYCAMH at 800-343-7527 or fittest@bassett.org.

Join for an overview of a newly created guide to tarping for the Northeast, presented by one of the guide's authors.

This resource is the product of a Northeastern IPM Center-funded working group on tarping and soil solarization. Working group member and presenter Sonja Birthisel, along with her colleagues, sought to create a thorough and application-oriented guide that identifies best practices and fills key knowledge gaps. It covers many uses of tarps, including stale seedbed preparation, cover-crop termination, and application in perennial systems.

The NYS Dry Bean Meeting will be back online again this year, with presentations covering the latest research in NY dry beans. Topic areas include market updates, white mold management, western bean cutworm and soybean cyst nematode management, dry bean variety testing, and incorporating NY dry beans into schools. This event will be held virtually via Zoom, and 1.5 DEC credits will be available. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension ENYCHP and LOFP are presenting a webinar on what's new in crop load management. Speakers will be joining us from NYSIPM, Cornell University, Michigan State University, and Valent USA. Topics will include NEWA crop load management tools, including the Pollen Tube Growth Model, the Carbohydrate Thinning Model, and the Fruit Growth Rate Model.  We will also discuss the future of precision crop load management with computer vision technologies, and new materials you will soon be able to incorporate into your apple thinning programs.  For those growing peaches, Dr. Anna Wallis will present on thinning with ACC, the first chemical thinner commercially available for stone fruits.

Newly improved laser scarecrow kits will again be available for 2022 for those who wish to partner with our research.  This workshop will feature a presentation by Rebecca Nelson Brown and David Brown of the University of Rhode Island about the laser scarecrow and what improvements have been made for 2022.  Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators Chuck Bornt and Julie Kikkert will share their experiences testing the devices on New York farms.  We will also open the floor to cooperating growers to share their tips for success on the farm.

This workshop will share research results from two fusarium management studies: one focused on field management of fusarium in garlic and the other focused on post-harvest handling's affects. Speakers are Chris Callahan, Agriculture Engineer at the University of Vermont, and Crystal Stewart Courtens, ENYCHP. This workshop is funded through the generous support of Northeast SARE. 

Frustrated with bird control on your farm? Curious about what laser scarecrows are or how to optimize their set up? The University of Rhode Island and Cornell Cooperative Extension have teamed up to share their research and on-farm experiences using the University of Rhode Island laser scarecrow which utilizes a constantly moving green laser beam to scare birds away from fields. This workshop will feature a presentation by Rebecca Nelson Brown and David Brown of the University of Rhode Island about the laser scarecrow and what improvements have been made for 2022. Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators Chuck Bornt and Julie Kikkert will share their experiences testing the devices on New York farms. This online event is FREE!

This workshop will cover the principles and practices of farm food safety for fresh produce farmers. Whether a buyer is asking for you to have a GAPs audit/certification or you just want to learn about improving food safety practices, this workshop is for you.

Topics are broken down into sections covering assessing situations where risk of microbial contamination could and would be a problem. These include land use, appraising adjacent land issues, handling manure/compost, wildlife and domestic animals, water sources/quality, pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest operations, wash/pack procedures, facility hygiene and sanitation, and worker training.

Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) is a voluntary food safety audit program requiring minimum standards for production, handling, packing, and storing of fresh fruits and vegetables. Many wholesale buyers, including grocery stores, schools, and other institutions, require GAPs certification from farms in order to purchase their produce. 

It is time to out-smart the critters! 

Dr. Paul Curtis, Cornell University, Natural Resources & Environment - Learn the behavior and control of deer, groundhogs, raccoons, turkey, geese, and crows.  Dr. Curtis will cover problems in the field, in crop storages, and around barns and facilities. 

B.E.V. NY is New York's annual conference for the grape and wine industry, combining the resources of Cornell's Extension Enology Lab, the Finger Lakes Grape Program, and the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The conference invites academic and industry experts to present information that addresses important issues for the industry, and to do so in a way that provides practical information to those who attend.

This year's conference will be fully virtual. This is a great opportunity for wineries and growers from across the state, and beyond, to take advantage of the great material presented. Seminars will take place over the course of the 3-day conference, with time each day dedicated to Business, Enology, and Viticulture topics. Your registration fee allows you to participate in as much of the conference as you choose.