If you are considering applying for a Value Added Producer Grant. How do you fill out the application? How do you make your application as appealing as possible to the person who will review it? These three sessions will outline the process of writing and submitting a successful Value Added Producer Grant.

To meet the year-round demand for locally produced food, vegetable farmers have embraced protected agriculture to extend their growing season, improve yields, and enhance crop quality. However, a statewide survey found that after several growing seasons, farmers struggle to maintain productivity due to challenges in long term soil health and fertility management. Cornell Cooperative Extension is exploring practices that high tunnel growers can adopt to better manage soil fertility and improve soil health.

Grab your lunch and join us for a virtual conversation on Friday, March 5, 2021 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm to hear our project updates and research results.

The Institute for Food Safety at Cornell University, UVM Extension Ag Engineering, and CCE Orange County, CCE Dutchess County, and CCE ENYCHP are hosting a workshop on Cleaning and Sanitizing on Produce Farms and in Packing Facilities. This remote 3.5 hour webinar will provide:

• A brief review of microbial risks in produce farms and packing facilities
• Conducting a Sanitation Operational Assessment
• Presentations focused on the: o Basics of wet and dry cleaning and sanitizing o Value and importance of sanitation SOPs
• A hands-on exercise writing a sanitation SOP

While yields of stone fruits planted to traditional orchard systems have been lagging behind our modern apple plantings in the northeast, research is actively being conducted to utilize improved rootstocks and modern, narrow training systems to increase productivity and reduce labor costs in peach and cherry systems. 

In this webinar, we will be joined by Dr. Jim Schupp, Dr. Greg Lang, and Dr. Terence Robinson, as they discuss improved strategies for growing peaches and cherries in the northeast.

This training will provide an overview of possible sources of contamination related to soil amendments, wildlife, water, post-harvest handling, transportation and more. This training will emphasize specific risks that leafy greens growers may experience, identify tangible corrective actions that can be taken, and provide participants the opportunity to work through example scenarios as a group.

Join the us for the annual Dry Bean Meeting! There will be 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, herbicide resistance management, dry bean variety testing, and incorporating NY dry beans into schools. This meeting is sponsored by Genesee Valley Bean Company, and Bayer CropScience.

Thinking about becoming a certified pesticide applicator in New York?  This online program will cover the basics of who needs a pesticide license, license types, examination procedures, and important information to know for the test.  We will incorporate interactive practice questions and activities within the program to test participant knowledge in preparation for the exam.

This program will be focusing on putting farm food safety into daily production practices. Besides some classroom presentations, there will be demos and hands-on activities with produce wash equipment. Participants will learn the why and how behind designing, cleaning, sanitizing, and drying produce handling equipment and buildings. And much more! 

2021 Spring Turn-Out Grazier Meeting: Adapting livestock, Pasture Forbs, Spending Money. Presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators: Ashely Pierce, Dayton Maxwell, and Aaron Gabriel.

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Many New England growers are cultivating saffron as a component of their diversified farming program. They are selling their saffron for $25-50 per gram! Want to learn more about this high value crop? Come to our FREE Saffron Demonstration Event coordinated by the University of Vermont (UVM) North American Center for Saffron Research & Development. It will take place in Vermont but anyone from anywhere is welcome to attend if they are willing to drive to it. This is one of several demonstration events we will hold over the year at different Vermont grower locations. Each event will feature different key topics coordinated with the saffron production cycle.