New Cornell Climate Change Institute, Meteorologist to Present Weather and Farming
(Seneca Falls, NY – July 2014) What is the one thing people always talk about? The weather. Farmers may be weather watchers more than any other collective group. To accommodate their interest and provide them with a look at trends and how climate is impacting agriculture, Empire Farm Days will host presentations by Allison M. Chatrchyan, director of the new Cornell University Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture, and WHEC News10NBC Meteorologist Josh Nichols, who also teaches weather and climate at Monroe Community College.
On Tuesday, August 5 at 10:30am, Dr. Chatrchyan will speak on Farming in a More Extreme and Variable Climate.
On Wednesday, August 6 at 10:30am, Nichols will present Weather from the Farmers’ Point of View.
Admission to Empire Farm Days and the weather presentations is free, parking is $10. The event is held on 300 acres of the Rodman Lott and Son Farms in Seneca Falls.
Empire Farm Days’ visitors check out equipment in field demos. The largest outdoor ag trade show in the Northeast provides ride and drive experiences with ATVs, skidsteers, and construction equipment.
Hit Pay Dirt with 2014 Empire Farm Days’ Field, Crops & Equipment Demos
Field, forage, and equipment demonstrations abound at the August 5-7, 2014 Empire Farm Days and provide farmers with a look at the latest equipment innovations and technologies designed to enhance production efficiencies as well as offer new crop and revenue options.
Daily field demos include forage chopping and handling and a new in-motion/drive-over scale at 10am; hay mowing at 11am, tillage and GPS at 1pm, and hay raking, baling, processing and handling at 2pm. From 10am to 2pm daily, those 18 and older who area ready to test drive some “steel” can try Cat wheel loaders, backhoes and skidsteers, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha 4-wheelers and utility vehicles, and Liftech skidsteers.
New in 2014 will be demonstrations of the new Rinstrum Drive Over Axle Scale for weighing trucks and forage loads. Trucks drive over the scale at 2-3mph and the scale automatically calculates each axle weight and prints a receipt with truck ID and gross, tare, and net weights without stopping. These demonstrations will be held daily alongside the forage chopping field equipment demonstration at 10am.
New field demonstrations highlight crop options and treatments. Seedway and DuPont are sponsoring a presentation on cover crops for northern climates and a demonstration of cover crop interseeding by Cornell University and Penn State /PSU for 2014. A team of PSU researchers and grains specialists designed an interseeder which sidedresses corn with fertilizer and a post-emergent herbicide while simultaneously planting a cover crop behind rows early in the season. DuPont provided a $15,000 grant to help build a small demonstration interseeder for the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain. Cornell Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab Assistant Professor Matthew Ryan will share the results of interseeding trials funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.
Birkett Mills is planting a field demonstration of buckwheat at Empire Farm Days for the first time. Representatives of the Penn Yan, NY-based business are looking for growers interested in growing buckwheat for their custom milling operation.
Alltech will offer an in-field discussion of its Grain-Set foliar-applied micronutrient fertilizer developed to boost corn root systems, grain fill, protein and starch content, and yield.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is sponsoring demonstrations by the New York Soil Health Team of federal, state and local resource professionals, farmers and ag businesses on the difference healthy soil provides in terms of reduced runoff, increased infiltration, and improved water- and nutrient-holding capacity. The New York Soil Health Team is comprised of federal, state and local agricultural resource professionals, New York farmers and agricultural businesses. The USDA is sponsoring this Soil Health outreach in cooperation with the New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee.
The Cornell Recycling Agricultural Plastics Program will be demonstrating proper technique for baling used farm plastics with recycled-plastic products, supplies and equipment for storing and compacting plastic on display. A new one-hour baler operator certification course will be offered on-site.
Healthy soils benefit all crops, providing high-value housing for soil organisms, which in return create premium living space for crop roots. Throughout each day of the show, New York Soil Health Team members will be demonstrating the difference healthy soil can provide in terms of reducing runoff, increasing infiltration and improving water- and nutrient-holding capacity. The New York Soil Health Team is comprised of federal, state and local agricultural resource professionals, New York farmers and agricultural businesses. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is sponsoring the Soil Health outreach at Empire Farm Days in cooperation with the New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee.
For a full schedule of and information for the 2014 Empire Farm Days, including demonstrations of cattle handling, farm safety, horsemanship, small livestock care, alpaca fiber spinning, and agricultural plastics recycling visit www.empirefarmdays.com or call 877-697-7837. Admission is free, parking is $10.
Stockmanship trainer Curt Pate will be at Empire Farm Days for a live cattle handling demonstration on Wednesday, Aug. 6 only. (Photo:curtpatestockmanship.com).
Montana Stockman Curt Pate Coming to 2014 Empire Farm Days
Nationally-recognized stockmanship instructor Curt Pate will share his expertise on cattle handling on Wednesday, August 6 only as part of the New York Beef Industry Center programs at the 2014 Empire Farm Days at Rodman Lott & Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY.
The Montana rancher will be available after the 11:30am demonstration on Wednesday at the NY Beef Quality Assurance exhibit in the New York Beef Industry Center, near the New York Beef Producers Association BBQ tent.
Pate teaches techniques to put the proper pressure on cattle at a different angle and at varying amounts that helps move them comfortably and without bad experience.
‘Sometimes you cannot see pressure or understand its effects until it has created a problem. When you force cattle to go into a pen, they may get excited, go on the fight, and become dangerous or very difficult to work. Negative pressure creates stress, positive pressure creates contentment,’ Pate says.
An avid environmentalist, Pate is passionate about grazing animals to improve the environment as well as for a profitable farm business.
‘We need to utilize the Earth’s resources in a way that works like a good ranch, combining Mother Nature with technology then adding common sense and integrity. With the growing public scrutiny of livestock production, improving our livestock handling practices will help the sustainability of the cattle industry,’ Pate says.
‘Proper stockmanship reduces injury to handlers and animals, fosters positive response from the public, increases herd performance, and enhances the sustainability of the beef industry,’ says New York Beef Council Executive Director Carol Gillis.
Cornell University Beef Extension Specialist Dr. Mike Baker will discuss chute and pen, Bud Box and other cattle handling systems and offer demonstrations with live cattle at 11:30am on Tuesday, August 5 and Thursday, August 7 at the event that is the largest outdoor agricultural show in the Northeastern U.S.
The New York Beef Industry Council activities at Empire Farm Days include live cattle breeds in the beef tent, the opportunity to chat with producers of the major beef breeds, information on the Beef Quality Assurance Program that combines technology, common sense, and concern for animal wellbeing in a consumer-oriented production system, free recipes, information on how Beef Checkoff dollars increase product demand through programs with health professionals, retailers and consumers.
For details on the 2014 Empire Farm Days, the Northeast’s largest outdoor agricultural show, visit www.empirefarmdays.com. Show admission is free; parking is $10.