New York’s organic farmers invited to meet Feb. 13
On Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, the second of three 2018 New York Certified Organic winter meetings will focus on harvesting quality forage. The free-to-attend meeting begins at 10 a.m. in Jordan Hall at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 630 West North St., in Geneva.
There is no need to register. Participants are asked to bring a dish for the potluck lunch.
“Producing high quality forage year after year can be challenging,” said NYCO Winter Meeting organizer Fay Benson of the Cornell NY Organic Dairy Program. “The drought of 2016 followed by the wet spring of 2017 has farmers interested in developing resiliency in their forage system. This New York Certified Organic meeting offers growers the opportunity to learn the latest research and best management practices from experts in the industry and with Cornell and the University of Vermont.”
The speakers include Tom Kilcer of Advanced Ag Systems is a well-respected researcher who will present details on his new field work for adding resiliency to forage rotations through double cropping and multi-use cover crops.
Alltech Representative John Winchell will talk about the ongoing battle with mycotoxins in forages. He will review what laboratory technicians are seeing and what is needed for detection, management, and control. He will also cover symptoms and animal treatments.
Dr. Heather Darby from the University of Vermont will share details on forage and small grain research she has recently conducted in northern Vermont.
Cornell Horticulture Professor Dr. Thomas Björkman will share his research on optimal planting dates and when to include clover in cover crop plantings.
The New York Crop Insurance Education Team and Cornell Cooperative Extension provide support for the NYCO meetings. There will be a brief description of how Crop Insurance can benefit organic farmers at this meeting and at the third session on March 13 on adding pastured hogs to a farm operation and farm start-up investment opportunities.
NYCO winter meetings have grown from a gathering of six organic grain producers in the Martens Farms farmhouse kitchen in 1994 to filling the auditorium at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. More than 300 farmers attended NYCO meetings in 2017.
For more information, contact Fay Benson at 607-391-2669 or afb3@cornell.edu. Information on previous NYCO meetings is posted athttp://blogs.cornell.edu/organicdairyinitiative.