The Risk Management Agency (RMA) is inviting interested parties to participate in a listening session to discuss the proposed changes to the apple crop insurance program. These proposed changes were published in a Proposed Rule with request for comments on December 16, 2021.

RMA invited public comments on this rule through April 15, 2022. RMA received comments to the Proposed Rule from approximately 200 interested parties. RMA is taking this opportunity to engage with interested parties to clarify the intent of the Proposed Rule before finalizing changes.

$10 per farm

Pre register by Monday, July 10th at 9 am

Join us for a field afternoon at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm and Juniper Hill Farm in Essex County to learn about growing small fruit crops in northern New York. We'll discuss considerations for site selection, varieties, pruning, integrated pest management, marketing, and more. In addition to strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, we'll cover novelty small fruits and nuts for specialty markets and hear from local producers who grow them.

1.75 DEC credits approved in categories 1A, 10, and 22

Rain date: This event will be held at the same time on Thursday, July 13th if thunderstorms and/or significant rain are predicted on the 11th

Tour research plots examining various tillage and no-till strategies supplemented by tarp usage for weed control and nitrogen retention. Early plots with rye were planted to cabbage, and later plots with rye and vetch were planted to winter squash. You will also see how tarps are being used on the small-scale (1 acre) garden level to prepare multiple beds for weed-free direct seeding of crops, and see a field being prepared for vegetable crops with no-till drilled cover crop successions. Event is made possible through generous support of the NY Farm Viability Institute.

Calibrating pesticide sprayers for best results

University of New Hampshire Extension Field Specialist Emeritus, George Hamilton will demonstrate the importance of and best techniques to calibrate air blast sprayers. Proper calibration will ensure effective, efficient, economical and legal spraying.  Inadequate spray coverage is usually the cause of poor spray efficacy and additional spray applications. Overuse of some sprays results in unhealthy residues and can lead to fines.

Calibration should be done several times each season, or when you incorporate any new equipment or repairs - from the tractor to the nozzle.  Join us for a refresher or send new employees for training.  This workshop is open for any grower that relies on either an airblast sprayer to deliver plant protectants to fruit or vegetable crops or a boom sprayer.  
Please note that locations and times vary for each workshop. This is the July 18th airblast workshop. For simultaneous Spanish translation and boom sprayer calibration, please sign up for the July 19th workshop.

Both workshops will provide audio amplification, handouts and refreshments. 

Tuesday, July 18 - Airblast Sprayer Calibration Workshop
 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm at Porpiglia Farms
71 Porpiglia Drive, Marlboro, NY  12542

Join Mike in Chazy on July 20th to hear about some of the on-farm research trials he's conducting in the Champlain Valley this summer. In addition to his discussion of preliminary findings, you will have the opportunity to observe the various field treatments firsthand.  

Pesticide credits in categories 1A, 10, and 22 pending

Interested in growing cider apples, but not sure where to start? Join Mike Basedow of Cornell Cooperative Extension's ENYCHP and Ryan McGiver of Scrumpy Ewe Cider for a walk and talk of Ryan's newly planted cider orchard.

Mike will discuss some of the basics of growing apples for cider

Join us for a late-summer orchard meeting. We will start with a tour through J.L. Knight and Son's new storage and packing area, and owner Jeremy Knight will discuss his experience with Hazel 1-MCP sachets.  Cornell researchers and extension specialists will then give talks on management tasks to be mindful of late in the season as we head into harvest. 

1.25 DEC credits in 22, 1A, and 10 are available for this meeting. Please register ahead. Contact Mike at 518 410 6823 or mrb254@cornell.edu with any questions on this event. 

Date change! Join us for a twilight meeting at Dyer Farms in Plattsburgh. We'll tour Dyer Farms' vegetable fields, view an experimental laser scarecrow set up to deter birds, discuss insect, disease, and weed scouting and management recommendations for sweet corn and pumpkins, and cover crops for vegetable rotations.

Contact Elisabeth Hodgdon (518-650-5323 or eh528@cornell.edu) with questions and requests for accommodations. 

Cost: $10 per farm (registration required by 9 am Wednesday, Aug. 23). Light refreshments provided.

2.00 DEC pesticide recertification credits available in categories 1A, 10, and 23