According to the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY (NOFA-NY), organic farming "seeks to maintain and improve the productivity of the land by encouraging and enhancing natural biological processes. Organic farmers nurture healthy plants by working to create a foundation of healthy soil. Great attention is paid to nurturing the soil with composts, cover crops, rock minerals and natural fertilizers. Plant disease and pests are controlled through the use of crop rotations, resistant varieties, cultivation, biological pest controls and botanical controls. The use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides are prohibited in certified organic production."

The number of organic farmers in NYS continues to rise, driven in part by the increasing demand from consumers for produce that is free of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture program has been working with organic farmers to determine their needs and offer alternatives to conventional production methods.




More Organic Content

Pumpkin Variety Trial Meeting (Northern Location)

October 24, 2018
1:00pm- 3:00pm
Melrose, NY

Join Chuck Bornt and Teresa Rusinek from CCE ENYCHP for our 2018 pumpkin variety trial results. We trialed 48 different pumpkin varieties of various shapes and sizes, from different companies. Come on out and see how they look!

Pumpkin Variety Trial Meeting (Southern Location)

October 25, 2018
1:00pm- 3:00pm
Kingston, NY

Join Chuck Bornt and Teresa Rusinek from CCE ENYCHP for our 2018 pumpkin variety trial results. We trialed 48 different pumpkin varieties of various shapes and sizes, from different companies. Come on out and see how they look!

Grow a Successful Agritourism Business! Managing Your Human Resource Risk From Agritourism

October 26, 2018
10:00am - 2:30pm
Highland, NY

Bringing visitors to your farm can create new income streams but agritourism can also be a source of risk to your farm business. Five lunchtime seminars will teach how to assess and manage different risks to help develop a successful agritourism business. The seminars will be followed by a panel of successful agritourism operators. In-between each seminar, participants will build on their knowledge to develop their own risk management plan. This 5-county program will be offered simultaneously in Delaware (the host county), and by Zoom technology in Otsego/Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster Counties. The Ulster County site, hosted by Liz Higgins of the Eastern NY Commercial Hort Team, will be at the Hudson Valley Lab

Check out the Updated Labeled Insecticides for SWD

Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide Compiled by Greg Loeb, Laura McDermott, Peter Jentsch & Juliet Carroll, Cornell University. Updated regularly. Check it out at this link!

New Resources from CCE ENYCHP!

We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year! We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the 20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series. 
The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.

Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.

Text alerts are easy to access. Just click on the link below and fill out a very short registration form. It takes just seconds to do - access to important information has never been so easy!!

Confused by the WPS (Worker Protection Standard)?

Please take note: WPS pertains to all farms-organic and conventional!  To be sure that you are complying with these regulations, please view the EPA link below:
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/comparison-chart-wps.pdf