
Laura McDermott
Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable SpecialistCCE Washington County
415 Lower Main Street
Hudson Falls, NY 12839
phone 518-746-2562
cell 518-791-5038
fax 518-746-2419
email Laura
Areas of Interest
Horticultrue, IPM, High Tunnel Production, & Food Safety

Blueberries, Raspberries / Blackberries, Unusual Fruit
Background
Laura McDermott has long been interested in horticulture, completing her undergrad degree at Cornell University and her master degree at the University of Florida. Laura joined Cornell Cooperative Extension in 1990 and, through the years, has fine-tuned her expertise in commercial small fruit and vegetable production including pest identification and management, soil fertility, food safety, and season extension techniques. Today, Laura leads small fruit outreach efforts in our area, serves as a liaison with grower organizations, and regularly participates in applied research and demonstration activities.


Upcoming Events
Agricultural Supervisory Leadership Certificate Program
June 17, 2022
June 23, 2022
June 30, 2022
July 7, 2022
July 14, 2022
July 21, 2022
July 28, 2022
Supervisors are critical to the success of farm businesses. They have a major impact both on employees' daily work experiences and on the production performance of the business. The agricultural Supervisory Leadership certificate helps farm supervisors and managers learn and apply human resource management practices and leadership skills that foster rewarding workplaces and drive business results. Confident managers who thoughtfully apply leadership and management skills improve employee performance, develop teams, reduce employee turnover, and increase employee engagement. The courses within the certificate program will offer extensive practice and engagement activities to build confidence and skill sets.
Peru Weed Management and Soil Health Field Day

July 20, 2022
Peru, NY
Join us in Peru on July 20th as we discuss orchard weed and soil management! Speakers will be joining us from across Cornell's research and extension teams. Topics will include the results of our herbicide timing trials, new vision-guided technologies for orchard weed spraying, organic weed management options, soil health demonstrations, and a discussion on our statewide orchard soil health survey. DEC credits are pending for this event.
July Next Gen Meetup at Bowman Orchards
July 21, 2022
Rexford, NY
The July Next-Gen meet-up is focused on marketing. We will provide everyone who registers with a resource guide to farm stand marketing. The Bowman's have a farm store, U-Pick berries, sunflowers, apples and pumpkins as well as a commercial apple orchard. We encourage you to check out their website (Bowman Orchards).
Young farmers are welcome to attend, the focus of the program is farmers who are in the process of taking over a farm from the prior generation (whether family or not). Please pre-register by July 18 so that we know you are coming and can have enough food for dinner and resource materials.