The Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program Specialists work together with Cornell faculty and extension educators statewide to address the issues that impact the vegetable industry. Our Specialists have varying areas of expertise but work as a team to provide educational programs and information to commercial growers, processors and agri-business professionals in our region.

Ethan Grundberg

Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: Organic Production Systems, Small Farm Equipment, IPM, Cover Crops

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Elizabeth Higgins

Business Management Specialist

Areas of Interest: Business Management & Planning, Risk Management, Agricultural Economics

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Jim Meyers

Viticulture Specialist

Areas of Interest: Viticulture
Crops: Grapes

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Mike Basdow

Tree Fruit Specialist

Crops: Apples

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Chuck Bornt

Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: Reduced Tillage, Production Systems, Pest ID and Control
Crops: Cucumbers, Melons, Potatoes, Pumpkins / Gourds, Squash - Summer, Squash- Winter, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes

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Dan Donahue

Tree Fruit Specialist

Areas of Interest: Horticulture, orchard management, post harvest technology
Crops: Apples, Apricots, Peaches, Pears, Plums

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Amy Ivy

Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: High tunnel production, IPM, biocontrols
Crops: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce / Leafy Greens, Onions

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John-Erik Kocho-Schellenberg

Food Safety Educator Specialist

Areas of Interest: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Education, On-farm Food Safety

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Laura McDermott

Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: Horticultrue, IPM, High Tunnel Production, & Food Safety
Crops: Blueberries, Raspberries / Blackberries, Unusual Fruit

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Teresa Rusinek

Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: Pest ID, Pest Control Recommendations, Biocontrols, Greenhouse Vegetables and Ornamentals
Crops: Squash - Summer, Squash- Winter, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes

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Crystal Stewart

Extension Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: Small and Beginning Farms, Organic Production Systems, Garlic

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Maire Ullrich

Vegetable Specialist

Areas of Interest: Muck Soils, Onions, Ethnic Vegetables, Marketing, Labor Relations
Crops: Carrots, Ethnic Vegetables, Lettuce / Leafy Greens, Onions

view details about Maire

Grow a Successful Agritourism Business! Assessing and Managing Your Financial Risk from Agritourism

September 28, 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

Grow a Successful Agritourism Business! Managing Your Production/Weather Risk From Agritourism

October 5, 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

Cover Crops Field Meeting

October 11, 2018
4:00 - 5:50pm
Willsboro, NY

A field visit to see and compare a variety of fall cover crops, planted in two different soil types, two weeks apart. We'll discuss establishment, choices, management and timing of several cover crops.

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