Experience Empire with New Happenings at 2016 Empire Farm Days: August 9-11

7-8

Experience Empire is the theme of the 2016 Empire Farm Days with new exhibits, seminars, demonstrations, live animals, and test driving opportunities. The 300-acre at Rodman Lott and Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY, is the largest outdoor agricultural show in the Northeastern U.S. The 2016 show will be held August 9, 10 and 11. Parking is $10 per vehicle. For daily schedules and more information, visit empirefarmdays.com or call 877-697-7837.

New attractions at the 2016 Empire Farm Days:

  • An important change for those who enjoy the Field Equipment Demonstrations: 10 am is the new time for the daily Tillage and GPS-Guided demonstrations followed by Hay Mowing at 11 am. Forage Chopping and Handling demonstrations move to 1 pm daily followed by Hay Raking, Baling, Processing and Handling at 2 pm. The demonstrations are sponsored by Farm Credit East.
  • Dairy Profit Seminars will focus Tuesday on enhancing herd health through effective protocol management, on Wednesday on Manure: The Planning and Implementation Process, and on Thursday on responses and approaches to the changing labor environment. The Dairy Profit Seminars are sponsored by ASAP Interiors, Dairy Farmers of America, Farm Credit East, Farm Family Casualty Insurance, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, Multimin USA, PikeSide Enterprises, Cornell PRO-DAIRY, and DairyBusiness and HolsteinWorld magazines.
  • The 2016 Empire Farm Days Soil Health Center Seminars, crop plot tours, and farmer panel discussions are focused on the use of cover cropping, interseeding, soil biology, reduced tillage practices, and utilizing winter grain cover crops for forage. Presenters include Dr. Matthew Ryan and Dr. Janice E. Thies of Cornell University, and Cornell PRO-DAIRY Dairy Forage Systems Specialist Joe Lawrence. New York grower Donn Branton, farmer and nutritionist Gabriel Carpenter, and Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance President Jim Hershey are among several farmers participating in panel discussions.
  • New live coverage sprinkler irrigation demonstrations with systems designed for use in field crops, fruit orchards, and berry patches will take place at 11 am and 2 pm daily, sponsored by Nelson Irrigation and CFS Irrigation Supply. Presenter Steve McCoon will help growers learn how to balance available water supply with plant needs, soil health, depth and intake rates.
  • Western New York Crop Management IT Manager Avery DeGolyer, Ben Flansburg with BCA Ag Technologies, and a farmer panel will present an Precision Ag Seminar sponsored by the New York Farm Viability Institute on Wednesday, August 10 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm at the Soil Health Center. Presentations will cover field prescriptions, data management and security, different hardware and software systems, and how to develop the right prescription for specific farm needs.
  • The Empire Farm Days Test Drive and Ride Experience in 2016 features the opportunity to try CAT Equipment, a Kubota skid loader equipped with the new Michelin Tweel® tires, and RAM trucks from 10 am to 2 pm daily.
  • The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health and National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) are teaming up to offer grain bin safety presentations with a simulator filled with corn on the half hour all day every day of the show. NECAS Director Dan Neenan covers the four most common ways people become engulfed in grain bins, the equipment every grain bin operator should have on-site, and how to protect yourself from the grain dust and mold associated with the bins. A special 4-hour after-the-show training will be provided to firefighters and EMS personnel by pre-registration.
  • Mock self-propelled applicator slow moving vehicle inspection demonstrations with the New York State Police will be conducted daily at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm, sponsored by the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, New York State Agri-Business Association, and Northeast Region Certified Crop Advisers.
  • The new federal Worker Protection Standard requirements and implementation schedule for agriculture chemical handling will be presented only on Tuesday, August 9 at 1 pm in a presentation by NYSDEC Pesticide Control Specialist Christopher Wainwright, sponsored by the New York State Agri-Business Association, and Northeast Region Certified Crop Advisers. DEC Credits are available.
  • The New York pork industry is in the Farm Bureau Family Education Center spotlight for 2016 with new interactive games for young and old, along with the 2015 Promotion and Education Award-winning Franklin County Farm Bureau Farm Safety Day program and the Ag in the Classroom What’s in the Garden Ag Literacy Week book for 2017.
  • A new New York State Agriculture and Markets showcase tent highlights resources by division: Agricultural Development, Animal Industry, Food Safety and Inspection, Land and Water Resources, Plant Industry, and USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service publications for New York and the Northeast. Sign up here for raffles of Great New York State Fair tickets and a Taste of NY Gift Basket.
  • The Empire Farm Days Equine Center Round Pen demonstrations with live horses will feature Miniature Horses for Show and Therapy with Jessica Gulvin of Heart O’Gold Equine on Tuesday, Living American History with American Mustangs with Emma and Jack Minteer of Rose Hill Ranch on Wednesday, and an Introduction to Equestrian Vaulting with Laura Bagley of Sunshine Meadows Farm and Stables on Thursday. The daily 11 am and 2 pm are sponsored by Layden Fence and Livestock.
  • Planter Technology and Tile Plow Seminars will be offered respectively at 10 am and 10:30 am each day by White’s Farm Supply. The short presentations will cover the advantages of using variable rate seed and fertilizer applications, section control and technologies that ensure proper seed depth and placement for optimal corn and soybean production; and how farmers can use a tile plow to install farm drainage for water management to improve crop production.
  • Casella Organics is presenting daily 10 am field demonstrations of its Fiberlime™ product, a mix of recovered lime, clay and short paper fibers. The lime is calcium carbonate, similar to the ground limestone rock commonly used to raise soil pH and add calcium for plant growth while the cellulose fiber helps improve soil structure.
  • A Small Farm Seminars series will be offered only on Wednesday, August 10 in the Cornell Empire Building. The series includes programs on the Cornell Small Farms Program, the Northeast Beginning Farmers Program, building soil health, agroforestry, mushroom production basics, and the NY Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Program.
  • The Potato Field Days started in 1931 by the Empire State Potato Growers is now Empire Farm Days. The new SPUD NATION™ Food Truck, a 2016 initiative of the U.S. Potato Board, will be at Empire Farm Days with its globally-inspired potato dishes menu.
  • The NY Beef Center will feature live cattle handling demonstrations with Cornell University Beef Extension Specialist Dr. Mike Baker daily at 11:30 am, a cattle breeds exhibit with live animals, and a special Tuesday afternoon Beef Quality Assurance Training by pre-registration.
  • Shooting sports take center stage in the Empire Farm Days Outdoor Center for 2016 with members of New York’s first-ever scholastic trap shooting team from Belleville Henderson Central School. They will have information on the growing interest in this student endeavor in New York and nationwide. The Outdoor Center is sponsored by Fred’s Tents and Canopies.
  • An historic 7 foot round boat that looks like a flying saucer will be at the Empire Farm Days pond near the in-water safety demonstrations with New York Sea Grant, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and NYS Marine Services Bureau.
  • The History of Match Box Toys will be a new program at the New York State Grange Center tent at Empire Farm Days in 2016. The daily schedule of 25-minute programs opens at 9:30 am with Fire Safety is Fun with Dalmatian ‘Sparks’ and Tibbie Dell. The Match Box Toys program with Richard McKee will begin at 1:35 each day.

Show hours are 9-5 on Tuesday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 10; and 9-4 on Thursday, August 11. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Daily schedules and more information is posted online at www.empirefarmdays.com or call 877-697-7837.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *