The New York State Working Group for Improved Soil Health has announced a full schedule of activities for the Soil Health Center at the August 8, 9 and 10 Empire Farm Days at Rodman Lott and Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY.
Activities include daily USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service presentations, farmer panel discussions, cover crop field plot tours, a Wednesday-only keynote presentation with conservation biologist and invertebrate ecologist Carmen Greenwood, lunch sponsored by King’s AgriSeeds, and daily raffles of soil health tests from the Cornell Soil Health Lab and Dairy One and cover crop seed from Seedway.
The Tuesday, August 8 schedule includes:
. 9:30 am: Fertilizer, Manure and Nutrient Management, and Cycling in Cover Cropping and Reduced Tillage Systems with USDA NRCS Northeast Regional Soil Health Specialist Jim Hoorman, Findlay, OH
. 10:30 am: Empire Farm Days Cover Crops Field Demonstration Tour
. 11:30 am: Fertilizer and Nutrient Management in Cover Crops and Reduced Tillage Systems Farmer Panel with Jim Hershey, Hershey Farms, Elizabethtown, PA; Steve Cuddeback, Cuddeback Farms, Skaneateles, NY; John Kemmeren, Angel Rose Dairy, Bainbridge, NY; and moderator Janice Degni, Cornell SCNY Dairy and Field Crops Team Leader.
Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance President Jim Hershey has practiced no-till for more than 25 year and uses a five-way cover crop mix on his 600-acre livestock and grain farm in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. In 2016, Steve Cuddeback, an advocate for high calcium lime application with minimal tillage techniques to increase yields over time, harvested record yields of no-till soybeans and zone-tilled corn grain on this 800-acre cash crop farm. John Kemmeren has practiced no-till for 40 years, no-tilling 750 acres of corn, hay and pasture at his 750-acre dairy farm.
The Wednesday, August 9 schedule includes:
. 9:30 am: Preventing, Reducing and Mitigating Compaction and Its Impact on Soil Health and Crop Production with USDA NRCS Northeast Regional Soil Health Specialist Jim Hoorman, Findlay, OH
. 10:30 am: Empire Farm Days Cover Crops Field Demonstration Tour
. 11:30 am: Avoiding or Reducing Compaction Using Cover Crops, Reduced Tillage Systems and Other Management Strategies Farmer Panel with Janette Veazey-Post, Lamb Farms, Inc., Oakfield, NY; Joe Brightly, Brightly Farms, LLC, Hamlin, NY; Scott Potter, Dairy Support Services, Cortland, NY; Brad Macauley, Merrimac Farms Inc., Mount Morris, NY; and moderator Paul Salon, USDA NRCS Regional Soil Health Specialist.
Janette Veazey-Post co-manages a 12,000-acre progressive dairy farm, growing mostly strip-tilled corn and alfalfa. WNY Soil Health Alliance board member Joe Brightly grows grains, fresh and processing vegetables, and apples using strip tillage, cover crops and cover crop mixes, plus an interseeder he built for 2017. Since 1994, Scott Potter has provided forage production and application services to CNY dairy farms: 120 million gallons of manure per year, planting 1700 acres of corn, and harvesting 8000 acres of corn and haylage. Brad Macauley uses minimum till, cover cropping and double cropping to feed dairy cows and grow vegetable crops.
. 2:00 pm: Keynote Presentation and Demonstration: The Living Soil with Conservation Biologist Carmen Greenwood, SUNY Cobleskill
Dr. Carmen Greenwood will show how live soil-dwelling invertebrates, primarily soil mites, serve in vital ecosystem roles, provide conservation benefits, and act as indicators of soil health. Dr. Greenwood is an associate professor of entomology at SUNY Cobleskill and a member of the New York State Pollinator Task Force.
The Thursday, August 10 schedule includes:
. 9:30 am: Utilizing Soil Health Practices in Vegetable Cropping Systems with Dr. Thomas Bjorkman, Associate Horticulture Professor, Cornell University
. 10:30 am: Empire Farm Days Cover Crops Field Demonstration Tour
. 11:30 am: Utilizing Soil Health Practices in Vegetable Cropping Systems Farmer Panel with Josh Jurs, Kreher’s Farms, Clarence, NY; Dan Henry, W.D. Henry and Sons Farms, Eden, NY; Kurt Forman, Clearview Farms, Palmyra, NY; and moderator Darcy Telenko, Cornell Extension Vegetable Specialist.
Kreher’s Farm Crop Manager Josh Jurs is currently updating his 3000 organic acre cover crop program to incorporate different species to target a balance of soil health and biology and sustainability. Dan Henry’s soil health practices at W.D. Henry and Sons’ 400-acre fresh market vegetable farm include planned crop rotations and cover crops. Kurt Forman of certified organic Clearview Farm builds his wide variety of soils using cover crops, composted manure, and crop rotation, helping to control weeds and insect pests, and reducing the cost of nitrogen fertilizer.
Other features of the Soil Health Center at the 2017 Empire Farm Days include:
. Soil Health Work Group members with soil health literature, table top demonstrations and rainfall simulations illustrating how different management practices impact soil-water interaction;
. USDA NRCS soil scientists demonstrating the Web Soil Survey to print soil maps for producers;
. demonstrations of the cell phone Soil Web App that allows you to view soils at your current location;
. USDA NRCS Conservation Client Gateway demonstrations for producers; and
. the New York Soil Health Trailer.
The Soil Health Center at Empire Farm Days is a cooperative effort of the New York State Soil Health Work Group comprised of USDA NRCS, conservation districts, state government agencies, educational institutions, the Cornell University Soil Health program, cooperative extension, non-governmental organizations, farmers, private consultants, and agribusinesses working towards developing innovative solutions to improve soil health and raising awareness of soil health concepts by producers and ag service providers. For more information, contact Paul Salon at 607-562-8404 x 103, paul.salon@ny.usda.gov.
The Soil Health Center at Empire Farm Days was established in 2015 as a permanent site for soil health programming at the annual event that is the largest outdoor agricultural trade show in the northeastern U.S.
Empire Farm Days show hours are Tuesday-Wednesday 9 am to 5 pm and Thursday 9 am to 4 pm. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Visit www.empirefarmdays.com or call 877-697-7837 for more details.
