Author Archives: Dan Olmstead

About Dan Olmstead

I'm the NEWA Coordinator here at the New York State IPM Program. I work to provide online decision support to growers in NY and across the country for IPM and agricultural best practices.

NEWA and COVID-19

The New York State IPM Program and Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University are committed to providing ongoing support for NEWA online resources across our entire coverage area during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff and programmers are now working remotely to ensure the models and tools critical to your operation are available throughout the 2020 growing season.

Please contact support@newa.zendesk.com any time with problems or questions. Our support staff will create a ticket to track your issue until resolution, within the constraints of current remote working requirements.

Readers in New York State should visit the Cornell Cooperative Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) to find guidance and resources for the Ag community.

Visit the CCE EDEN Website

https://eden.cce.cornell.edu/

Other resources are also available from Cornell University for agricultural businesses.

Food Production, Processing & Safety Questions

https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/

Employment & Agricultural Workforce Questions

http://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/

Cornell Small Farms Resiliency Resources

https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/resources/farm-resilience/

Financial & Mental Health Resources for Farmers

https://www.nyfarmnet.org/

Cornell Farmworker Program

https://www.farmworker.cornell.edu and https://www.trabajadores.cornell.edu (en espanol)

Spanish language video on Corona virus

https://www.trabajadores.cornell.edu/

Save time during the season with a winter weather station checkup

Well-maintained weather stations are the secret to maximizing NEWA as part of a successful crop management strategy. A good maintenance plan provides peace of mind and ensures the best possible information is used to calculate NEWA model results. Checking your machine now means you have time for repairs without the pressure of in-season activities. Read this article to give your unit a complete checkup for the 2020 growing season.

Check Your Surroundings

Barns, windbreaks, equipment and other objects in close physical proximity to your machine can interfere with many sensor measurements, affecting both their precision and accuracy. Shading from a tall tree or building will reduce solar radiation readings, affect ambient temperature, relative humidity, and even windspeed for example. Consider relocating your weather station if you think nearby structures, objects, or permaculture interfere with air flow or sunlight. A minimum distance of 100 ft is a good rule of thumb.

Clean your sensors

Anemometer and weather vane. Check that your wind speed and wind direction sensors move freely. If either resists movement or is stuck, consider replacement.
Solar radiation. Use a step ladder to closely inspect the sensor. Use a clean damp cloth to remove dirt and debris if necessary. If the protective lens looks opaque, contact your vendor to discuss replacement.
Rain gauge. Use a step ladder to closely inspect the rain buck interior. Carefully remove any leaves, spider webs, or other debris commonly found in clogged rain gauge sensors.
Temperature/relative humidity. Inspect the solar radiation shield for insect nests or spider webs. These block free airflow to the sensors housed inside. Clear debris with a soft bristle brush if necessary.
(Leaf) wetness. Check that the wetness sensor is secured at a 30° angle facing north. Clean debris using a clean damp cloth.
Soil sensors. Inspect cords leading from the computer housing to the ground for mechanical or rodent damage. Contact your vendor if parts need replacement.

Look at Your Data

Log into your weather station platform and spend a few minutes looking back at data trends over the past season. Does anything jump out at you or seem unusual? You should be looking at your raw data, either on NEWA or in your vendor’s online platform, to be familiar with how your station data ‘behaves.’ It will be easier to quickly flag issues when they arise in the future.

Know How to Reach Your Vendor

Add your vendor’s support number to Contacts in your phone. If you encounter a problem, don’t put it off. Leave a message with your supplier if their support staff are busy. Rainwise Support is 207.801.4039. Onset Support is 1.800.564.4377.

Don’t wait to get help

Our weather station vendor partners are always ready to help. But if you aren’t sure where to start, want clarification, or think there might be an issue with the NEWA site, you can reach out at any point to the NEWA Help Desk at support@newa.zendesk.com.

FSA emergency assistance available for April 2019 extreme flooding events

Farm operators in NY, MA, PA, and VT who were impacted by April 2019 extreme flooding events are eligible for emergency FSA assistance until September 2020.

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue recently designated 43 New York Counties as natural disaster areas, along with contiguous counties affected in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, for two extreme rainfall events that occurred during the 2019 growing season.

Click here to view the official disaster declaration sent to Governor Cuomo from Secretary Purdue

Farm operators in designated primary counties, and contiguous counties, may be eligible for certain Farm Service Agency (FSA) assistance, including emergency loans, but there is an eight-month window in which farm operators can apply.

Secretary Purdue noted that “FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator.”

Local FSA offices

Contact your local FSA office for more information. Click here for locations.