• Manure Management Public Meeting
• Dairy Profit Seminars at Empire Farm Days 2015
• 2015 Dairy Environmental Systems and Climate Adaptation Conference and Tours
• Soil Loss 2015
• Wanted: 30 Great Dairy Leaders

Manure Management Public Meeting

The Cayuga County Manure Management Working Group is hosting a Public Meeting 7 to 9 pm, June 25 at Cayuga Onondaga BOCES, 1879 West Genesee Street, Auburn, NY.

PRO-DAIRY strongly recommends that Cayuga County producers attend and encourages others to follow the progress of this situation.

The Working Group will present and solicit comments on 15 recommendations developed in regard to the storage, application, processing, and transport of manure within Cayuga County watersheds. The recommendations are organized into four categories: 1) planning and research, 2) standards and practices, 3) compliance and enforcement, and 4) education and communication. They include actions for farmers to take when responding to the public’s concerns regarding manure runoff.

The report is available on CCE Cayuga County’s website.

The Advisory Committee grew out of an October 29, 2014 countywide forum on manure runoff organized by Cayuga County Legislators Keith Batman and Michael Didio. The forum, prompted by a number of manure runoff incidents that occurred in the winter of 2013 to 2014 in Cayuga County and across the State, was attended by more than 200 people. The advisory committee then met from January to April to develop the report being presented June 25th.

Following the June 25th meeting, the Working Group of Keith Batman and Michael Didio, County Legislators; Eileen O’Connor, Director Cayuga County Health Department Environmental Division; Charlie Green, Town of Niles Supervisor; Doug Kierst, Executive Director Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District; and Judy Wright, Agriculture Resource Educator with CCE Cayuga County will develop an Implementation Plan. The final plan is scheduled to be available for comment later this fall.

For more information or to speak at the June 25th meeting, contact Keith Batman at kbatman@cayugacounty.us; Michael Didio at mdidio@cayugacounty.us or Nick Colas Cayuga County Department of Planning and Economic Development at (315) 253-1276.

Soil Loss 2015

As another storm system leaves the state, and before corn growth accelerates, now is a good time to get out and locate places that need better soil erosion control practices.

Some areas of the state have experienced serious soil loss this spring, with many would-be gullies and wash-outs showing up across corn fields and new seedings. As fields have been enlarged, field strips widened and hedgerows removed, vulnerability to soil erosion has increased, and this spring has exposed some serious weaknesses in soil erosion control plans. Tons of irreplaceable topsoil have been washed off fields. Though difficult to measure and value, the total costs of these losses far exceed the cost to repair driveways and fill in wash outs.

While nothing can be done about what is already gone, producers can use this time to take stock of where the losses occurred and reshape field management practices to reduce future losses. Renew your commitment to minimizing soil erosion -- find the vulnerable areas and implement practices to reduce future risk. Get professional help if you need it. Compliance with the USDA-NRCS soil loss equation is important, but if problems show up in fields, farms may need to go beyond the standard to protect the soil for future generations.

For more information about PRO-DAIRY, visit prodairy.cals.cornell.edu. 

Julie Berry, Editor  |  Tom Overton, Director  |  Facebook

Dairy Profit Seminars have become a regular stop for dairy producers, dairy farm staff and agribusiness professionals. This year’s show is slated for August 11 through 13 at the Rodman Lott & Son Farms near Seneca Falls.

The 2015 Dairy Profit Seminars will include:

• Tuesday: Milk Quality: How and Why
• Wednesday: Re-Investing in Your Dairy – the Planning Process
• Thursday: Using Income over Feed Costs to Manage Your Dairy

The seminars are a collaboration between Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY and DairyBusiness East magazine. Each session starts at 10:30 am at the Dairy Seminar Center, located on the show grounds. They are free and open to the public.

The Junior DAIRY LEADER formal presentation and graduation ceremony will be held at 1:30 pm, Wednesday at the Dairy Seminar Center and will be followed by an ice cream reception. The Junior DAIRY LEADER is a statewide year-long program for youth between the ages of 16 to 19 who have an interest in learning more about careers in the dairy field, along with adding to their leadership, personal and professional development.

The seminars are sponsored by AgRisk Management, ASAP Interiors, Cargill Animal Nutrition, Dairy Farmers of America, Farm Credit East, Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, Lincoln Financial Advisors, Multimin USA and PikeSide Enterprises.

Additional events in the Dairy Seminar Center include: Empire State Milk Quality Council's 25 Year Super Milk Winner Roundtable at 1 pm, Tuesday; Economic Strategies and Feed Additive Update at 12:30 pm, Wednesday; and It Takes a Vision to Leave a Legacy at 12:30 pm, Thursday.

More complete details are available in the press release.

• July 29 – 31, 2015
  
• The Statler Hotel, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
  

For more information, visit the conference website or email biogas@cornell.edu.

Registration is now open for this 2-day regional conference and optional third days of tours! This event will feature an unique opportunity to learn about emerging dairy housing and manure management systems in conjunction with regional climate trends and national and international market force drivers. Climate adaptation strategies for the Northeast and upper Midwest is also a major conference focus. The timing and location of the conference offer attendees the opportunity to visit the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York.

The conference will also feature multiple tour options showcasing on-farm integrated waste handling/treatment systems and on-farm climate adaptation strategies.

Featured speakers will include:

• Hans Johr: The Corporate Head of Agriculture for Nestle in Switzerland. He will discuss the role of climate change with respect to global ag policy decision making, while highlighting the importance of planning for and adapting to perceived changes in climate and their impact on ag facilities.
  
• John Fiscalini: California dairyman and cheese-maker, home of the world-famous Fiscalini farmstead cheese!
  
• Frank Mitloehner: Professor and Extension Specialist at UC-Davis, specializing in agricultural air quality and sustainability. He will discuss sustainable intensification of animal agriculture to satisfy human nutritional needs while protecting the environment.

Wanted: 30 Great Dairy Leaders

The Cornell Dairy Executive Program is now accepting applications for Class 12, to start on December 6, 2015. This unique, year-long program is a professional educational program in leadership and management principles for progressive dairy producers and agriservice personnel, focused on increasing their ability to run a successful dairy business and enhancing their understanding of the fast-changing dairy industry. For full program information, fees, and application instruction, visit the program website.