-
Farm Field Day Attendees Treated to Lessons on Beef, Berries, and Donuts – Oh My!
·
By Tim W. Shenk Brett Chedzoy stood over a trailer outfitted with a layer of heat-resistant bricks, flipping beef burgers on a wire rack over a pile of smoldering coals. Maria Chedzoy readied the fixings. On a warm Saturday afternoon in June, the Chedzoys’ front yard at Angus Glen Farm in Watkins Glen, New York…
-
Branching Out: Veterans Grow Their Fruit Tree Knowledge
·
Veterans across New York State are gaining hands-on skills in fruit tree production through a unique learning cohort developed by the Cornell Small Farms Program’s Farm Ops project. Over the past two growing seasons, the program has helped dozens of veterans grow their confidence, technical abilities, and farming networks. Farm Ops project lead Nina Saeli…
-
A Cornucopia of Research Supports New York’s Farms and Food Systems
·
A diverse array of Cornell research, from plant breeding to soil health, helps support local and global harvests Across the world, harvest celebrations are one of the most common human traditions. Though they vary in mythology and performance, they are united in their celebration of plentiful harvests, and the health and peace that abundant food…
-
Study Charts How Orchards Can Leverage Mechanical Thinning and Pruning without Spreading Fire Blight
·
Apple fire blight is a devastating disease that causes an estimated $100 million of damage in U.S. orchards annually. Pruning an apple orchard comes with many rewards for commercial apple growers including optimal crop load, ripeness and sugar levels. Mechanical pruning and thinning is an effective alternative to long and laborious hand pruning, but commercial orchards have…
-
Precision Apple Thinning with Computer-Based Plant Growth Models
·
A new bloom thinning model, developed by Virginia Tech researchers, might offer New York apple growers more precision and increased yields. In eastern New York, there has recently been increasing interest in thinning apples earlier at bloom to improve return bloom in biennial varieties like Honeycrisp, and to begin the thinning process earlier in hard…
-
On-Farm Variety Improvement Part II: Selection and Plant Breeding
·
This article is a follow up to “On-Farm Plant Breeding Pt. I: Getting Started with Diversity”, published in the Summer 2019 SFQ. Starting there will provide more context to understand the following information. What is Selection? Selection is the basis of planting breeding. When we talk about selection as plant breeders, we are referring to…
-
New York is Ripe for Apple Harvest
·
Apples will be bigger and better this harvest season, according to Cornell University experts. Largely in part to the weather working in favor for farmers this year, apple color, quality, and size should all be superlative this fall. “2019 should be an excellent year for apple quality,” Cornell University professor Susan Brown, an apple breeder…
-
Tipsheet: Transitioning to Organic Management of Orchards
·
By Guy Ames, ATTRA Organic certification verifies that fruit is produced according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards. See www.ams.usda.gov/nop for details of the standards. In general, the regulations make several requirements of certified organic fruit: Produced without genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge Managed in a manner that conserves natural resources and biodiversity …
Fruits
Receive news and resources as they are released by joining our newsletter.
Join the Small Farms Newsletter
To start your subscription and start receiving content, you will need to complete our full sign-up form on the following page.
