News and Updates

  The long-term goal of the AFRI Water for Agriculture Challenge Area is to tackle critical water issues by developing both regional systems for the sustainable use and reuse, flow and management of water, and at the watershed and farm scales, water issues focused on production and environmental sustainability efforts. Project types supported within this…

  The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Organic Certification Cost Share Programs Fiscal Year 2016 Request for Applications is now available. Two organic certification cost share programs are offered in 2016, which assist certified organic operations in defraying the costs associated with organic certification. The National Organic Certification Cost Share Program provides $10.7 million of assistance and is…

Increased consumer demand, a reduction in corn-insect populations due to Bt corn, and comparable feed-grain yields make non-GMO dairy production a viable option for many producers. However, making a transition requires considering alternative pest management strategies and establishing a system of traceability of all inputs to the system in order to verify the non-GMO status…

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) announced the publication of their Organic Farmers’ Guide to the Conservation Reserve Program Field Border Buffer Initiative. The guide is intended to assist organic farmers interested in accessing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new Organic Buffer Initiative, and is one of many free resources produced by NSAC for…

Join Organic Valley/ CROPP Cooperative for an educational meeting featuring Dr. Larry Tranel Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Dairy Specialist. Either at the Penn Yan site or through a live webinar. During his dynamic presentation, Dr. Tranel will share strategies for ways to make a dairy profitable and financially secure and discuss low-cost parlor construction. Cornell Cooperative Extension…

The New York Farm Bureau State Young Farmers & Ranchers Program is excited to announce the 2016 Young Farmers & Ranchers Awards: Achievement and Excellence in Agriculture.  These competitive events allow young farmers to be recognized for their involvement, achievement & leadership in agriculture, Farm Bureau, and their community as well as their understanding of…

The Cornell Small Farms Program and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) will conduct a week-long Armed to Farm workshop at the White Eagle Lodge in Hamilton, New York this summer from August 8th through August 12th.  The program is available to military veterans in New York State who are interested in starting a…

Consumer interest in locally raised pastured poultry is high, and many small-scale farmers are working to meet this demand. One challenge these farmers encounter is that there are no federally-inspected slaughterhouses in NY and state-inspected plants are few and far between. So most small commercial producers take advantage of federal legislation allowing producers raising less than 1,000 chickens/year (or less…

The Agriculture Energy Audit Program offers a free energy audit to farms and on-farm producers. The applicant can choose from one of three levels of audits including a simple walk through for smaller and less complex operations, a standard energy audit which looks at all farm systems and provides recommendations for energy efficiency upgrades and a more…