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Search Results for: extension

Season Extension with NNY High Tunnels (2008)

Northern NY Agricultural Development Program Small Grants Project Report 2007-2008

Extending the Season of Horticultural Production in Northern New York With High Tunnels

Project leaders:

  • H. C. Wien, Professor, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, hcw2@cornell.edu
  • Amy Ivy, Executive Director, CCE Clinton County, adi2@cornell.edu

Collaborators:

  • Anne Lenox Barlow, CCE Clinton County
  • Mike Davis, E. V. Baker Research Farm, Essex County
  • Emily Selleck, CCE, Essex County
  • Richard Gast, CCE Franklin County
  • Sue Gwise, CCE Jefferson County
  • Joe Lawrence, CCE Lewis County
  • Steve Vandermark CCE St. Lawrence County

Cooperating Farmers:

  • Dan Kent, Heuvelton, St. Lawrence County
  • Almeda Grandjean, Adams Center, Jefferson County
  • Delores Desalvo, New Bremen, Lewis County
  • Bruce Bonesteel, Malone, Franklin County
  • Christine McCauliffe, Willsboro, Essex County
  • Rob Hastings, Keene, Essex County
  • Ken Campbell, Saranac, Clinton County
  • Beth Spaugh, Peru, Clinton County

Background:
The short growing season in Northern New York makes production of high quality horticultural crops over a long marketing season a tremendous challenge. Methods of season extension have been listed as a major important research and extension need for Northern New York for 2008. The Adirondack Harvest project in eight Northern NY counties identified season extension as a high priority for direct market farmers, and the cooperating restaurants have specifically requested more fruits and vegetables from the region for their local meals.

In recent years, use of high tunnels (unheated greenhouse structures covered with a single layer of clear polyethylene plastic) has become popular as a season-extension technique in many parts of the world, but are so far little used in New York. Such a tunnel was erected at the Willsboro Farm in 2007 with financial support from Cornell’s Department of Horticulture. That project was established to demonstrate the utility of high tunnels to grow small fruits, vegetables and cut flowers in Northern New York and provide information for growers in the region.

Methods:

Testing automatic tunnel side openers: Ventilation is critical for high tunnel performance and it is mostly accomplished through roll-up sides. The long sides can provide much better ventilation as the air flows more uniformly across the crops than it would if only the ends were open. Opening and closing of the sides is so far a chore accomplished manually, requiring constant attention by the operator, because changes in sun exposure can quickly alter tunnel temperature. Automating the ventilation and controlling it by a thermostat is an innovation offered by a grower building and operating his own high tunnels, and we decided to test this mechanism on 4 high tunnels in three counties in NNY. Installation was carried out by each grower/cooperator under the guidance of Nelson Hoover, the son of the inventor, along with Judson Reid, CCE Yates Countyand Chris Wien. In August, this team consulted the growers to gather opinions on how well the side openers operated, and suggestions on design improvements.

New tunnel cover materials: Research at Penn State University and in Yates County has shown that conventional greenhouse plastic cover lets the heat escape from the tunnel at night. We tested a new cover material that reduces night-time heat loss on two growers’ high tunnels. Recording thermometers with two sensors were given to the growers to allow monitoring of air temperatures in the tunnel from late August on. The collaborating growers provided the daily maximum and minimum temperatures inside and outside the high tunnels on a weekly basis.

Test tender small fruit crops: Almeda Grandjean in Jefferson Cty. planted two varieties of fall-bearing raspberries in ground that was to be covered by a 20 x 96 ft. high tunnel in early summer 2008. A comparison of productivity, earliness and fruit quality of fall-bearing raspberries, blackberries and black raspberries was planted in the Willsboro high tunnel and in an adjacent field in 2006, and this trial was harvested for the first time in 2007 and continued in 2008.

Test varieties of cut flowers in high tunnels: Flower species that have been found to be attractive and valuable as cut flowers in Ithaca tests were tested in the high tunnel at the Willsboro Farm, and were slated to be tested in one grower’s tunnel in St. Lawrence Cty. At Willsboro, four varieties of cut flower sunflowers, and four varieties of lisianthus were transplanted into the high tunnel and outdoors, and their performances compared.

Results:

Automatic tunnel side openers: Installing the openers took a bit of creative mechanics and each of our cooperators came up with ways to customize the installation to suit their situation. Some of the modifications our growers suggested included:

  • Anchoring the pole in the ground with a concrete footing or a crossbar welded to the base
  • Enlarging the contact area for the switch sensor to strike
  • Using a heavier duty switch sensor
  • The vertical pole needs to be generously lubricated to allow smooth operation of the mechanism
  • Allowing for swivel movement in the vertical pole to accommodate houses with slightly curved sides
  • The cable to hold the weight of the motor was deemed unnecessary
  • Consider how the baseboard lines up with the plastic; sometimes the roll of plastic gets hung up on the baseboard and the motor keeps running.

New tunnel cover materials: Growth in the high tunnels/greenhouses covered with the new IR-blocking polyethylene was good. In one case (Ken Campbell, Clinton Cty.), temperatures inside the house from mid-September to late October averaged 7 C higher during the day inside (23 C vs. 16 C outside), while night temperatures were 5 C higher inside (7 C inside vs. 2 C inside). More significantly, minimum temperatures outside dropped below freezing on 9 out of 31 nights, compared to none in the tunnel.

Berry and cut flower production: Production of strawberries, cane fruit and cut flowers was monitored at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm in 2008. In general, strawberry earliness, yield and fruit quality was improved in the high tunnel compared to outside (Appendix Table 1). Raspberry performance showed similar trends. There were two harvest seasons, mid-summer and fall; these have been totaled in Table 2. Both sunflowers and lisianthus were taller and more productive in the tunnels compared to outside. In both locations, the plants could have used supports to prevent lodging. In general, for all the crops grown in the high tunnel at Willsboro, productivity was increased, and quality of the harvested products was improved.

Outreach:
2008 High Tunnel Conference: The latest information on high tunnel construction, production and marketing was shared in a 2-day conference at Saranac Lake (March 27-28), attended by 7 CCE staff (for training), 7 cooperating growers, 6 speakers and 44 in the audience. Attendees came from all NNY counties, the Capital District, Western NY and the province of Quebec. Lively discussions among participants maximized the sharing of information. A survey of participants indicated that 10 attendees have been producing crops in tunnels for at least a year, and 17 were in their first year of production, or seriously considering acquisition of a high tunnel.

Lewis County / Cooperator – Dolores DeSalvo: Having grown vegetables for years, Dolores planned to put up her first high tunnel this year but weather and other factors prevented her from doing this. She owns the tunnel and plans to erect it in April 2009.

Jefferson County / Cooperator – Almeda Grandjean: Almeda already has 2 50’ high tunnels in which she grows tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and a variety of minor crops. For our project she planted fall-bearing raspberries and planned to erect a high tunnel over the planting in August/September. She planted 2 varieties, ‘Caroline’ and ‘Autumn Britten’ on June 6 and the next 2 months had near record levels of rainfall. The soil is well drained and the Autumn Britten thrived with the rain but Caroline barely grew and by the end of July most of those plants were dead. Once we were confident the soil was not infested with disease, Almeda erected the high tunnel structure over the planting area but did not cover it with plastic. She will plant the replacement plants in spring of 2009 and cover the tunnel in August for her first fall crop of berries. Almeda’s open house was August 20 with 26 people attending. Chris Wien and Judson Reid were the guest speakers.

St. Lawrence County / Cooperator – Dan Kent: We began this project with a different cooperator who withdrew from participation due to serious health issues. In late July we met Dan Kent and although it was too late to start a project we did consult with him on fertility issues with his tomatoes and he hosted a very well attended open house in September. Dan has a 200’ single bay Haygrove tunnel and wants to use organic methods. To reduce disease pressure he has been replacing the plastic every year. IPM Specialist, Betsy Lamb suggested he save money by using the plastic for a few years before changing. Dan’s open house was September 15 with 28 people attending. Betsy Lamb was the guest speaker, Amy Ivy facilitated.

Franklin County / Cooperator – Bruce Bonesteel: Bruce has had a garden center and retail produce stand for years and has recently become interested in growing some of his own produce. For this project he tried out the Hoover automatic tunnel opener on his 96’ tunnel. Bruce was extremely pleased once the system was fine tuned especially because of the freedom it gave him from having to check on the tunnel continually. “It took a fair bit of adjusting but once I got the bugs worked out of it, it opened and closed reliably, without issue,” Bruce said. Bruce’s open house was September 21 with 4 people attending. Chris Wien was the guest speaker, Amy Ivy facilitated.

Clinton County / Cooperators: Beth Spaugh and Ken Campbell: Beth Spaugh worked with the Hoover automatic tunnel opener on her 96’ Ledgewood high tunnel. She has been rolling up the sides by hand for the previous 2 growing seasons and greatly appreciated the freedom the automatic opener provided. It took some adjusting to set up and it still needed to be checked on daily but the thermostat control gave her freedom from constant checking. Beth’s open house was September 21 with 12 people attending. Chris Wien was the guest speaker, Amy Ivy facilitated.

Ken Campbell installed the IR-40 plastic on his hoop house on April 18. He started with bedding plants, followed by squash and beans in the ground until mid July. Then he built raised beds for lettuce, greens and green onions. The plastic was removed October 28. Ken’s open house was on September with 10 people attending. Chris Wien was the guest speaker, Amy Ivy facilitated. We also demonstrated the ag plastics baler using greenhouse plastic and black plastic mulch.

Essex County Cooperators: Christine McAuliffe and Rob Hastings: Christine McAuliffe worked with the Hoover automatic opener on her 96’ Ledgewood high tunnel. She also reported having to adjust the opener to work properly on her house but once installed it was a significant time saver. Her garden center is spread out with limited staff so the opener allowed the staff freedom to keep working, confident the opener would take care of temperature fluctuations during the day. Christine said the opener “caused less stress on our employees and most importantly on the plants. We also noticed that we were using less water when the auto-opener was working correctly.” Christine’s open house was August 27 with 9 people attending. Judson Reid, Nelson Hoover and Chris Wien were guest speakers, Amy Ivy facilitated.

Rob Hastings has 4 multi-bay Haygrove-type tunnels in which he grows tomatoes, cut flowers and fall raspberries. For our project he tried out the Luminance plastic from Haygrove on the raspberry tunnel and compared it with regular plastic over his other tunnels. He noticed a significant difference in the way light is diffused through the Luminance. Although the intensity was less, Rob feels his plants did better under it than under regular plastic. Rob’s open house was August 27 with 12 people attending. Judson Reid, Nelson Hoover and Chris Wien were guest speakers, Amy Ivy facilitated.

Conclusions/ Outcomes/Impacts:
Overall the growers liked the freedom the automatic openers gave them. But since some kinks were still being worked out the openers were not completely trouble free. The cold climate of NNY makes timely opening and closing a real benefit, especially in spring and fall the mornings start out cold. Growers rushing off to market benefit from knowing the tunnels will open at the optimum time for the crop instead of when the grower can finally get over to do it manually. If tunnels are left closed up on a chilly morning in May the temperatures can rise rapidly by late morning if the sun comes out. The automatic opener lets the grower work off-site. The suggestions made by growers who used the device will be incorporated into manufacture of an improved, more robust model that should again be tested in NNY.

Performance of the new high tunnel cover film on two growers’ tunnels proved satisfactory and substantiated that the covers improved tunnel growing conditions.

The comparisons of the product quality and yield of strawberries, raspberries and cut flowers in the Willsboro tunnels illustrated why interest is so high for high tunnels among growers. The results endorsed the gratifyingly high attendance at the high tunnel conference in Saranac Lake in March, and the keen interest in high tunnels at the open houses held on growers’ farms in the summer. Public support for locally produced foods can only augment this trend.

Appendix: Willsboro high tunnel yields:

Table 1. Strawberry yields inside and outside the high tunnel at the E V Baker Farm, Willsboro, NY in 2008.

Variety

Inside tunnel

Outdoors

First harvest date

Yield, lbs/100ft2

First harvest date

Yield, lbs/100ft2

Earliglo

6/10

63

6/14

46

Evangeline

6/10

43

6/12

46

Jewel

6/15

76

6/17

53

Everest

6/10

29

6/15

23

Table 2. Yields of raspberry and blackberry inside and outside the high tunnel at Willsboro, totaled over the summer and fall harvest seasons in 2008.

Variety

Yield, lbs/100ft2

Inside tunnel

Outdoors

Encore

2.7

1.2

Jewel

10.8

1.5

Kiwi Gold

19.2

1.3

Heritage

27.4

4.8

Prelude

11.1

1.9

Prime Jean

0.1

0

 

 

Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm (ELF) and Education Center is located on Route 68 outside the Village of Canton, New York.

From the 1950s until the late 1990s the farm was used as an educational laboratory for the State University of New York Canton’s agricultural program. In 1998, SUNY Canton discontinued using the farm and the State of New York turned the farm over to Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County.

Through an agreement with SUNY Canton, Cornell ran an Agronomy Laboratory at the site from the 1961 through 1999. This part of the facility was later turned over to CCE of St. Lawrence County.

Extension views the farm as a unique agricultural and educational resource. The farm provides an invaluable site for events and activities, and a place to expand youth-oriented agricultural awareness programs; adult educational programs in the areas of food, agriculture and natural resources; and demonstrations of innovative crops, products and farm practices.

The farm property includes two parcels totaling 363 acres. The Martin property is 220 acres with historic barns, two houses and several out buildings. Classrooms are local in the large barn and in the large Martin house.

The Kennedy property includes 143 acres, a house and outbuilding used for offices as well as a Quonset building and storage shed. Fifty-six acres at the Kennedy location are tillable; 80 acres are forestland. Six acres were in replicated plots until 2003 with other land easily accessible for further plot work. Crop and research studies here have included: switchgrass, grass varieties, kura clover, maple stand improvement, deer exclosure, and a sheep demonstration program.

Multi-species grazing at the ELF.

Farm staff operate a commercial sheep flock of 80 ewes and a beef herd that is a combination of dairy, dairy cross and beef cows. In 2011, the cows and sheep were grazed in the same paddocks in a rotational grazing system using portable fencing. Multi-species grazing demonstrated the advantages for both pasture and animal management.

Other farm animals kept for Ag Awareness programs and demonstrations include broiler chickens, pigs, and laying hens.

A high-tunnel greenhouse was added to the farm’s demonstration resources this year. Raised beds and composting bins were built with the help of volunteers. The greenhouse provided fresh vegetables to the summer day camp, 4-H Camp Overlook, and food preservation classes.

Extension Educators hold meetings in the farm classroom on beef, sheep, goats, crops, pasture, maple and more. Groups such as the North Country Shepherds, Farm Bureau, North Country Grown, and St. Lawrence County Maple Producers meet regularly here. Community groups like Spay/Neuter Now and the Sustainable Living Project also use the space for their programs.

Projects at the ELF, as well as on local farms, provide an outstanding opportunity for local educators to partner with Cornell University faculty to provide information that can be practically applied to farms in St. Lawrence County and across Northern New York.

Several projects funded through the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program have taken place here, including studies of BMR Sorghum Sudangrass as an economic and environmentally sound alternative to corn in NNY, tall fescue variety trials, and grass-fed beef.

Student interns learn hands-on at the ELF.

Youth, students, parents, teachers and chaperones visit the farm each year. Events and activities include Maple Tours, Summer Day Camp, Dairy Camp, Ag Field Days, Farm/Home Safety Days, SUNY Canton Veterinary Science Labs, Aquaculture Class, BOCES Community Connections Program, SUNY Canton Work-Study, and farm tours. Extension farm staff provide hands-on learning experiences for student-interns from Clarkson and St. Lawrence universities, SUNY Canton, Potsdam State, and Canton High School.

 

 

 

 

 

January 19, 2021 By karalynn

NNYADP: Apply Biocontrol Nematodes in 2021

 

At left: Cornell University entomologist Elson Shields holds an alfalfa root protected by biocontrol nematodes applied in an NNYADP-funded research trial in Belleville, New York. Photo: NNYADP

Act Now to Reduce Alfalfa Snout Beetle, Corn Rootworm Impact in NY and U.S.

Northern New York; January 19, 2021.  Cornell University entomologist Elson Shields, Ph.D., has written a paper on the true cost of alfalfa snout beetle to a farm to encourage dairy and crop farmers to act now to reduce populations of the alfalfa pest on their farms. Shields says, “We estimate that if alfalfa snout beetle becomes fully established on a dairy farm growing its own alfalfa, it can cost the farm $300 to $600 per cow per year.”

Shields’ biocontrol nematodes protocol for managing alfalfa snout beetle (ASB), highlighted in the paper, also shows great promise for managing corn rootworm.

The research foundation for the use of biocontrol nematodes to save alfalfa crops in New York State, and now being used or evaluated in multiple other crops and in other states, was established with the support of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP). The “What is the True Cost of Alfalfa Snout Beetle on Your Farm” paper and “Persistent Biocontrol Nematodes: What, Why, How, When, and Where to Get Them” fact sheet are posted on the NNYADP website at www.nnyagdev.org.

Shields began the quest to find a solution to alfalfa snout beetle in 1989 on the Peck Homestead Farm in Great Bend, New York, where ASB damage to alfalfa crops was significantly decreasing milk production.

Cornell University Entomologist and Elson Shields, right, talks with Texas farmer Gary Frost as cups filled with biocontrol nematodes from New York State await application on Frost’s farm in Dalhart, TX. Photo courtesy of Patrick Porter

Due to the importance of alfalfa as a forage crop in the dairy, beef cattle, equine and other livestock sectors, the farmer-driven NNYADP made a firm commitment to fund the research needed to find a solution. Today, the inexpensive biocontrol solution developed by that research benefits dairy farmers and alfalfa, corn, and berry growers in northern New York, organic farmers throughout the Northeast, and corn growers across the U.S. and in Ontario, Canada.

“To date we have applied biocontrol nematodes to nearly 28,000 acres in northern New York on more than 140 farms. In those fields, the alfalfa stand life has increased back to 4 to 6 years compared to the previous ASB-ravaged 1-2 years. Neighboring farms should work together to control ASB on both farms,” says Shields, who will speak virtually about the biocontrol nematodes with corn growers in the American Southwest in late January, and recently shared the research results with the Ontario Ag Conference.

Shields breaks the $300 to $600 per cow per year cost of ASB into two areas: the cost of forage loss from the field with the cost of replanting, and the cost of purchasing off-farm protein to replace the alfalfa protein lost with the ASB-damaged crop.

Analysts with the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, New York, and Oak Point Agronomics, Hammond, New York, have estimated the cost of losing and reestablishing an alfalfa stand at $200 to $500 per acre. The cost of additional purchases of soy protein once ASB becomes established and damages a farm’s alfalfa crop ranges from $4.70 to $16.80 per cow per month.

How do you know if you have ASB? Shields says that alfalfa stand loss that is often blamed on winterkill may actually be a result of ASB. He notes, “Alfalfa snout beetle often kill out the alfalfa on the high spots in the field first, a symptom which should draw attention from the truck as you are driving past.” The best time to survey a field or farm for ASB is in October when yellowing alfalfa plants can be dug up to examine for ASB larvae.

CCE Field Crops Specialist Mike Hunter loads biocontrol nematodes into his liquid manure application field trial. Photo: CCE Jefferson County

What can you do if you have ASB? Alfalfa snout beetle can be controlled for many years with a single application of native New York biocontrol nematodes on each field, using a protocol developed by Shields and Cornell University Research Support Specialist Antonio Testa while working with more than 120 dairy farmers in northern New York. The cost to apply the biocontrol nematodes is a one-time expense in the range of $40 to $60 per acre. More recent research has shown the biocontrol nematodes can be applied as part of a liquid manure application.

Do the biocontrol nematodes also control corn rootworm? “We first began to see indications that the biocontrol nematodes were having an impact on corn rootworm on one of the northern New York farms rotating its alfalfa crop with corn. Recent trials with the biocontrol nematodes in New York and now in other U.S. states are showing their effectiveness at reducing corn rootworm populations including rootworm populations becoming resistant to Bt-RW-traited corn,”Shields says.

Are the biocontrol nematodes effective against other crops? Shields and Testa have successfully applied the biocontrol nematodes to control pests in berry crops and have trials underway to examine their effectiveness in managing wireworms and Colorado potato beetle.

Who can you call for help? For more information on the use of biocontrol nematodes, farmers should contact their local Extension office. In northern New York, contacts include Cornell Cooperative Extension field crops specialists Michael Hunter: 315-788-8450, and Kitty O’Neil, Ph.D.: 315-379-9192, and Cornell PRO-DAIRY Dairy Forage Systems Specialist Joe Lawrence: 315-788-4815. Mary DeBeer, 518-812-8565, is a northern New York-based provided of the biocontrol nematodes.

To see a history of the NNYADP alfalfa snout beetle research projects, visit the Research: Field Research: Alfalfa Snout Beetle pages on the website at www.nnyagdev.org. Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

LINKS:
.  “The True Cost of Alfalfa Snout Beetle on Your Farm”

. Persistent Biocontrol Nematodes: What, Why, How, When, and Where to Get Them

Filed Under: News & Press Releases

December 16, 2020 By karalynn

NNYADP Dairy Research: Winter Season Teat Care

USDA/Keith Weller

Canton, New York: December 16, 2020.  Research conducted by a team of veterinarians and dairy specialists with Quality Milk Production Services, the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, and Cornell Cooperative Extension evaluated how different teat end treatments impact cow health under winter conditions. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend several best management practices for dairies milking in colder temperatures. A Northern New York Agricultural Development Program grant funded the project.

A six-week mid-winter trial evaluated two types of post-milking teat dips: a powdered chlorhexidine acetate teat treatment and a foaming 1 percent iodine dip. The final dataset totaled 331 cows that were milked three times a day. The cows were housed in freestall barns bedded with sand or sawdust or in a tiestall barn with foam mattresses bedded with sawdust. All cows received pre- and post-milking dip treatments.

Teat skin chapping and thickening of the outer layer of skin on the teat ends can reduce the ability to achieve clean teat ends. This creates the opportunity for increased environmental bacterial pathogen colonization and thus increases the risk of mastitis and higher somatic cell count. The 331 cows in the study were evaluated for clinical mastitis and subclinical mastitis infections, somatic cell count, linear score, teat skin condition, and teat end score.

At the start of the trial, the percentage of udder quarter samples with a negative culture test for the powdered treatment group was 66 and for the iodine dip group, 65. At the end of the trial, the percentage of quarter samples with a negative culture test for the powdered treatment group was 79 and for the iodine dip group, 86.

While there was no difference in clinical mastitis between the two groups, the powdered treatment group showed a greater risk of new subclinical infection (odds ratio of 1.59) and had a greater risk to have a positive culture result for a minor mastitis organism (odds ratio of 1.63) or Staph. aureus infection (odds ratio of 2.32) at the end of the trial.

There was no difference in number or odds ratio for coliform or Streptococcus spp. infections. The researchers found no significant difference between the two study groups as to teat skin condition, teat end scoring, or linear scoring.

To reduce the risk of cold climate-related mastitis infections, Heather Dann, Ph.D., a research scientist with the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, N.Y., suggests the following as best management practice for dairies milking in colder temperatures and in situations where cows may be exposed to cold and windchill in the barn or going to and from the milking parlor:

  • Use hygienic milking protocols
  • Make sure milking equipment is properly functioning
  • Continue using an effective post-milking teat dip
  • Remove excessive post-milking teat dip from teat by gently blotting to reduce moisture waiting for dip to dry to prevent freezing
  • Troubleshoot barn and parlor facilities to reduce opportunity for windchill
  • Maintain dry and clean bedding.

The average temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit in the barns during the trial was moderate for a northern New York winter. The researchers emphasize that different results might have been recorded under harsher, more typical winter temperatures.To read the complete Powdered Teat Dip Post-Milking Under Cold Weather in NNY report, see the Research: Dairy Research projects tab at www.nnyagdev.org.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Filed Under: News & Press Releases

December 8, 2020 By karalynn

NNYADP Dairy Calf Diarrhea Pathogens Research: Results 1/15

CCE Regional Dairy Specialist Casey Havekes is investigating the causes of diarrhea in dairy calves. Photo: CCE NCRAT

NNYADP Dairy Calf Diarrhea Pathogens Research Part of Dairy Days Webinar Series; Learn Results on January 15

Canton, N.Y.; December 8, 2020. Which pathogens cause diarrhea in pre-weaned dairy calves and can farms more precisely target treatment to the specific causal agent? And, will precision treatment have a positive impact of their milk production potential?

Participants in a free Dairy Days Calf Management webinar will learn the preliminary results of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program-funded research investigating these questions. The webinar will take place via Zoom on Friday, January 15, 2021, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Dairy Specialists Casey Havekes and Lindsay Ferlito conducted the research in collaboration with Dr. Robert Lynch, a veterinarian with the Cornell PRO-DAIRY Program, and with Sarah Morrison, Ph.D., a research scientist with Miner Institute.  Ms. Havekes will present the group’s findings during the January 15th webinar as part of a four-session agenda.

The 2014 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Calf Health Report identified neonatal diarrhea, or scours, as the leading cause of death in pre-weaned heifers. A 2017 Northern New York Agricultural Development Program project indicated that calves between the ages of eight and 31 days were most commonly treated with antibiotics for diarrhea.

“The project was designed to identify the most prevalent enterpathogens, including bacteria and viruses, that cause diarrhea in pre-weaned heifer calves, with a long-term view toward being able to reduce antibiotic usage when appropriate,” Havekes explains.

Earlier research trials have observed that bacterial causes account for only 30 percent of diarrheic calves, yet the NAHMS report of 2011 indicated that more than 87 percent of diarrheic calves were treated with antibiotics.

“This research collected approximately 100 fecal samples from calves on farms across northern New York. The aim of this research was to establish baseline data for next-step research to validate an on-farm test that would allow farmers to quickly diagnose the cause of scouring  in their calves and thus to precisely target treatment to the specific cause,” Havekes notes.

The research also evaluated how access to water and electrolytes was implemented on farms as a recovery tool for diarrheic calves.

The January 15 webinar is the final webinar in four days of dairy industry webinars featuring dairy specialists, veterinarians, and agricultural industry representatives from the U.S. and Canada. The January12-15, 2021 series is free via Zoom. Contact Casey Havekes at 315-955-2059 for details or register online at https://ncrat.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=1367.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

Filed Under: News & Press Releases

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