2022 Virtual Orchard Meetup webinar series. Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology.
A four-part webinar series on Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology.

Part 1 Labor - Grower Experiences

2022 Virtual Orchard Meetup webinar series. Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology.
A four-part webinar series on Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology.

Part 2 Labor - Specialist Panel

Supervisors are critical to the success of farm businesses. They have a major impact both on employees' daily work experiences and on the production performance of the business. The  agricultural Supervisory Leadership certificate helps farm supervisors and managers learn and apply human resource management practices and leadership skills that foster rewarding workplaces and drive business results. Confident managers who thoughtfully apply leadership and management skills improve employee performance, develop teams, reduce employee turnover, and increase employee engagement. The courses within the certificate program will offer extensive practice and engagement activities to build confidence and skill sets.

Join Dr. Margaret McGrath, Vegetable Plant Pathologist, Cornell University, to hear the latest disease management considerations for pumpkins and vine crops including Cucurbit Powdery Mildew and Cucurbit Downy Mildew. Learn from Dr. McGrath what fungicides are working and which ones are not and get the latest developments on disease progression from across the region. 

University of New Hampshire Extension Field Specialist Emeritus, George Hamilton will demonstrate the importance of and best techniques to calibrate air blast sprayers. Proper calibration will ensure effective, efficient, economical and legal spraying.  Inadequate spray coverage is usually the cause of poor spray efficacy and additional spray applications. Overuse of some sprays results in unhealthy residues and can lead to fines.

Calibration should be done several times each season, or when you incorporate any new equipment or repairs - from the tractor to the nozzle.  Join us for a refresher or send new employees for training.  This workshop is open for any grower that relies on an airblast sprayer to deliver plant protectants to fruit or vegetable crops. 

2022 Virtual Orchard Meetup webinar series. Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology. A four-part webinar series on Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology.

Part 3 Technology - Grower Experiences

Supervisors are critical to the success of farm businesses. They have a major impact both on employees' daily work experiences and on the production performance of the business. The  agricultural Supervisory Leadership certificate helps farm supervisors and managers learn and apply human resource management practices and leadership skills that foster rewarding workplaces and drive business results. Confident managers who thoughtfully apply leadership and management skills improve employee performance, develop teams, reduce employee turnover, and increase employee engagement. The courses within the certificate program will offer extensive practice and engagement activities to build confidence and skill sets.

2022 Virtual Orchard Meetup webinar series. Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology. A four-part webinar series on Orchard Efficiency: Labor and Technology.

Part 4 Technology - Specialist Panel

Peel sap sampling/collection ended for Western NY/Finger Lakes regions on July.

Join us in Peru on July 20th as we discuss orchard weed and soil management! Speakers will be joining us from across Cornell's research and extension teams.  Topics will include the results of our herbicide timing trials, new vision-guided technologies for orchard weed spraying, organic weed management options, soil health demonstrations, and a discussion on our statewide orchard soil health survey. DEC credits are pending for this event.  

Pesticides are important tools for plant protection on many farms. Without regular calibration, sprayers may not achieve intended pesticide rates and coverage within your crop, leading to inefficient applications. Join CCE specialists for a hands-on demonstration of boom and backpack sprayer calibration and a discussion of nozzle types, pesticide labels, personal protective equipment, recordkeeping, and spray formulation tips for pesticide application success. Any farm with a boom or backpack sprayer is welcome to attend, including conventional and organic, beginning and experienced crop growers.

2 core DEC credits are offered for certified pesticide applicators. Participants will also receive water sensitive paper and complimentary water pH testing with registration. Participants are encouraged to bring a water sample to the workshop.

Join for this vegetable and field crop farmer meeting on either July 26 in Washington County or July 27 in Columbia County.  Two core pesticide applicator recertification credits available.  

The New York Soil Health Working Group and the New York Soil Health Initiative announce the 2022 Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Field Day Series. Running from May-August, the statewide series can be found from Long Island to Western NY, Northern NY, and Central and Eastern NY.

"In collaboration with local farmers and partners, we are delivering region-specific information on current challenges and advancements in soil health practices," said Deborah Aller, extension associate with the Cornell Soil Health Program.

Join Dr. Chris Watkins for this webinar on Pre- and Postharvest Factors Affecting the Quality of 'Gala' and Recommendations for this Year's Harvest and Storage Season.

Please join us for the 2022 LOF Summer Tour on Tuesday, August 9th! 

Stop 1: Kast Farms, Inc. Hosted by Brett Kast and family. Topics include herbicide trial updates, soil health, fire blight, mating disruption, comparison of NY1 on G.41 vs. M.9-337 rootstocks, and discussion of SnapDragon™ Stop 2: Fish Creek Orchards, LLC. Hosted by Jose Iniguez and Jason Woodworth. Topics include an introduction of the SCRI "Precision Orchard Management for Apple" project, and overviews by 3 companies working with us and growers under this umbrella - Moog, Vivid, and Dropcopter or MyCloud, who are working with Green Atlas for the cartography. Computer vision for rapid and accurate disease scouting by Dr. Awais Khan will be presented. Stop 3: Lunch at the Carleton Fire Hall & Rec Center. Lunch will be provided by Frank Penna Catering. Growers and other tree fruit industry folks will have the opportunity to visit with sponsors and likely view several demonstrations of new precision crop load management technology. Stop 4: Orchard Dale Fruit Farm. Hosted by the Brown family and employees. LOF's precision pruning work with our SCRI grant, and crop load management research with Farm Vision, Fruit Scout, and Outfield will be featured. In addition, blueberry optimization for mechanical harvest will be covered. Finally, Spanish Leadership Training will be featured.  Stop 5: Nesbitt Fruit Farms. Hosted by Shane Nesbitt and family. Topics include bloom thinning results on Honeycrisp with the use of the Pollen Tube Growth model, and grow-through on-farm nursery production. Note: There may be some minor changes to the itinerary.

Join us at Nesbitt's on the lake for an ice cream social immediately after the educational sessions!

1.75 NYSDEC Credits will be offered in categories 22, 10, and 1A.

Join us for a late-summer field meeting. Cornell researchers and extension specialists will give talks on management tasks to be mindful of late in the season as we head into harvest.  We will then walk through the orchard to look for some of the issues discussed, and further discuss their management strategies in the field. We will then discuss how the crop is shaping up around the greater ENY region, and will allow ample time for you to share your thoughts on this year's crop, and to answer any other questions you may have.