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Project Leader(s): Lisa Fields,
Extension Educator, CCE Schoharie County
Cooperator(s): Ken Wise, NYS
IPM Eastern NY Field Crops Specialist, Project Outreach F arms: Boulder
Brook Farm, Davis Meadows Farm and Stone House Farm
Type of grant: Public Education
Project location(s): Schoharie
County
Abstract: This project entailed
a new approach to delivering IPM/ICM education to the local dairy farm
community. The concept of on-site demonstration was employed by having
volunteer host farms to serve as data collection and field meeting sites
in three different areas of the county. The intent was to pique the
interest of area farmers as they could see the process and result of
employing specific practices close to home. The relationship to their
own farm would be drawn from the similarities and differences of the
project outreach farms. One accomplishment of the IPFCM project was
that weather data was obtained along with crop data. Having similar
weather conditions on three farms with differing crop yield/quality
outcomes could be useful in breaking the barrier of acceptance by producers
of the value of certain management practices. Examples are crop pest
scouting, nutrient management, non-pesticidal fly control in barns and
limiting secondary tillage in field corn. Conversely, having data that
details the varying weather conditions between farms can convey the
importance of choosing varieties and tillage regimes suited to your
farm’s conditions. Project outreach stated that changes will be
made as a result of this program (see attachment A). Regarding the outrach
component, a challenge was that 2001 was a crop disaster year due to
rainfall of about 10" below normal for the season. During such
conditions of duress, people are not open to examining management practices
that have a long term impact but do not provide immediate relief. Prior
to the next season would be a more opportune time for such educational
efforts.
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