2019 Farmer and Chef Fair: Cut, Prep, Pair

March 9, 2019


Finger Lakes livestock farmers are invited to participate in this year's "Meat & Great: Cut, Prep, Pair" event to showcase their farm's story and products. Participating farms are will be provided event space to share your farm's story with the public. Attendees will include individual consumers, food trucks, local chefs, and food buyers. Finger Lakes chefs will also be on hand offering cooking demonstrations and food samples from local meat sourced from participating farms. New this year will be a wine, beer or spirits pairing with the food samples.

This year's event will take place Saturday, March 9 from 3pm-6:30pm at Hobart William Smith College in Geneva, NY in the new location, ?MyKitchen' and Common Room in the Scandling Center. Farms are able to arrive between 2-2:30 pm to set up. Each farm will be provided with a table to set up as they see fit. Table locations are available on a first come first served basis. We ask vendors to remain for the duration of the event.

Also new this year, non-perishable products may be sold, and USDA-inspected meat may be sold, if handled properly. A certificate of insurance is required for all sales and needs to be received by the registration deadline. Electrical outlets are limited in the new space, but farms wishing to use them are required to bring extension cords. Event space is located on the first floor; there is a ramp entrance into the front of Scandling Center. Farms will also be invited to enjoy demo samples and water will be available.

Registration is $10 per farm; deadline to register is February 23, 2019. Visit the registration page. Check may be mailed payable to: Finger Lakes Institute at HWS and mail your check to: Finger Lakes Institute at HWS, Attn: Food Systems Program, S. Meyer; 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456 and must be received by February 23 to hold your spot. For facilities or registration questions, contact Sarah at 315-781-4382 or smeyer@hws.edu. The event is listed here, please share: https://www.facebook.com/events/219446235676841/. The registration link can be found there as well.

For farms wishing to sell product for the cooking demonstrations, please indicate so in your registration. Only product processed at a USDA inspected facility will be able to be sold to chefs. Once you have registered you will be contacted in a separate email about the procurement process for this year's event.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you have regarding this event.

Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Sarah A. Meyer
Cornell Cooperative Extension Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops, Nancy Glazier
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, Russ Welser
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Seneca, Judy Wright
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County, Caroline Boutard- Hunt


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Dairy Cattle Summer Research Update

July 18, 2019
7:00-9:00pm
Batavia, NY

After the day's work is done, come hear about two new research trials conducted by Julio Giordano's lab:

Weed Resistance Management Demonstration and Plot Tour

July 23, 2019
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Waterloo, NY

Come join us on July 23 in Seneca County at Quinten Good's farm for a demonstration and walking tour of 16 different pre- and post-emergence treatments in soybean and 12 different treatments and combinations in corn.

• Tall waterhemp and marestail are two weeds that are resistant to glyphosate and ALS herbicide modes of action in the WNY and Finger Lakes regions.
• Each year the number of acres with resistant weed populations expands.
• For herbicides to be an effective tool in weed management, we have to know what chemistries & application timings are most effective against these resistant weeds.

Pasture Walk with the Finger Lakes Graziers

July 29, 2019
12:45 - 4 pm
Waterloo, NY

Join the Finger Lakes Graziers on a pasture walk and learn about soil health. 

USDA Announces New Decision Tool for New Dairy Margin Coverage Program

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2019 ? Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced today the availability of a new web-based tool - developed in partnership with the University of Wisconsin - to help dairy producers evaluate various scenarios using different coverage levels through the new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized DMC, a voluntary risk management program that offers financial protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. It replaces the program previously known as the Margin Protection Program for Dairy. Sign up for this USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) program opens on June 17.

"With sign-up for the DMC program just weeks away, we encourage producers to use this new support tool to help make decisions on participation in the program," Secretary Perdue said. "Dairy producers have faced tough challenges over the years, but the DMC program should help producers better weather the ups and downs in the industry."

The University of Wisconsin launched the decision support tool in cooperation with FSA and funded through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Office of the Chief Economist. The tool was designed to help producers determine the level of coverage under a variety of conditions that will provide them with the strongest financial safety net. It allows farmers to simplify their coverage level selection by combining operation data and other key variables to calculate coverage needs based on price projections.

The decision tool assists producers with calculating total premiums costs and administrative fees associated with participation in DMC. It also forecasts payments that will be made during the coverage year.

"The new Dairy Margin Coverage program offers very appealing options for all dairy farmers to reduce their net income risk due to volatility in milk or feed prices," said Dr. Mark Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin, Madison. "Higher coverage levels, monthly payments, and more flexible production coverage options are especially helpful for the sizable majority of farms who can cover much of their milk production with the new five million pound maximum for Tier 1 premiums. This program deserves the careful consideration of all dairy farmers."

For more information, access the tool at fsa.usda.gov/dmc-tool. For DMC sign up, eligibility and related program information, visit fsa.usda.gov or contact your local USDA Service Center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-locator.

New Guidance for Mortality Disposal Issued

NYS Department of Ag and Markets has posted guidelines on disposal of livestock carcasses, in response to reports that some rendering companies have halted pickups from farms.

https://nwnyteam.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=761&crumb=dairy|1