Precision Ag
Crop Alert
Mike Stanyard, Field Crops & IPM Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Timely observations, information, and control strategies for managing pests, fertility, and current conditions on northwestern NY farms.
Benefits and Costs of Entry Level Precision Agriculture Technologies
John Hanchar, Farm Business Management Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Auto Section Control (ASC) is a precision agriculture technology designed to reduce double planting and other crop input usage in headlands. See the presentation by Erick Haas and John Hanchar at the 2017 Operations Managers Conference for benefits and costs, including results from partial budgeting and capital investment analysis.
Entry Point Precision Ag Technology: Benefits & Costs for Decision Making
John Hanchar, Farm Business Management Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Two benefits attributed to auto steer mentioned frequently by producers and their advisors are reduced stress and reduced fatigue. Combine these benefits with expected favorable economic and financial impacts, and auto steer has the potential to be a beneficial change in practice for farmers, one that farmers will likely want to evaluate for their business.
Precision Agriculture Adoption and Trends in Western New York
Mike Stanyard, Field Crops & IPM Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Survey and report by Kevin Kreher (kmk279@cornell.edu)
This work was commissioned by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County and the NWNY Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Team to determine how many growers are using technology, gauge how it is working for them, and discover how Cornell Cooperative Extension might help farmers working with these technologies. More than 60 people were interviewed for this report, encompassing the perspectives of growers, consultants, industry experts, dealers, and equipment manufacturers. The growers portion of this survey represented almost 140 thousand acres of cropland in the region.
Crop Cam
Mike Stanyard, Field Crops & IPM Specialist
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Tune in as the NWNY Teams' Extension agronomists put on their GoPro cameras and head to the field.
Varying Corn & Soybean Populations, Varieties, & Down Force
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Considering varying your corn or soybean populations? Curious about multiple hybrid planters and planting two corn or soybean varieties in the same field? Maybe you're trying to decide between a planter with hydraulic or air bag down force pressure? If so check out this AgFocus Newsletter article from April of 2015.
Proposed FAA Drone Rules Released
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

On Sunday February 15th, 2015 the FAA released it's proposed rules for commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones, for public comment for 60 days. A summary can be found in the PDF below.
FAQs about Farm Drones
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Have a question about using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) on your farm? Not sure what is and isn't legal for drone use on your land? Check out this PDF for more information.
New Technology for Corn Nitrogen Needs
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Farmers and agronomists are constantly looking for better tools to improve crop production, and corn nitrogen is no exception. In an effort to account for the spatial variability within every field and the temporal variability of nitrogen due to weather farmers are beginning to use two new tools, GreenSeeker and Adapt-N, on a small scale in northwestern NY. While these tools have great potential to improve corn nitrogen management it is important to understand what they require to work well and the situations where their use may not be warranted until more experience is gained with them. Download the PDF for the full article that appeared in the June 2014 Ag Focus Newsletter.
Variable Rate Fertility Management
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

An expanded version of the February 2014 Ag Focus Article, Variable Rate Fertility Management.
Adapt N Training Resources
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Interested in the Adapt N tool? Check out the videos, PDFs, and manual below.
Mapping Management Zones with Soil Conductivity
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops

Interested in creating soil management zones with soil conductivity on your farm? Download this PDF.
Upcoming Events
2025 Corn Silage Dry Down Day- Yates County
September 9, 2025
Himrod, NY, NY
Bring a sample of corn stalks from each field you anticipate harvesting for corn silage to receive whole plant dry matter value, estimated harvest date range, and information on best management practices for the 2025 corn silage harvest.
2025 Corn Silage Dry Down Day- Seneca County (second round)
September 16, 2025
Romulus, NY
Bring a sample of corn stalks from each field you anticipate harvesting for corn silage to receive whole plant dry matter value, estimated harvest date range, and information on best management practices for the 2025 corn silage harvest.
Dairy Bovine Reproduction and Artificial Insemination Training Course en Espanol
October 14 - October 15, 2025
Barker, NY
Join us for a two-day workshop with hands-on training that will be offered in Spanish in cooperation with Javier Cheang, Genex. Space is limited, register today!
Announcements
The NWNY Team is Hiring!
We are pleased to announce the Small Farms and Livestock Specialist position has been posted. The posting will close on Tuesday, September 30th.Please share this with your networks and potentially interested candidates.
The links to the posting are:
?€? Cornell Careers: http://tiny.cc/Farm_Livestock_54721
?€? Academic Jobs Online (AJO): https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30428
The applicants submit their application materials via AJO (Academic Jobs Online).