Eastern New York Veg News

In this episode, vegetable specialist Elisabeth Hodgdon interviews Lindsey Pashow, ag business development and marketing specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest New York team. They discuss findings from a series of interviews with winter greens producers in northern New York. Lindsey shares production and marketing challenges associated with growing winter greens in this cold and rural part of the state, success stories and advice from growers, and tips for those interested in adding new crop enterprises to their operation.

Funding for this project was provided by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. The episode was edited by Miles Todaro of the ENYCHP team.

Resources:

• Crop enterprise budget resources available from Penn State Extension (field and tunnel vegetables: https://extension.psu.edu/small-scale-field-grown-and-season-extension-budgets), UMass Extension (winter spinach budgets: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/outreach-project/improving-production-yield-of-winter-greens-in-northeast and field vegetables: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/crop-production-budgets), and Cornell Cooperative Extension (high tunnel vegetables: https://blogs.cornell.edu/hightunnels/economics/sample-budgets-spreadsheets/). Use these budgets as templates when developing your own crop enterprise budget.

• The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook, by Richard Wiswall

• The Winter Harvest Handbook, by Eliot Coleman

For questions about the winter greens project discussed in this podcast, reach out to Lindsey Pashow ([email protected]) or Elisabeth Hodgdon([email protected]).

Winter Greens Research Review

March 17, 2022

Episode description:

In this episode, vegetable specialists Ethan Grundberg, Elisabeth Hodgdon, Jud Reid, and grower Leon Vehaba discuss winter greens production in Eastern New York. They highlight research results from the past five years that aimed to develop nitrogen fertility and heating recommendations for winter high tunnel greens production. Leon discusses his lessons learned from his experience at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and how he made changes to his greens production as a result.

Funding and support for the research trials discussed were provided by:

Organic nitrogen fertility management in winter spinach (Willsboro Farm and Pleasant Valley Farm trials): New York Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Northern NY Agricultural Development Program, Toward Sustainability Foundation, Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm, Mike Davis of the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm, and Amy Ivy and Andy Galimberti of the CCE ENYCHP.

Nitrogen dynamics and yield response to minimal supplemental heating in high tunnel winter production: Northeast SARE Partnership grant and the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.

Resources:

Ethan and Leon’s report from their trials at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project:

‘Nitrogen dynamics and yield response to minimal supplemental heating in high tunnel winter production’ SARE grant final report: https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/one17-298/

Elisabeth and Jud’s results from their trials at the Willsboro Research Farm and Pleasant Valley Farm:

Willsboro Research Farm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m94bE5DV5SI&t=10s

Pleasant Valley Farm (research results and overview of winter greens production on the farm): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLK6jnc0YzA&t=12s

In this episode, Elisabeth Hodgdon discusses news and updates related to FSMA’s Produce Safety Rule with food safety specialist Gretchen Wall. They discuss inspection schedules for the 2021 season, On Farm Readiness Reviews, water testing, new resources available for growers, and more.

Resources:

Records Required by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, by K. Woods, D. Stoeckel, B. Fick, G. Wall, and E.A. Bihn. This fact sheet includes an explanation of required records as well as printable record templates:

https://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/sites/producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/files/shared/documents/Records-Required-by-the-FSMA-PSR.pdf

Upcoming Remote, Online, and In-Person Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Courses:

https://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/training/grower-training-courses/upcoming-grower-trainings/

Interactive Google map of water testing labs, created by the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?amp%3Busp=sharing&mid=1C8KHM6jJszj9auYQttUbVtPKtb4eEBSJ&ll=41.22288057139939%2C-78.58548244999999&z=5\

Interested in joining the Produce Safety Alliance listserv? Sign up here to receive FSMA updates, notifications of educational opportunities and new resources, and more:

https://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/

Contact Information:

To schedule an On Farm Readiness Review or discuss your farm’s FSMA PSR coverage status, contact Steve Schirmer (315-487–0852 or [email protected]), or Aaron Finley (518-474-5235 or [email protected]).

Episode speakers:

Elisabeth Hodgdon, ENYCHP vegetable specialist: 518-650-5323 or [email protected]

Gretchen Wall, Produce Safety Alliance coordinator and Northeast Regional Extension Associate: 607-882-3087 or [email protected]

Weed scientist Dr. Lynn Sosnoskie discusses the threat posed by Palmer amaranth to specialty crops in the region with specialist Ethan Grundberg. Specific topics include Palmer amaranth identification, herbicide resistance, and management strategies.

Resources:

https://blogs.cornell.edu/weedid/pigweed-identification/

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/WS/WS-51-W.pdf

https://extension.psu.edu/invasive-pigweeds-palmer-amaranth-and-waterhemp#section-1

ENYCHP Veg News Farm and Field Updates with Teresa Rusinek

“Understanding Fungicide Resistance and How to Avoid It” with Dr. Margaret McGrath of Cornell University

In this this podcast ENYCHP vegetable specialist Teresa Rusinek interviews Dr. Margaret McGrath, of Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science, to discuss the development of fungicide resistance in plant pathogens and steps growers can take to avoid it.

Resources:

https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/general-guidelines-for-managing-fungicide-resistance/

Vegetable Pathology – Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center (cornell.edu)

The Cucurbit Downy Mildew Forecast Homepage

https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/

Onion Thrips and Onion Maggot Management Recommendations with Dr. Brian Nault

Cornell University vegetable entomologist Dr. Brian Nault discusses recommendations for managing onion thrips in 2021 with specialist Ethan Grundberg. Nault and Grundberg review basic principles of resistance management, using action thresholds to time insecticide applications, and season-long pesticide programs for managing thrips before discussing how the upcoming chlorpyrifos ban in New York will impact seedcorn and onion maggot management in 2022 and beyond.

Resources:

Onion Thrips Insecticide Program Flow Chart from Dr. Brian Nault: https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/uploads/doc_980.pdf

NEWA Onion Maggot Emergence Model: http://newa.cornell.edu/index.php?page=onion-maggot

Allium leafminer (ALM), a relatively new invasive species in the region, can cause devastating losses to scallions and leeks. Teresa Rusinek and Ethan Grundberg discuss their research to identify effective management strategies for the pest with host Crystal Stewart-Courtens.

Northeast SARE Progress Report: https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/one19-336/

Details the findings from Rusinek and Grundberg’s research to evaluate row cover and insect netting compared to two applications of Entrust and M-Pede to manage ALM.

University of Massachusetts 2020 Pests of the Year ALM Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IadfeJ1dWVo for the recording and https://cornell.box.com/s/wbtigjuuc82ufktu1ghfb0b2dh166mk5 for the slides in PDF

ALM Lookalikes and Visual Lifecycle PDF: https://cornell.box.com/s/q2rdq3vuih5xzoy8dwfu63mm5q980drn

ENYCHP vegetable production specialist Teresa Rusinek is joined by Nick Skinner, UV researcher at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; grower Larry Eckhardt from Kinderhook Creek Farm and vegetable specialist Charles Bornt to discuss the development and implementation of ultra violet light dosing as a tool to manage some of the most challenging diseases in cucurbit crop production.

For more information on UV technology for plant pathogen management, check out the website: http://lightandplanthealth.org/

www.lightandplanthealth.org

Today we’d like to highlight a new podcast called “Into the Weeds” from our colleague Dr. Bryan Brown, the Integrated Weed Management Specialist with the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program based in Geneva, New York. In this fascinating episode, Bryan Brown, and guest Cerruti Hooks, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist at the University of Maryland, discuss how we can tailor our weed management to increase populations of beneficial insects. Some key terms used in this episode include "herbivores," referring to insects that feed on our crops, "predators," referring to organisms that feed on herbivores, and "parasitoids," referring to insects that deposit their larvae in herbivores, where they feed, develop, and eventually kill the host.

For more information on weed IPM, check out their website: https://nysipm.cornell.edu/agriculture/weed-ipm/ A transcript of this episode is available at the following link: https://cornell.box.com/s/xihbn6j5t3ic31q368g1smwe2ibxobdu

ENYCHP specialists Elisabeth Hodgdon and Crystal Stewart-Courtens discuss postharvest storage conditions to maintain vegetable quality over the winter, and food safety tips with Chris Callahan and Andy Chamberlin from UVM Extension.

Resources for episode description:

UVM Extension Ag Engineering Blog: go.uvm.edu/ageng

Spray Tables for Farm Use: go.uvm.edu/spraytables

Coolbots for Farm Use: go.uvm.edu/coolbot

DIY Concrete Mixed Root Washer: https://agengpodcast.com/2020/06/29/diy-motorized-root-washer-for-200-ep31/

Sisters Hill Farm Bunch Washer: https://youtu.be/JfXQmeRgk2c

Crop Storage Resources: http://go.uvm.edu/storage

Crop Planner Tool: http://go.uvm.edu/cropplanner

Bins: http://go.uvm.edu/bins.

Project Planning for Postharvest Efficiency, Profitability & Food Safety (Free 8-Part Packshed Webinar): go.uvm.edu/phwebinar

Where to connect with UVM Ag Engineering on social media:

Instagram: Instagram.com/uvmextageng

Facebook: facebook.com/uvmextageng

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwLVR4LaVPtvm4m3XW5Kv9w

Podcast: agengpodcast.com

Register for the Cornell Vegetable Program’s FREE virtual “Food Safety & Wash/Pack Facilities” workshop from 8:45 am – 1:15 pm on Nov. 16th:

https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pdeitpzopHddDRSBpt_dWf2eptEhenK0h