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Corn and/or Dairy Days 2024
Join us for one of these commodity-specific, full-day events. Each event includes a trade show, lunch, and plenty of networking opportunities! DEC credits will be available for Corn Day. FSA New Borrower Training Credits available at all events.
Event Details

Date
February 21, 2024
Time
9:30am - 2:30pm
Location
Otesaga Resort
60 Lake St
Cooperstown, NY 13326
Cost
Registration : $50.00
(addl attendee $50.00 ea.)
Host
Central New York Dairy and Field CropsErik Smith (315-219-7786) & Nicole Tommell (315-867-6001
Corn Day 2024
Hear the latest updates on herbicide-resistant weeds across NY, emerging diseases, corn silage variety trials, and an in-depth look at ongoing corn seed treatment research and seedcorn maggot risk. Come early for the trade show and coffee hour, and enjoy the Otesaga's famous lunch buffet.
2.25 DEC Pesticide recertification credits available, Cat. 1A, 10, 21, or 23
3.0 CCA CEU credits available: 2.5 IPM, 0.5 Crop Mgmt
FSA New Borrower Training Credits available.
Trade show, registration, and coffee hour starts at 9:30am.
Agenda
9:30-10:30 am Registration; Coffee hour at the Trade Show
You must be present by 10:30 and have your Applicator ID with you upon signing the roster to receive credit.
10:30-11:00 am Are you seeing Corn Rootworm resistance? The Success Story of Biological Control Nematodes in the North Country - Mike Hunter, Cornell Cooperative Extension
11:00-11:30 am Herbicide Resistance Screening in Central NY and Around the State - Dr. Vipan Kumar, Cornell University
11:30 am-Noon Corn Disease Update: Tar Spot in NY - Dr. Gary Bergstrom, Cornell University
Noon-1:15 pm Lunch & visit the Trade Show
1:15-2:00 pm Update on Research into Seed Treatment Options for Seedcorn Maggot - Ken Wise, NYS IPM, Dr. Katja Poveda, & Dr. Jennifer Thaler, Cornell University
2:00-2:30 pm Corn Silage Variety Trial Results and How to Use Them - Joe Lawrence, PRO-DAIRY
2:30-2:45 pm Attendees receive DEC certificates and ADJOURN
Deadline for registration is Wednesday, January 24th, Noon. NO EXCEPTIONS.
For more details and information, contact Erik Smith: eas56@cornell.edu. For registration questions, contact cnydlfc@cornell.edu or call 315-866-7920.
Event Details
Date
April 3, 2024
Time
10am - 3pm
Location
Otesaga Resort
60 Lake St
Cooperstown, NY 13326
Cost
Registration : $50.00
(addl attendee $50.00 ea.)
Host
Central New York Dairy and Field CropsErik Smith (315-219-7786) & Nicole Tommell (315-867-6001
Dairy Day 2024 (Otesaga)
Milking Forages for All They're Worth
Includes lunch and trade show!
FSA New Borrower Training Credits available.
SCHEDULE:
- 10:00 a.m. Trade Show Opens, Registration, Coffee & Danish
- 11:00 a.m. Ev Thomas: "Producing high quality corn silage." Including hybrid selection, chop height, starch content.
- 11:30 a.m. Rick Grant: "Feeding and feed-bunk management to unlock the energy in your silage." including NDF digestibility and chop length/particle size of crop and TMR; starch affects response to fiber digestibility; feeding management to get the most from your forage.
- 12:15 p.m. Lunch & Trade Show
- 1:30 p.m. Ev Thomas: "Managing alfalfa and grass: HarvXtra, cutting height, harvest schedules." Also a brief discussion of fertilization of grass vs. alfalfa.
- 2:15 p.m. Rick Grant: "Target the right forage to the right cows." High quality vs. right quality forage; benchmarks for NDF and NDF digestibility, sugars; optimal alfalfa-corn silage ratios; legumes vs. grasses.
- 2:45 p.m. Final wrap up questions & discussion.
- 3:00 p.m. Adjourn
Our speakers, Rick Grant & Ev Thomas, will have sort of a Miner Institute reunion. Rick has just retired as President of Miner Institute. Ev retired from Miner several years ago, but now operates Oak Point Agronomics, a crop consulting business. You have most likely read articles they have written in Hoard's Dairyman and Progressive Dairy. They often answer questions in Hoard's "Questions from our Readers" section on dairy and crop production. Both of them bring a lifetime of experience in research and the practical application of making management decisions at Miner Institute. Located in Chazy NY, The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute's principal function is the economic improvement of agricultural operations through research, education, and demonstration. Miner Institute conducts research programs that apply basic science to contemporary problems confronting the dairy industry. The areas of focus include the crop-animal-environment interface, milk analysis as a herd management tool, cow comfort and behavior. While conducting research, the 625 cow herd boasts a nearly 32,000 lb. herd average with 4.2% butterfat and 3.1% protein!
Dr. Grant received his B.S. degree in Animal Science, with a dairy science emphasis, from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. He received a Ph.D. in Animal Science-Ruminant Nutrition from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Subsequently, Dr. Grant was a post-doctoral scientist at the US Dairy-Forage Research Center located at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, working with Dr. Dave Mertens on measuring and modeling rumen forage degradation and passage. From 1990 to 2003, Dr. Grant was a Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Since 2003, he has been President of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, NY, a non-profit educational and research institution focused on dairy cattle, forage, equine, and nutrient management.
Ev Thomas has worked as an agronomist in Northern NY state since 1966, first with Cornell University Cooperative Extension, then with the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY, including managing its 680-acre crop operation. He's semi-retired but still works for Miner Institute, including writing and editing its Farm Report newsletter. He's had over 600 articles published in various farm magazines including over 160 in Hoard's Dairyman. Ev's speaking and consulting activities, still on-going, have taken him to Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and throughout North America. In a world of specialists he considers himself one of the last generalists, which he defines as "knowing a little bit about a lot of stuff". His focus is the cow-crop interface, or "speaking crops with a cow accent".
For registration questions, contact cnydlfc@cornell.edu or call 315-866-7920.
Event Details
Date
April 4, 2024
Time
10am - 3pm
Location
CCE Saratoga County
50 W High St
Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Cost
Registration : $50.00
(addl attendee $50.00 ea.)
Host
Central New York Dairy and Field CropsErik Smith (315-219-7786) & Nicole Tommell (315-867-6001
Dairy Day 2024 (CCE Saratoga)
Milking Forages for All They're Worth
Includes lunch and trade show!
FSA New Borrower Training Credits available.
SCHEDULE:
- 10:00 a.m. Trade Show Opens, Registration, Coffee & Danish
- 11:00 a.m. Ev Thomas: "Producing high quality corn silage." Including hybrid selection, chop height, starch content.
- 11:30 a.m. Rick Grant: "Feeding and feed-bunk management to unlock the energy in your silage." including NDF digestibility and chop length/particle size of crop and TMR; starch affects response to fiber digestibility; feeding management to get the most from your forage.
- 12:15 p.m. Lunch & Trade Show
- 1:30 p.m. Ev Thomas: "Managing alfalfa and grass: HarvXtra, cutting height, harvest schedules." Also a brief discussion of fertilization of grass vs. alfalfa.
- 2:15 p.m. Rick Grant: "Target the right forage to the right cows." High quality vs. right quality forage; benchmarks for NDF and NDF digestibility, sugars; optimal alfalfa-corn silage ratios; legumes vs. grasses.
- 2:45 p.m. Final wrap up questions & discussion.
- 3:00 p.m. Adjourn
Our speakers, Rick Grant & Ev Thomas, will have sort of a Miner Institute reunion. Rick has just retired as President of Miner Institute. Ev retired from Miner several years ago, but now operates Oak Point Agronomics, a crop consulting business. You have most likely read articles they have written in Hoard's Dairyman and Progressive Dairy. They often answer questions in Hoard's "Questions from our Readers" section on dairy and crop production. Both of them bring a lifetime of experience in research and the practical application of making management decisions at Miner Institute. Located in Chazy NY, The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute's principal function is the economic improvement of agricultural operations through research, education, and demonstration. Miner Institute conducts research programs that apply basic science to contemporary problems confronting the dairy industry. The areas of focus include the crop-animal-environment interface, milk analysis as a herd management tool, cow comfort and behavior. While conducting research, the 625 cow herd boasts a nearly 32,000 lb. herd average with 4.2% butterfat and 3.1% protein!
Dr. Grant received his B.S. degree in Animal Science, with a dairy science emphasis, from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. He received a Ph.D. in Animal Science-Ruminant Nutrition from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Subsequently, Dr. Grant was a post-doctoral scientist at the US Dairy-Forage Research Center located at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, working with Dr. Dave Mertens on measuring and modeling rumen forage degradation and passage. From 1990 to 2003, Dr. Grant was a Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Since 2003, he has been President of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, Chazy, NY, a non-profit educational and research institution focused on dairy cattle, forage, equine, and nutrient management.
Ev Thomas has worked as an agronomist in Northern NY state since 1966, first with Cornell University Cooperative Extension, then with the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY, including managing its 680-acre crop operation. He's semi-retired but still works for Miner Institute, including writing and editing its Farm Report newsletter. He's had over 600 articles published in various farm magazines including over 160 in Hoard's Dairyman. Ev's speaking and consulting activities, still on-going, have taken him to Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and throughout North America. In a world of specialists he considers himself one of the last generalists, which he defines as "knowing a little bit about a lot of stuff". His focus is the cow-crop interface, or "speaking crops with a cow accent".
For registration questions, contact cnydlfc@cornell.edu or call 315-866-7920.
Upcoming Events
NY Sheep Shearing School 2025
March 15, 2025
East Meredith, NY
This 2-day sheep shearing school is great for beginners and also for those who want to improve their current shearing skills. Doug Rathke, a seasoned shearer, knows what it takes to learn the art of shearing and he knows what it takes to teach it on a level so it can be understood and retained.
This class will give you the confidence to start shearing your own flock or take it to the next level and earn income by shearing for others.
Avian Disease and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza - the latest updates and what it means for poultry health
March 18, 2025
In light of the state of HPAI across the country and in NYS, the Poultry Subgroup of the Livestock PWT has developed two webinars to assist small farms and backyard laying flock owners to make informed decisions around getting laying hens and managing disease, while keeping abreast of the current status of HPAI and how they can keep it out of their flocks.
Join Dr. Jarra Jagne of Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Chad Wall of NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for an evening of learning about avian disease, including Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). We'll cover:
- Updates on the HPAI outbreak
- Symptoms of HPAI
- Common small flock diseases
- HPAI disease look-alikes
- Keeping your birds safe
Shop Talk: Integrated Weed Management

March 19, 2025
Andover, NY
Mike Hunter, Field Crop IPM Coordinator, will share his knowledge on managing weeds. The discussion will cover various management practices in both conventional and organic settings, including herbicide-resistant weeds.
Announcements
Transition Heifer Calf Program
Join us for this hand-on program and demos! We will be offering this program in English and in Spanish.Calf and heifer managers, dairy herdspersons, farm owners, and heifer raisers interested in learning more about how to better house and manage animals as they transition from the calf phase to the weaned heifer phase.
Topics covered:
Nutrition
Health
Housing Management
Inventory Management
Biosecurity: All attendees must wear clean clothes and boots. You will be required to scrub and disinfect footwear upon arrival to the program and before leaving.
Registration: $25 per person (includes lunch)