Kate McDonald Polakiewicz
Farm Business Management SpecialistCCE Erie County
21 South Grove Street
East Aurora, NY 14052
cell 716-640-0522
email Kate
Areas of Interest
Business planning, profitability, grants and finding funding, beginning farmer support
Kate is a production and extension systems specialist with 15 years of experience working in federal government, private sector, academic, and international settings. She comes to CCE from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) where she managed the Farmer-to Farmer program, a longstanding agricultural extension program that provided short-term technical assistance from US-based farmers to other farmer communities abroad. She also managed agricultural research awards in horticulture, agronomy, aquaculture, and in scaling new technologies. Before USAID, Kate worked on agricultural programs while living in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Her work in research and extension also brought her to lead education on soil fertility and plant pathology in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Kate holds a master's degree from the University of California, Davis, and lives with her young family in Amherst, NY.
Field Crops
Dairy
Business
Livestock
Grains
Upcoming Events
Cows, Crops & Critters - Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Newsletter Sponsorship
December 18, 2026
Our two forms of publications feature research-based and timely information from our four specialists, listed to the right, along with local event notifications and Cornell University outreach. This information is provided to participants who range from dairy, livestock, and field crops producers to agricultural suppliers and consultants.
Weekly Email Update: Shared with 625+ households who have signed up with our program.
Monthly Paper Mailer: To reach our stakeholders and farmers who lack internet access, we send out a monthly mailer where your company's logo and contact information would be featured with a mailing list of 330+ households.
If you sponsor our weekly and monthly publications you reach approximately 955 households.
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Paper Copy of Cows, Crops & Critters Newsletter (for recipients outside of 5 county region) July 2026-June 2027
May 31, 2027
To be more environmentally friendly and make sure our resources go directly toward our mission, we have been updating how we share news from Cornell Cooperative Extension's Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Team.
You will continue to receive newsletters quicky and conveniently through email every month!
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