Kate McDonald Polakiewicz

Kate McDonald Polakiewicz

Farm Business Management

CCE Erie County
21 South Grove Street
East Aurora, NY 14052

cell 716-640-0522


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 had 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, Guatamala, and Mexico. Kate holds a master's degree from the University of California, Davis, and lives with her young family in Amherst, NY.


more content - left
Field Crops

Field Crops

Dairy

Dairy

Business

Business

Livestock

Livestock

Grains

Grains

more content - right

Upcoming Events

NY Small Farms Summit 2025: Stronger Together

December 5, 2025
Alfred, NY

We hope you will join us on December 5th for the 2025 New York Small Farms Summit! This is an opportunity to meet other farmers and ag supporters, learn about research and education projects, and set priorities for future efforts to grow small farm success.

At the Allegany County site, we will focus on giving trees a chance and how trees build resiliency on small farms. Whether attracted to fruit, nuts, vegetables, fodder or shade, trees can be an integral part of a successful farming system. Join us as we explore the opportunities for resiliency that come from adding tree crops or managing wooded areas of your farm for agroforestry or silvopasture systems.

Crops, Cows & Critters - Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Newsletter Sponsorship

December 19, 2025

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.

Visit our website to view our newsletters!

Announcements

No announcements at this time.