Seeking Dairy Farms to Join Dairy Grazing Cohort
Katelyn Walley, Business Management Specialist and Team Leader
Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program
Cornell Cooperative Extension's Fay Benson is seeking dairy farmers who are interested in transitioning to grazing for their milk cows or heifers.
Training and Funding to Grow Dairy Grazing Operations in New York
Limited Time to Apply to Join Dairy Grazing Cohort
The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center has introduced a new initiative to support new or existing dairy farms that would like to increase grazing practices within their operation. As part of this initiative, Fay Benson with Cornell Cooperative Extension is partnering with Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) to expand well-managed grazing lands in New York and Pennsylvania and support regional farmers in their grazing transition. To learn more about the project and to apply to be a participant go to: https://pasafarming.org/soil-institute/farmer-training-development/transition-to-grazing-cohorts/
Farmers that are selected to join one of the two cohorts, will be eligible to receive one on one technical support as well as apply for a $5,000 grant at the end of the two-year commitment. Signups will be accepted through July 1st and the New York Cohort will be capped at 10 farms. Applicants must apply online.
For more information, contact Fay Benson, Small Dairy Specialist; South Central Dairy & Field Crops Team: 607-391-2669 or afb3@cornell.edu.
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2025 Cornell Food Beverage & Animal Feed Manufacturer Survey
December 19, 2025
Industry and Educational Advocates for New York State's Food, Beverage, and Animal Feed Manufacturing industries:
As you know, NYS has a diverse food and beverage manufacturing industry, in both the types of industries that exist and the wide distribution of firms by scale. Many manufacturing firms have strong backward linkages to agricultural production sectors in the state that support both farm-level and downstream food industry firms and consumers. In collaboration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, a team from Cornell University's Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management has recently rolled out the 2025 New York State Food, Beverage, and Animal Feed Manufacturer Survey. The industry will benefit from an updated assessment of the industry that informs private and public investments and opportunities to support firm growth and improved profitability.
Cornell Organic Field Crops & Dairy Conference
March 6, 2026
Waterloo, NY
Farmers, researchers, educators, and agricultural service providers from across the Northeast are invited to the 2026 Cornell Organic Field Crops & Dairy Conference, held Friday, March 6, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lux Hotel & Conference Center in Waterloo, N.Y.
Co-hosted by New York Soil Health and Cornell CALS, the annual conference brings together leaders in organic grain, dairy, and livestock systems to share practical tools, new research, and farmer-tested strategies to support resilient and profitable organic production.
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