Meet John, our Team's Summer Field Technician
Hi, I'm John Pirrung, the new summer field technician for the SWNYDLFC team. I just graduated from Cornell University's College of Agriculture & Life Sciences with a bachelor's degree in environmental science and am most experienced in agriculture, especially with weeds, pests, and soil quality. In addition to working in this area, I'm planning to learn more about dairy production and livestock in my time with the team, so you'll be seeing me around.
This summer I'll be working on a number of different research projects. For many of these projects I'll be working as a scout, surveying fields for insect damage, weeds, and diseases. I'll also be collecting and analyzing all sorts of samples, collecting data on things like crop yields, pest counts, and pesticide efficacy. Quite a bit of this summer will be spent on the road, so while I'm based out of Southern Erie County, I'll be working on farms in all five of the counties that the team covers.
In addition to my hands-on work collecting data for the research projects, I'll also be helping the team with outreach programming. Whether that's just by contributing to the newsletter (like this article) or by helping to organize workshops, I'll be making sure that our educational outreach content makes sense, looks good, and reaches a wide audience. Looking forward to meeting you!
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Upcoming Events
Memoir Reading: Barn Gothic
December 4, 2025
Bath, NY
Barn Gothic is an elegy for family farmers and an intimate portrait of three generations laboring to be fathers and sons while their livelihood falls apart. Beautifully told with a farmer's restraint and a poet's grace, it is a story of personal loss amid corporate corruption and of finding a way forward when everything you know disappears.
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
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