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
Driving Efficiency in Dairy & Exploring the Irish Experience
September 29, 2025
Rock Stream, NY
This workshop series will feature in-depth presentation and discussion led by Dr. Padraig French who is the Head of Livestock Systems and the Dairy Enterprise Leader at Teagasc (the Irish version of USDA). Dr. French will focus on the critical success factors for Irish dairy, which include pasture utilization, labor efficiency and managing for seasonal calving. The discussion will focus on ways that U.S. dairy farmers can use some of the Irish dairy techniques to become more profitable with grass farming.
Silvopasture on a Shoestring
October 7, 2025
Franklinville, NY
Join Joshua Greene, Director of Education at Trees For Graziers, Jonathan Bates, Statewide Agroforestry Educator, and Lynn Bliven, owner of Wild Geese Farm for a full day training event that will include classroom and hands-on sessions. The focus will be on DIY silvopasture projects on small grazing farms. We will address the practical considerations of tree establishment, protection, and maintenance while learning how silvopasture can help address your farm's resource concerns and enhance livestock grazing.
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!
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