As anticipated, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released the “new” CAFO Permit (GP-0-22-001) on July 22, 2022. Although the current permit was set to expire on July 23, 2022, the DEC opted not to have the new permit become effective until January 23, 2023. Until that time,

Winter Wheat Preparations: Your crop was heading early (May 26th in the Lake Plain area) and is now in grain fill/maturation growth stages. Will you be ready for harvest when the wheat is ready? Last year we had one or two good days for early harvest and then it rained. Grain quality suff

Prepare for summer seedings: The winter of ’21–’22 was tough on alfalfa and alfalfa-grass fields. Winter kill and heaving were worse than typical winters. Stands should have been evaluated in April. Fields with less than four crowns of alfalfa per square foot should have had first

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions within the last five years has caused concern within the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. A state-funded report released in 2020 listed opportunities for mitigation and adaptation to assist in the effort to protect the quality of our a

Black cutworm numbers are high. There continue to be reports of high catch numbers of black cutworm (BCW) moths in pheromone traps throughout early May in the northeast. Early scouting of corn by WNYCMA staff confirm these warnings, as the larvae are around and actively feeding. A

Alfalfa weevil numbers are higher than normal. Areas that typically see a lot of weevils in the alfalfa are reporting numbers that need to be monitored as the second cutting starts to grow back. After harvest, check stubble and regrowth for signs of weevil feeding. If 50 percent of regrowt

It has come to our attention that law enforcement agencies and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are aggressively looking for anyone adding any type of new or used petroleum product to their manure. According to the DEC, some farms and custom applicators have been u

Time to Change Plans?

By, Dan Steward

Here we are well into May with a great deal of spring fieldwork yet to be done. Since things rarely seem to go as planned in farming, here are a few pointers to consider as you dodge raindrops to get the crops in.