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One of the best ways to connect science to practice is through on-farm research. On-farm research can help farmers make informed decisions about how to efficiently use their resources (like fertilizer and seed) to grow high-yielding, high...

The push for sustainability metrics for the dairy industry is ever growing. This includes metrics for air and water quality, water use, and most recently above-ground biodiversity. We sat down with members of the Nutrient Management Spear...

Cornell Atkinson, The Nature Conservancy, Clean Air Task Force and Environmental Defense Fund have awarded grants to five research projects that aim to improve sustainability in the dairy industry.

For a two and a half decades, NMSP has worked to support farmers with sound science, and made strides when it comes to on-farm research and extension. Led by Quirine Ketterings, NMSP focuses on the big picture when it comes to agriculture and...

On June 30, dairy industry leaders from New York state toured the Cornell University Ruminant Center, a one-of-a-kind testbed for new technologies and strategies and a crucial resource for the state's dairy farmers.

In collaboration with farmers, researchers found that emission intensities from New York state dairy farms were lower per gallon of milk than national estimates and among the lowest reported across continents.

Master’s candidate Carlos Irias and Zamorano intern Greivin Fernandez Benavides are currently conducting rainfall simulation experiments, studying nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss in runoff and infiltrate. Manure is a very valuable source of...

The Value of Manure project aims to help farmers understand the value of cow manure and use it as efficiently as they can, reducing reliance on nitrogen (N) based synthetic fertilizers. Jointly funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute...

Sarah Flanagan ’26 has known since high school that she wanted a career in agriculture to help reduce global food insecurity. An agricultural sciences major, Flanagan has taken impactful classes in plant genetics, soil science and many other...

Cornell’s Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) staff has been conducting research trials on farms in upstate New York as part of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration project (DSWR) . In Western New York, the team is working with Noblehurst...

Agustin Olivo of Cornell’s Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) defended his PhD dissertation in early June. Read on to learn more about Olivo and his work with nutrient management and greenhouse gas emissions in dairy systems, and to see...

Postdoctoral Research Associate Jasdeep Singh of the Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) is researching the impacts of soil health practices on corn silage yield, soil health indicators, and greenhouse gas emissions. In Central New...

The Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) has been working hard to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on New York dairy farms. The dairy sustainability team, led by Research Associate Olivia Godber , helps farmers identify opportunities...

Cornell University’s Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) is helping farmers evaluate their nutrient use through the Cornell whole-farm nutrient mass balance (NMB) tool . This project, led by NMSP Research Associate Olivia Godber , is...

Manure is a great source of nutrients, but recent studies show there is something even more magical about it. Read on to learn more about the importance of soil health to yield, the ways that manure can influence this and how the Nutrient...

In a science classroom in New York City, a group of high school seniors gathered around a table and analyzed nutrient cycling data from a farm in upstate New York. Together, they outlined a plan to support the farm’s nutrient management needs...

Established as a dairy farm in 1957, the Osterhoudt family of Genoa, New York, now operates a crop and custom harvest operation. The farm owners, Mark Osterhoudt and his family, and their certified crop adviser and on-farm agronomist Andy Miller...

Chobani and Cornell CALS’ Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) began a partnership in 2020 seeking to develop, test, and incentivize use of sustainability indicators for dairy farms. Recently, NMSP and PRO-DAIRY interns had the opportunity...

Noblehurst Farms , a seventh-generation, multi-family dairy farm co-owned by Rob Noble ’79, is helping shift the dairy industry toward greenhouse gas neutrality through an on-farm research partnership with Cornell CALS’ Nutrient Management Spear...

A new laboratory study discovered that mixing acid whey with manure can decrease ammonia loss, increasing the amount of nitrogen available to plants from manure while reducing odor. Manure naturally loses ammonia through a reaction called...