Advancing Dairy Sustainability through On-Farm Nutrient Management Research and Extension

The sustainability of dairy operations in New York State depends greatly on their ability to reduce its environmental footprint while simultaneously reducing the cost of production and increasing yield and milk sales. Improving the economic and environmental sustainability of dairy farms requires development of management tools that help farmers with decisions about forage and grain production, animal nutrition, manure handling, feed storage, and animal care, among others.

The South-Central NY Dairy and Field Crops Team is working with the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) and PRODAIRY at Cornell University to develop and test approaches to help farmers make more informed decisions about manure allocation, and to document the value of manure. We are also evaluating whole farm sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs; software-based greenhouse gas emission estimates, Cool Farm Tool, FARM-ES, animal and plant production efficiency and economic measurements, field nutrient balances, etc.). The overarching aim is to provide dairy farmers with practical tools that help to reduce their environmental footprint while improving farm efficiency and economics.

Roles and responsibilities

The CCE intern will help with:

• On-farm research soil and plant sampling, collecting of farm information, analyzing data, running of software evaluation tools, and producing summary reports for participating farmers, in collaboration with the campus and CCE teams
• Participate in weekly project meetings, work with the CCE supervisor on extension education projects (field days, local fairs, etc.) and farm visits
• Join various CCE team members to explore roles that CCE extension educators play in their communities and assist with, for example, weed identification and sampling, plant disease sampling, insect scouting/trapping, herd management, farm business management, and 4H
• Opportunity to write an agronomy factsheet, and participate in other extension events, ranging from attending zoom meetings, Twilight meetings and Tactical Agriculture Team (TAg) meetings for producers

This internship provides an outstanding opportunity to shadow leading extension professionals and faculty, staff and students as they interact with producers, agribusiness, other researchers and the general public.

Qualifications and previous coursework

This opportunity is available to non-graduating students in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

• A strong interest in production agriculture is essential.
• Coursework and/or practical experience in field crop production, soil science, nutrient management, integrated pest management, animal nutrition or farm business are preferred.
• A willingness to work hard, learn quickly, and professionally interact with farmers and other members of the agricultural community are essential for success in this position.
• The selected intern will be required to drive on behalf of the summer project and must have reliable transportation

Learning outcomes

On-farm research and interacting with farmers is the key to conducting on-farm research and identifying new, successful, and innovative management tools, and practices for decision making. By working with producers as well as CCE staff and the campus team, the intern will learn about and gain skills in whole-farm evaluation and conducting collaborative and outcome focused research. The intern will learn first-hand how to design and deliver educational programs that meet the needs of extension clientele pertaining to issues related to crop management and herd management.