CCE Summer Internship Program

The Horse Farm Improvement Program (HFIP) aims to improve equine welfare and farm sustainability in New York State. This internship project builds upon the work of a former intern and aims to create a functioning evaluation program and educational resource for NYS equine operations.

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development (CAWD) and CCE partners have developed methods and tools to assist farms with developing their new employee onboarding programs. This internship is about working with farm employers to develop their onboarding programs with the direct assistance of educators and CCE interns. Interns will assist farms, learn about farm human resource management, and collect data to continue development of the overall onboarding program.

The focus of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of deer management at the community level for reducing densities of nymphal ticks and potential Lyme disease transmission. We will conduct tick drags in communities with 5 or more years of deer culling (removal) and compare those to communities with no deer removal in Onondaga County.

The intern will work and live at a historical lakeside estate in the county now housing the Cornell Biological Field Station. The student will be mentored by field station, Madison County CCE staff and the County Historian to research the residential and academic history of the site. They will assist the County Historian in planning activities including the “History Where you Eat” series culminating in hosting an event at the field station during the summer.

Drones are becoming useful tools in ecological research with their expanded viewing capabilities. The Syracuse area is becoming an important testing ground for new drone applications. This intern will be based at the Cornell Biological Field Station in Madison County just east of Syracuse on Oneida Lake. They will work with aquatic and terrestrial researchers to incorporate drones in ecological research.

We will create several trial and demonstration plots in public growing spaces in New York City, centered around adapting vegetable production to an urban setting through soil management and identifying best-suited varieties.

The intern will learn about soil management, plant nutrition, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for the control of insects and pathogens. The locations of both the 4-H Camp and the LIHREC are literally across the street and will be convenient to conduct this internship. The living laboratory at the Dorothy P. Flint 4H Camp is an educational facility that is used to supply fresh, nutritious food to the campers. In addition, the intern will assist in the vegetable production at the Camp and work on a "Farm to Table" program which markets fresh produce at the CCE-NC’s urban East Meadow Farm. The intern will be able to use the education that is acquired on a practical level by interacting with consumers at the Farm.

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.

Oneida Lake is the 3rd-most fished lake in New York State, making anglers an important part of the Oneida Lake ecosystem both biologically (through harvest) and economically (through expenditures associated with fishing). As such anglers have an important role in influencing management decisions regarding this valuable resource. The intern on this project will collect and analyze information from the human-component of the Oneida Lake ecosystem through interviews of anglers at boat launches upon completion of their fishing trip.

Climate models predict that the northeastern United States will experience more pronounced periods of intense precipitation and short duration flooding. Floodplain region are particularly at risk as increased soil moisture and flooding poses a challenge for vegetable and grain farmers. This summer internship offers a unique opportunity to work with pioneering rice farms in the Hudson River Valley region of New York that will experiment with a flood tolerant crop. The intern will gain invaluable experience in various aspects of rice cultivation (both flooded and drip-irrigation rice systems), from seed preparation to harvesting, and learning about cooperatives and market potential.

The goal of this project is to first understand Tick Risk on cattle pastures in the Northeast, and then develop a comprehensive GP-IPM assessment tool. The first objective is to identify which species of tick are prevalent on cattle pastures and associated animal and human health risks. Report invasive Asian Longhorned Tick presence or absence and investigate how tick populations are influenced by cattle grazing management. Between April-November 2025 biweekly sampling will be carried out on each farm, to allow tick populations and associations between climate, habitat, and grazing management to be determined.

The number of commercial cut flower farms in NYS increases from 405-610 from 2017 – 2022, largely because of an increase in open field farming of cut flowers. The rapid increase in operations, particularly as many seem to be beginning farmers, leads to an increased need for CCE faculty to have expertise in cut flower production and marketing.