With an eye toward sustainability, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, better energy efficiency, and increased farm resilience, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) agriculture specialists and educators closely monitor the rapidly changing environment farmers are working within. Tapping into the latest research and best practices, ag specialists help growers and producers combat an increasingly uncertain world. 

To see what programs are offered in your area, visit or contact a local office.

Featured Programs

New York State

Farm to School

Farm to school programs in schools and early care and education sites engage young people in hands-on learning and connect families to fresh, healthy local food. In New York State, a cross-disciplinary team of Extension associates, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) educators, and partners from NYS agencies work together to create better cohesion of farm to school programming across the state.

Buffalo school children on a farm visit
two men stand in a vineyard with grapes in the foreground

CCE regional agriculture teams are comprised of specialists who serve multi-county regions throughout New York state, providing research-based information, programs and technical assistance to dairy, livestock, field crops, vegetable, grape and fruit producers.

woman with cat puts her hand through a fence with sheep

The Cornell Small Farms program is a partnership between Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and CCE that connects small farm owners and operators with a variety of educational opportunities including Labor Ready Farmer, Baskets to Pallets, Farm Ops and others.

students work in a garden next to a fence

CCE's Harvest New York specialists support workforce development and business expansion with a focus on diary food processing, urban agriculture, farm-based beverages, local food distribution, berry production, farm strategic planning and emerging crops.

people look at a hoof

CCE’s Agriculture Workforce Development program demystifies new farm and labor laws to help to build committed, engaged and effective teams through tried-and-tested human resource management practices and research-based leadership and management development education.

worker in a field

CCE’s PSEP promotes the proper use of pesticides for the applicator, the consumer, and the environment, and also serves as a pesticide education center for those interested in pesticide chemicals.

kids stand at a fence

NYAITC is a partnership between CCE, Cornell University, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the New York State Education Department and the New York Farm Bureau. The program fosters awareness, understanding and appreciation of how we produce food and fiber, what we eat and how we live, by helping educators, pre-k to middle school students and their communities learn about and engage with agriculture and food systems.

Partner Organizations and Programs

CCE agriculture educators and specialists work closely with campus faculty primarily in the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, researchers with Cornell Agritech and the Cornell University Agriculture Experiment Station and other partners to drive sustainable development in New York communities.

Stories

two hands hold dry manure

News

Manure boosts hidden ecosystem beneath our feet
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...
  • Animal Science
  • Agriculture
  • Field Crops
All of the NMSP interns standing next to each other, smiling at the 2023 ANSCI poster session.

Field Note

Each summer, Cornell’s Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) offers a variety of internships which provide experiences in the field and the lab. Interns are mentored by faculty, staff, graduate students, and professionals. We sat down with...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Animal Science
  • Statistics and Data Science
cyanotype triptych that says "going, going, gone"

News

That concept was the basis for a new course offered for the first time in fall 2023: Using the Power of Food to Confront Climate Change. The one-credit Learning Where You Live course will be offered again this semester . “I think food has power...
  • Climate Change
  • Food
Two people examine a plot in an urban agriculture farm

News

Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest New York, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, released the Urban Agriculture in New York State: A Study of New York's Urban Agriculture Landscape and...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Agriculture
Kurt Waldman headshot

Spotlight

Academic focus: Food security, environmental sustainability and climate change. Research summary: My research examines judgment and decision making related to agricultural sustainability, environmental change and food security. Drawing on the...
  • Agriculture
  • Global Development