2025 Christmas Tree IPM Field Day

Amara is the Biocontrol Specialist with the Cornell Integrated Pest Management Program, part of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In this position she supports the effective use of biological control solutions for pests in all agricultural commodities, as well as pests encountered by all New Yorkers where they live, work, play, and learn. When she's not at work, she enjoys watching all the beneficial insects visiting her garden.

Joseph Amsili is a Senior Extension Associate and Program Director for the New York Soil Health Program at Cornell University. He leads statewide efforts to advance soil health through applied research, extension, and farmer engagement. Joseph oversees key outreach initiatives, including the Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Field Day series and the NY Soil Health Specialist Training Series. He played a leading role in the development of Production Environment Soil Health Benchmarks, which provides NY-specific interpretation of soil health based on climate, soil type, and cropping system.

A life-long resident of Yates County, Tom grew up on his family farm in the Penn Yan area that included a milking dairy herd, 750 acres of cropland, and 25 acres of vineyards. After graduating from Cornell University in 1997 with a degree in Agronomy, he began work at the Yates County Soil & Water Conservation District. Tom has been working with NYS's Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program for 28 years in Yates County as the lead contact. This has included planning and implementation of a large suite of practices including structural and soil health projects.

Dan Weykman has worked for USDA-NRCS since 2004 serving in various capacities and locations as a Technician, Soil Conservationist, and Resource Conservationist across the 15-county Western New York area. Since 2020 he's been with the Livingston, Ontario & Yates County Field Team administering all Farm Bill programs at the field level, including projects for dairy, cash crop, livestock, vegetable/specialty crop, and mixed farm operations. Dan provides technical assistance in the realms of soil health, nutrient management, plant productivity, wetlands, forestry and wildlife areas of interest.

Betsy is the Coordinator for Ornamental Crop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for the Cornell IPM Program. She works with growers of Christmas trees, greenhouse and nursery crops, and cut flowers to find effective and efficient methods of managing the wide variety of insect and disease pests that can affect their crops.

Marcus Lopez is the lead research technician for Cornell IPM, with a diverse background in agriculture and ecology. Prior to joining Cornell IPM, Marcus worked as a consulting arborist, for Cornell Plant Breeding and Genetics, for USDA-APHIS, and has helped start and manage farms, among other roles. He has been working on many of Cornell IPM's ongoing experiments involving organic vegetable production, ornamentals, apples, and entomology. He has also calculated over 100 new EIQ values for our EIQ database, as well as assisted global agriculture companies in using the tool.