Jerome Cherney
E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture, School of Integrative Plant Science, Soil and Crop Sciences Section
I was born and raised on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin, receiving a B.S. degree in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin. After a three-year tour as a North Vietnamese linguist for the U.S. Army Security Agency, I received a M.S. degree in agronomy from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in agronomy from the University of Minnesota. After directing a multi-college grass tetany program at Louisiana State University as a post-doctoral Fellow, I accepted a faculty position at Purdue University in forage crop research and teaching. A primary focus of my forage program at Purdue was the evaluation of herbaceous biomass crops. I became the New York State forage specialist in 1990, focusing on perennial forage management and quality. I was appointed E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture in 1997.
Interests
Profitable management of forage crops
Environmental sustainability
Grass bioenergy
Recent Research
The primary element of my research program is applied research in forage quality, management, and utilization to identify ways to profitably manage forage crops, taking all appropriate environmental concerns into consideration. My primary area in extension is forage crops, specifically to develop a program that will help to improve the profitability of New York State forage/livestock operations, while at the same time minimizing any negative effects of forage crops on the environment.
Outreach and Extension Focus
Environmental concerns and interest in sustainable agriculture are trends that will grow even stronger in the future, and forage crop production is one of the best means for responsible stewardship of our land resources. My forage extension program aims to improve the profitability of New York State forage/livestock operations, while at the same time minimizing any negative effects of forage crops on the environment. High forage quality is becoming even more critical to the profitability of livestock operations, and the sustainable, economic addition of bioenergy crops to livestock farms also is being evaluated.
Selected Publications
- Cherney, J.H., R.L. Kallenbach, and V.D. Picasso Risso. 2020. Chapt. 20. Systems for temperate humid areas. In (K.J. Moore et al., ed.) p.369-386. Forages: Vol. 2. The Science of Grassland Agriculture. 7th ed., Wiley & Sons Publishing.
- Cherney, D.J.R., M. Digman, and J.H. Cherney. 2021. Day-to-day variation in forage and mixed diets on commercial dairy farms in NY. Applied Anim. Sci. (in press).
- Jungers, J.M., J.H. Cherney, A.L. Jaqueth, K. Martinson, C.C. Sheaffer. 2021. Forage nutritive value of modern alfalfa cultivars. Crop Forage Turfgrass Manage. (in press).
- Berzaghi, P., J.H. Cherney and M.D. Casler. 2021. Forage quality calibration and validation of portable near infrared reflectance instruments using preprocessed dry, ground forage samples. Comp. and Elec. in Agric. (in press).
- Cherney, J.H., and D.J. Cherney. 2020. Meadow fescue seeding rate impacts mixtures with alfalfa on marginal sites. Crop Forage Turfgrass Manage. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20046.
- Cherney, J.H., S.R. Smith, C.C. Sheaffer, and D.J.R. Cherney. 2020. Nutritive value and dry matter yield of reduced-lignin and normal alfalfa cultivars in monoculture and in binary mixtures with perennial grass. Agron. J. 112:352–367.
- Cox, W.J., J. Hanchar, J.H. Cherney, and M. Sorrells. 2019. Economic responses of maize, soybean, and wheat in three rotations under conventional and organic cropping systems. Agronomy 2019, 9, 424, https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/8/424/pdf.
- Lyons, S.E., Q.M. Ketterings, G.S. Godwin, J.H. Cherney, D.J. Cherney, J.J. Meisinger, and T.F. Kilcer. 2019. Double cropping with forage sorghum and forage triticale in New York. Agron. J. 11:3374-3382.
- Cox, W.J., J.H. Cherney and M. Sorrells. 2019. Agronomic comparisons of organic and conventional soybean with recommended and high inputs during the first 4 years of organic management. Agronomy 2019, 9, 602, https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/10/602/pdf.
- Lyons, S.E., Q.M. Ketterings, G.S. Godwin, D.J. Cherney, J.H. Cherney, M.E. Van Amburgh, J.J. Meisinger, and T.F. Kilcer. 2019. Optimal harvest timing for brown midrib forage sorghum yield, nutritive value, and ration performance. J. Dairy Sci. 102:7134-7149.
Presentations and Activities
- New Insights on Alfalfa-Grass Mixtures for Dairy. Invited talk. World Dairy Expo. Oct. 2018, Madison, WI, US Dairy Forage Research Center.
- Invited to serve as only non-European member of Panel to evaluate the FACCE-JPI Climate-Smart-Agriculture research program. Drafted the final report to the European Commission. March 2018, INRA Headquarters, Paris, France.
- Industrial Hemp: A North American Perspective. Plenary talk. First Australian Industrial Hemp Conference, Feb. 2018, AusBiotech, CSIRO and Australian Society of Agronomy, Melbourne, AU.
- Alternative Forages and Alternative Markets for Hay: Worth Considering? Plenary talk. U.S. National Hay Association Annual Conference, Oct. 2017, Canandaigua, NY.
- Industrial Hemp: The Vision for the Future. Plenary talk. U.S. National Industrial Hemp Conference, Sept. 2017, Univ. of KY, Crop Science Society of America.
- Forage Crop Systems: Challenges, Opportunities, Technology Transfer. Plenary talk. 17th Australian Agronomy Conference, Sept. 2015, Hobart, Tasmania, AU, Australian Society of Agronomy.
Awards & Honors
- Agronomic Extension Education Award (2012) American Society of Agronomy
- Crop Science Extension Education Award (2008) Crop Science Society of America
- Research Award (2003) Northeast American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America
- Fellow (1997) American Society of Agronomy
- Fellow (1997) Crop Science Society of America
Courses Taught
I do not have a teaching appointment but has delivered lectures in several classes in the Soil & Crop Sciences Section and the Departments of Animal Science and Biological and Environmental Engineering.
Contact Information
433 Plant Science
Ithaca, NY 14853
jhc5 [at] cornell.edu
Graduate Fields
- Soil and Crop Sciences
Education
- Doctorate
University of Minnesota
1980
- Master of Science
University of Wisconsin
1977
- Bachelor of Science
University of Wisconsin
1971
More information
Jerome in the news
News
- Animal Science
- Agriculture
- Field Crops