Field day showcases latest crop research

Tour highlights included:

• SIPS weed scientists Lynn Sosnoskie and Vipan Kumar discussed weed management options farmers might use as they face increasing restrictions on the popular corn herbicide atrazine.  Attendees also viewed Kumar’s research plots comparing integrated weed control strategies for soybeans.
• SIPS digital agriculture specialist Louis Longchamps outlined Cornell’s Farm of the Future project and explored ways that farmers can gather more and more useful data to better manage their crops.
• Kirsten Workman, a nutrient management and environmental sustainability specialist with Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY program and others presented research aimed at helping farmers use less fertilizer and get the most value out of their manure while protecting water resources from nutrient runoff.
• SIPS agroecologist Matt Ryan and others from Cornell’s Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab led a tour of plots where they planted corn directly into a standing rye cover crop. Their research is assessing how timing of cover crop termination affects corn pests and diseases.

Other field day topics included accelerated breeding of climate-resilient crop varieties and increasing soil health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions on dairy farms.

“Field crops – corn, soybeans, small grains and forages – are the largest sector of crop agriculture in New York,” said Smith. “Having a research facility like Musgrave that represents soils and growing conditions for large portion of the state is essential to our success – and the success of our stakeholders.  We are delighted to have had the opportunity to showcase the research being done there.”

Craig Cramer is a Communications Specialist for the School of Integrative Plant Science. Anja Timm is an Administrative Assistant and Communications Coordinator for Cornell AES.