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Cornell Organic Field Crops Conference

February 6. 2025 | 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, N.Y.

Thanks to all who attended.

If you could not attend, check out videos of conference presentations on our YouTube playlist:

conference graphic

Our mission

Cornell Field Crops delivers applied research and extension-based information on integrated crop-, soil- and pest-mangement for grain, forage and soybean growers and educators in New York and beyond. Our goal is to increase the productivity and profitability of New York’s agricultural producers and related industries while protecting the environment for the benefit of all New York citizens. 

Within this site, you will find production information for New York's main field crops based upon the latest research being conducted by our faculty and researchers as well as resources and tools to enhance production efforts.

Corn Stalks
Corn

Corn is a major field crop in New York state with more than 1 million acres planted annually. Typically, grain corn (including dry-shelled and high-moisture) represents 55% of the acreage, whereas corn silage represents the remaining 45%.

Field of alfalfa
Forages

The centerpiece of New York state agriculture is dairy farming, and the base for this industry is forage crops. Northeast livestock farmers must be able to manage a profitable business that is also sustainable in terms of environmental stewardship, and forage-livestock systems can have a positive impact on sustainable agriculture.

Green wheat in a field
Small Grains

Small grains, which include winter and spring wheat, winter and spring barley, oats, and rye, play an important role in crop rotations on many New York farms. Under good soil conditions and management practices, small grains can produce profitable yields of grain for the cash market or farm feeding.

dried down soybean pod and bean
Soybeans

Acreage of soybeans in New York continues to increase, not just in the traditional district at the head of the Finger Lakes, but throughout the state. Although soybeans are not difficult to grow, buyers are discriminating about seed quality, so producers must learn to harvest and handle the crop with skill and care.

cereal leaf beetle in petri dish
Field Crop Integrated Pest Managment

The NYS IMP Program helps you deal with pests—with the weeds, insects, and plant diseases that infest your crops, and the mites, ticks, flies, and lice that plague your livestock. Their research, workshops, demonstrations, and publications help you find answers to problems new and old.

cover crop roots in soil
NY Soil Health

Interest in soil health practices such as reducing tillage, planting cover crops, and using organic amendments has expanded greatly in recent years, yet barriers to adoption persist. The NY Soil Health project facilitates collaboration among the many on-going efforts across the state to implement research, outreach, and policy solutions to address these barriers to adoption.

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Field crops in the news

A woman crouches in a field looking at a tablet housed in a case.

Field Note

Meet Asmita Gautam: Helping dairies achieve sustainable silage farming
Originally from Bulingtar, Nepal, Asmita Gautam recently joined the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) as a postdoctoral research associate. Read on to learn more about Gautam’s origins and what she hopes to learn from this position. Why...
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A woman pushes a device into the ground in a farm field.

News

The effects of soil compaction on crop growth are often overlooked, especially compared to many other soil health indicators. In New York State, Kitty’ O Neil is determined to investigate its impacts on-farm. In recent years, scientists and...
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Two men stand on either side of a rainfall simulator in a lab.

News

by Madeline Hanscom Master’s candidate Carlos Irias and Zamorano intern Greivin Fernandez Benavides are currently conducting rainfall simulation experiments, studying nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss in runoff and infiltrate. Manure is a...
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