October 31 & November 1, 2012 – Binghamton, NY at the Holiday Inn Arena
November 5 & 6, 2012 – Saratoga Springs, NY at the Holiday Inn
November 7 & 8, 2012 – Utica, NY at the Radisson Hotel
November 12 & 13, 2012 – Buffalo, NY at the Millennium Hotel
November 14 & 15 2012 – Rochester, NY at the RIT Inn and Conference Center
November 19 & 20, 2012 – Syracuse/Liverpool, NY at the Holiday Inn

Click Here for more information.

Those who would like to master the art and science of making jams, jellies, salsa and other processed foods, drying herbs, and canning, freezing and pickling may now register for the Master Food Preservation Training Course to be offered by the Cornell Cooperative Extension associations of Northern New York August 21-25 at the North Franklin Education Center BOCES at 23 Huskie Lane in Malone. Registration deadline for the four-day, 8:30am-3:30pm course is August 13.

This course is part of a statewide initiative by Cornell Cooperative Extension and the first step toward becoming a CCE Master Food Preserver. Master Food Preservers will work with Extension to offer workshops and help answer the public’s questions about proper food preservation.

Karen Armstrong, course coordinator with Cornell Cooperation Extension Franklin County’s Eat Smart NY program says, “This training is also a perfect first step for entrepreneurs and farmers who are seriously interested in developing value-added products.”

Course participants will receive hands-on experience with boiling water and pressure canning, gelled products, pickling, freezing, and drying; and will discuss other methods of preservation and food safety.

Those who complete the course will receive certificates of participation. Those who wish to become Master Food Preservers must complete this course plus an internship with a Cornell Cooperative Extension educator.

This course is open to people from any county. The cost to participate is $300.00. Class size is limited; preregistration is required. Contact Armstrong at CCE Franklin County at 518-483-7403 for details and registration.

Last year, many broken-hearted gardeners in the Northeast were denied their cherished homegrown tomatoes when late blight – the same disease that triggered the Irish potato famine – wiped out their plants.

Click Here to listen to Paul Hetzler discuss the current  Late Blight situation.

Click here for more information on late blight.

Two Northern New York Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators (CCE) will receive awards at the National Association of County Agricultural Agents national meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, July 16-19.

 
CCE St. Lawrence Livestock Educator Betsy Hodge and CCE Lewis County Field Crops Educator Joseph Lawrence have been selected as the overall state winners from New York State.

 
Hodge will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award.
Lawrence will receive the New York State Association of County Agricultural Agents Achievement Award.  “Betsy’s and Joe’s work represents the very best of Extension programming in New York State,” says Northern New York Regional Agricultural Initiative Coordinator Anita Deming.  Hodge developed Northern New York’s six-county regional livestock education program for sheep, goat and beef producers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.  “Our Northern New York livestock producers report high satisfaction with Betsy’s hands on educational opportunities, learning tours to model operations, and videoconferencing; her newsletters with the latest information and production tips, and the increased contact with Cornell livestock specialists and researchers,” says Deming, who is also CCE Essex County Executive Director. “Betsy cares about her clientele and offers timely, research-tested information to encourage farm success, humane livestock production to meet consumer interest, and agricultural environmental stewardship.”Lawrence’s Achievement Award recognizes excellent service by educators with less than 10 years with Cornell Cooperative Extension. While earning his Masters degree in soil science at Cornell University in 2008, Lawrence published three peer-reviewed journal articles on nitrogen management and manure application methods. He joined CCE Lewis County in 2008.  “Joe is a consummate professional who keeps Lewis County’s, and Northern New York’s, producers up-to-date on the challenges, and the opportunities, related to the production of forage, field, and energy crops. He is excellent at listening to the farmers’ needs and providing them with timely resources presented in an easy-to-implement format,” says Deming. “In just four year’s time, Joe has earned the respect of our regional farmers and his colleagues.”Lawrence was also named among Northern New York’s 20 Under 40 Emerging Leaders by NNY Business magazine in late 2011.

Photo: Northern New York’s new regional field crops educator Paul Peterson (center) talks with dairy owner William Ashline and Cornell Cooperative Extension regional dairy specialist Kimberley Morrill.

Northern New York – The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) associations of Northern New York have announced the addition of Dr. Paul R. Peterson, Ph.D., as regional field crops educator. Peterson comes to Northern NY from his role as the University of Minnesota Extension Forage Agronomist based in St. Paul, MN. He earned his doctorate degree at the University of Minnesota in 1993 and was appointed an extension specialist and associate professor there in 2000. Peterson says, “Prior to my arrival in Northern New York, I was keeping up with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Regional Field Crops Team’s work. A main focus right now, of course, is the true armyworm that is feeding on grass field crops in the region. The main message I am sharing immediately with growers is to check grass crops and corn near grass fields daily or at least every other day as these worms can develop into an ‘army’ quickly.” Peterson has posted an armyworm update on www.ccenny.com. Forage management, particularly helping NNY farmers improve forage-legume persistence in the face of drainage and snout beetle challenges, grass-forage options and utilization grazing are other specific interest areas for Peterson. Peterson will work in four of Northern NY’s six counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence counties.

The CCE associations in Jefferson and Lewis counties each have a field crops educator on staff. Peterson can be reached at CCE Franklin County in Malone at 518-483-7403 and by email to pp428@cornell.edu.

Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.