‘This is a very serious weed problem.’- Christy Hoepting, Cornell vegetable specialist

Photos by Tom Rivers – Christy Hoepting, a vegetable researcher and specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, holds a sowthistle plant that she dug up from the muck today. The sowthistle grows taller than onions, and the weed has stems that stretch horizontally, competing with onions.

BARRE – The enemy grows tall – and sideways. It blocks light from onion plants and encroaches on their space.

Perennial Sowthistle is a new muck menace and it has onion growers and researchers worried. Growers don’t have herbicides in their arsenal that can kill it without hurting the onions. Some trials are showing some chemical sprays can slow the weed. The only proven way to take out the plants within an onion field is to dig them up. But plucking the weeds could multiply the plants if the underground stems are ripped.

“This is a very serious new weed problem,” said onion researcher Christy Hoepting, a specialist with the Cornell Vegetable Program.

She is working to develop tactics to take out the plant that can tower 4 or 5 feet high. She is starting at the beginning because the powerful weed hasn’t been studied in onion regions outside of New York. Some fields in Oswego and Livingston County also are contending with the problem.

“We’ve seen it before in New York, but this year it has just exploded,” Hoepting said on the muck today.

Onion growers and researchers met today for “donut hour” on the muck, a weekly gathering when they share about challenges and successes in raising the annual onion crop. Pictured, clockwise from bottom left, include: Chuck Barie of CY Farms; Guy Smith of Triple G Farms; Elizabeth Buck, a program assistant with the Cornell Vegetable Program; Courtney Hill, a technician with the Cornell Vegetable Program; and Christy Hoepting, a vegetable specialist for Cornell.

Some crops such as corn are fighters and can compete with weeds for nutrients in the soil. But onions aren’t in that category. Weeds can overpower them, hogging nutrients.

Growers worry the sowthistle will result in smaller yields because of the weed’s suffocating underground stems that can reach 6 feet sideways. Those stems are called rhizones and Hoepting said they have “explosive reproductive capabilities.”

The plant also towers over onions, shielding sunlight that the onions need to grow.

The muck farmers have spent more time hand weeding their fields this year, only to see the sowthistle pop back. The weed is a perennial and it can easily survive a brutal Western New York winter.

Farmers plan to fight the sowthistle once the onions are done. Some of the growers are planning a chemical burn-down of the weed after the harvest. Growers will let the sowthistle grow back until it has enough critical mass to absorb an herbicide that will burn back all the top growth. The herbicide will move underground where it will kill the roots, Hoepting said. Those herbicides will also kill onions, so they must be applied after the onions are harvested.

Hoepting and Cornell researchers also are experimenting with herbicides, varying applications at different stages of the sowthistle’s development to figure out the right strategy to kill the weed within an onion crop and also after harvest.

One grower rotated onions this year from his field in Livingston County. Corn was able to better compete with sowthistle, said Matt Mortellaro who also grows onions on the Elba muck. He doesn’t want to rotate the onions in the Elba muck because they are a high-value crop. But the persistence and strength of the sowthistle may force him to switch to corn.

The Elba muck includes the towns of Barre and Clarendon in Orleans County. Most of the onions are grown in the Orleans part of the muck, where the muck is deeper.

Despite the struggles with the sowthistle, and a very rainy spring, growers say they expect a decent crop this year.

“Early in the year we had wind damage and then all the rain,” said Guy Smith, co-owner of Triple G Farms. “But we’ve had good weather in July and August. It looks like it will be a good year, but we still have a ways to go.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

On Lower Lake Road in Barker, just across the Orleans County line in Niagara County, the corn is looking good at Atwater Farms, a dairy with several grain silos that are rural landmarks.

Courtesy of Farm Credit – Farm Credit East’s 2013 interns include front row, from left: Samantha Graf, Christian Carrion and Kaitlyn Miller of Albion. Back row: Alyssa Guilianelli, Darren Fuller, Gregory Murray, Casey Wells and Ashley Simmons.

Press release, Farm Credit East

BATAVIA – Farm Credit East continues its successful college intern program for college students in 2013 with eight interns focused on careers in agriculture.

The group includes Kaitlyn Miller of Albion, who is working out of Farm Credit’s Batavia office. She formatted all the policies and executive orders for Farm Credit’s EastNet – the organization’s Internet site. She also updated the Young, Beginner and Small Farmer Report that is submitted annually to Farm Credit Administration.

Miller will be returning to St. John Fisher this fall for her senior year. She is the daughter of Richard and Sharon Miller.

The 12-week internship opportunity is offered to college juniors each summer. Interns are placed throughout Farm Credit East branch offices. During the experience, students earn an inside look into Farm Credit East and the various careers available by shadowing employees of all different roles. Each intern also completes a major project, many of which fulfill business plan initiatives. These projects contribute valuable information to be used in reports and future planning.

“Our internship program serves as an excellent recruiting tool to maintain Farm Credit East’s commitment to the Northeast agriculture industry,” said Bill Lipinski, CEO of Farm Credit East. “Our internship advisors work hard to put together a well-rounded experience so that each intern is exposed to agriculture native to that area.”

Besides Miller, this year’s Farm Credit East team of eight interns included: Christian Carrion, Cornell University; Darren Fuller, Hamilton College; Samantha Graf, University of Connecticut; Alyssa Guilianelli, Delaware Valley College; Gregory Murray, Cornell University; Ashley Simmons, SUNY Cobleskill; and Casey Wells, Western New England University.

Farm Credit East is the largest lender to Northeast agriculture. It implements the internship program for individuals working towards degrees in agribusiness, accounting, finance or similar fields.

For more information on the Farm Credit East internship program, please contact Briana Beebe at Briana.Beebe@FarmCreditEast.com.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Apples grow in this orchard in Gaines earlier this week.

Press release, NY Apple Association

FISHERS – New York state apple growers are back, and they mean business – lots more business this year because of a bigger, better crop with more of the varieties consumers love.

That’s the trade report from a conference call of leading apple growers from across the state that was held July 25. The call was hosted by New York Apple Association, which issued a statement today about the impending big crop.

Growers said this year’s crop would be 100 percent or more than their typical crop due to near-perfect growing conditions, and recent new plantings now coming into production.

This year’s harvest is expected to begin on time and proceed on schedule, with the first shipments of apples arriving at market mid-August. Fruit size and sugars should be excellent as growers have enjoyed close to perfect growing conditions this year – strong bloom, good pollination and plenty of sunlight, heat and moisture.

New York state apple shippers will have more supplies of popular varieties including HoneyCrisp, Gala, McIntosh and Empire because of new plantings over the past 5 to 6 years that are now figuratively – and literally – bearing fruit.

“We want retailers to know that we have more than rebounded from last year, thanks to much more benevolent weather and smart growers who’ve been planting more of what consumers want,” said NYAA President Jim Allen, who hosted the grower conference call. “Call your shippers today to start planning your New York state apple promotions.”

Allen noted that harvest bins, packing capacity and storage space are sufficient to allow an orderly progression to market.

NYAA’s grower leaders forecasted the 2013 New York apple crop will easily meet the state’s 5-year average production of 29 million bushels, and recent plantings now coming into production may push that to exceed 30 million bushels. This year’s good-news crop comes after early-season freezes last year decimated much of the state’s crop in the bud. The 2012 crop was estimated at 17.1 million bushels.

Growers are happy this year, and they are certain retailer and consumers will be too.

“Our retailers saw what was possible last year even with a small crop, prices were strong,” said Allen. “The New York apple industry can’t wait to see what we can do together with them this year.”

To build buyer demand for the 2013 crop, NYAA has been advertising all year long to retailers. Taglines have included “from blossom to awesome” and “live from New York!”

Provided photo – Charley London of Albion is the grand champion of the Western Walk Trot.

Press release, Orleans County 4-H Posted

KNOWLESVILLE – About 200 4-H’ers competed in numerous events showing livestock and other animals at the annual 4-H Fair last week.

Click here to see a list of the champion results.

Photos courtesy of Ingrid Lamont – Cornell University and New York Apple Growers LLC today unveiled the names of two new apple varieties in Geneva at Cornell’s Agricultural Experiment Station.

GENEVA – Cornell University and New York Apple Growers LLC have unveiled the names of two new apples that the fruit industry believes will be popular with consumers and profitable for growers.

SnapDragon is a cross between Honeycrisp and NY 752. The new spicy-sweet flavored apple has Honeycrisp’s juiciness and firmness, but doesn’t have that apple’s production problems. Honeycrisp can be vulnerable to seasonal pathogens that cause defects and the apple is tricky to store over winter.

RubyFrost is a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. That new apple will be 95 percent red.

The new varieties are grown on 930 acres in apple-growing regions throughout the state. When the first mature crop hits the market in 2015 there will be about 930,000 bushels of the two varieties combined.

The trees are still young and aren’t yet producing a full crop. But there will be enough to introduce SnapDragon and RubyFrost to the public through farm markets this year.

The New York Apple Growers are working with Cornell’s apple breeding company to make the new varieties exclusive to NY growers. Cornell will receive royalties from tree and fruit sales, and those funds will support the breeding program, helping to fund a pipeline of more new varieties in the future.

SnapDragon and RubyFrost make their debut

SnapDragon has a juicy crispiness.

Press release
Cornell University

GENEVA – After years of development and consumer testing as “NY1” and “NY2” Cornell University and New York Apple Growers have given the hottest new apples in the Empire State names worthy of their unique assets:

SnapDragon and RubyFrost.

The names were revealed this afternoon by Jeff Crist, vice chairman of the NYAG board of directors, at the annual Fruit Field Days at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, where Cornell breeder and Horticulture Professor Susan Brown developed the varieties.

“SnapDragon is a great name for this apple because consumers found its crispy texture and sweet flavor so appealing,” said Mark Russell, an apple grower and NYAG member.

Each new apple has its own logo.

SnapDragon, formerly NY1, gets its juicy crispness from its Honeycrisp parent, and it has a spicy-sweet flavor that was a big hit with taste testers. Russell anticipates it will be a popular apple for snacking, especially for children.

Brown said she recognized its promise and fast-tracked it for commercialization.

“I remember my very first bite of SnapDragon. The taste, the crispness and the juiciness impressed us,” Brown said. “Retailers will appreciate its other qualities as well, because although SnapDragon’s harvest window starts relatively early – in late September – its long storage and shelf life means retailers may be able to offer it with consistent quality for a longer time than Honeycrisp.”

RubyFrost, formerly NY2, which ripens later in the fall and stores well, will provide a boost of vitamin C well into winter. Brown expects it will be popular with fans of Empire and Granny Smith.

RubyFrost apples are juicy with a red skin.

“I think juicy and refreshing when I eat a RubyFrost,” Russell said. “It’s a fascinating apple, with a beautiful skin and a nice sugar-acid balance, but to me the crisp juiciness is rewarding every time.”

The two varieties have been a decade in the making, and how they’ve gone to market is a first for the Cornell apple-breeding program and the New York apple industry.

Historically, public universities developed new apple breeds and released them to the industry freely. But in 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act gave universities the ability to retain the intellectual property rights for their research, with limited plant-based royalties.

In May 2010, Cornell forged a partnership for a managed release with NYAG, a new industry group, to establish an exclusive licensing agreement in North America for the two apple varieties. Growers pay royalties on trees purchased, acreage planted and fruit produced, and the income is used to market the new varieties and support Cornell’s apple-breeding program.

The first trees were planted in farmers’ orchards in 2011, and now 400 acres are growing across the state. According to NYAG, the still-young trees will produce a limited crop this year, but intrepid consumers can search out SnapDragon and RubyFrost at select NYAG farm stands across the state. By 2015, the varieties will be vying for space in grocery stores among the Empires, Galas and Honeycrisps.

Greater quality, better storage, and disease and insect resistance have long been the goals of Cornell’s apple breeding program. In addition to SnapDragon and RubyFrost, Cornell has released 66 apple varieties since the late 1890s, including the popular Cortland, Macoun, Empire and Jonagold. Brown herself has brought consumers the highly popular Fortune and Autumncrisp varieties, as well as 11 cherry varieties.

Growers expect a premium price from new varieties

Photos by Tom Rivers – Roger Lamont, an apple grower and leader of NYAG LLC, holds an apple known as NY 2. The name for the new variety will be announced on Thursday in Geneva at the Agricultural Experiment Station.

ALBION – For about a decade, Roger Lamont has referred to them as NY 1’s and NY 2’s. But on Thursday, he will bury those names forever.

Two new varieties that Lamont has helped nurture from near infancy will be named. Each will have its own logo. Cornell University will make the announcement with a group of growers led by Lamont, who has been farming in Albion for a half century.

The announcement will be made in Geneva at the Agriculture Experiment Station. Lamont said the varieties are important to the future of the state’s $300 million apple industry. Orleans County is the state’s second-leading apple producer behind Wayne County.

New York is the second-ranked apple state in the country, trailing Washington, which is by far the dominant apple producer. Washington grows about 130 million bushels of apples a year, compared to 30 million in NY.

Washington’s output has NY growers looking for an edge in the marketplace.

Roger Lamont believes the new varieties, and more to be developed in the future, are critical for New York’s apple industry.

“We worry about being competitive with Washington because they grow five times what we do,” Lamont said. “These new varieties will be unique to New York.”

Lamont has served as chairman of New York Apple Growers LLC, an organization with about 140 members. They all paid for trees of the new varieties, and NYAG has developed a growing and marketing plan to ensure the new apples hit the marketplace in a coordinated way to ensure enough supply for consumers while growers can still make a good profit.

The new varieties are grown on 930 acres in apple-growing regions throughout the state. When the first mature crop hits the market in 2015 there will be about 930,000 bushels of the two varieties combined.

The trees are still young and aren’t yet producing a full crop. But there will be enough to introduce the varieties to the public through farm markets this year.

The New York Apple Growers are working with Cornell’s apple breeding company to make the new varieties exclusive to NY growers. Cornell will receive royalties from tree and fruit sales, and those funds will support the breeding program, helping to fund a pipeline of more new varieties in the future.

New York 1, whose parents are Honeycrisp and a selection called NY 752, has Honeycrisp’s juiciness but will be easier to grow for fruit farmers.

These will be the first “managed varieties” in NY. Cornell used to develop apples, and they were introduced in a haphazard manner. Growers didn’t work together on planning acreage or developing a marketing initiative for the varieties. That often meant new varieties were slow to catch on with the public. If a new apple proved to be a star, growers might then overproduce the variety, driving down the price.

The new varieties offer the prospect of a premium price. Lamont said growers have been looking for successors to the very popular Honeycrisp variety, which continues to command a high price despite a huge increase in production.

Consumers typically pay $50 to $60 a bushel for Honeycrisp, a very profitable price for growers. Many other varieties barely break even. The two new varieties will be priced at Honeycrisp levels.

Lamont believes both new varieties will be popular with consumers for the taste, and they will also be easier to grow than the finicky Honeycrisp.

Lamont has nurtured two apple varieties for about a decade, giving up land in his orchard to test how well they grow.

Both new apples will be red, although NY 1 will be a bi-color apple and not as red as NY 2.

New York II is a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. The new apple will be 95 percent red.

New York 1 is a cross between Honeycrisp and NY 752. The new spicy-sweet flavored apple has Honeycrisp’s juiciness and firmness, but doesn’t have that apple’s production problems. Honeycrisp can be vulnerable to seasonal pathogens that cause defects and the apple is tricky to store over winter.

New York 2 was developed by crossing Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. It has a sweet and tart flavor.

“It will be a shiny red apple,” Lamont said. “I call it a ruby red.”

He expects they will be a hit with consumers.

“We’re rolling them out as fast as possible,” he said. “If the marketplace demands it, we can always plant more.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Roger Lamont is pleased with the progress of these Honeycrisp apples and others at his fruit farm on Densmore Road in Albion. Lamont and many other growers had a small crop to pick last year.

Last year Orleans County’s leading crop was decimated by a series of spring freezes that killed blossoms on fruit trees.

There were far fewer apples in the fall. Statewide the apple crop totaled 720 million pounds last year compared to 1.22 billion in 2011. The diminished number meant fewer jobs picking fruit, sorting and packing apples in packing houses, and transporting them on delivery trucks.

This year should be a different story. Farmers say they have been blessed with ample rain and lots of sunshine. They should see a full crop that is high in flavor, said Debbie Breth, a fruit specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension. She is based out of the CCE’s office in Knowlesville.

“The quality will definitely be good,” Breth said today. “We’ve had plentiful moisture and the sunshine makes sugar.”

Last year the apple crop was down 41 percent in a $300 million annual industry in New York.

This year’s prolonged cool spring actually has been good for the apple crop, allowing for an extended pollination.

Breth said farmers have had to contend with more pests this year because many farms cut back on the use of sprays last year when they lost their crop. Some of the pests and insects wintered in the orchards and have required more effort to combat this year, she said.

But she is pleased overall with how the trees have rebounded after last year. The crop also is benefitting from a bigger output from many recently planted high-density orchards, she said.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The grain storage facility in Knowlesville along Route 31 is shown during a sunset earlier this week. The county is seeing an increased demand in farmland.

ALBION – Farmers in Orleans County have formally requested that nearly 1,500 acres of land be put in certified agricultural districts, which provide legal protections for farmers to do normal farm practices.

The County Legislature had a public hearing on the land inclusions on Wednesday. The Legislature endorsed the additions, which will now go to the state for its approval.

The county and state provide an opportunity every year for land to be added to an ag district. This year is the biggest increase on an annual basis in many years, county officials said.

They credit an increased demand and value for farmland, driven partly by a big rise in corn and grain prices. The county has the added benefit of an ethanol plant in Medina, which has proven to have an insatiable appetite for corn, using about 20 million bushels a year.

Farmers want to add 1,452 acres to ag districts in Barre, Clarendon, Carlton, Gaines, Murray and Ridgeway.

The size of acreage varies from 0.57 acre owned by Susan Machamer on North State Street Road in Murray to 298.8 acres owned by Gary and Sue Ellen Davy on Ridge Road in Gaines.

The Orleans County Farmland Protection Board endorsed the additions on July 10.

Just because the land is in an ag district that doesn’t mean farmers can do whatever they want with the property.

“You still have to do it correctly and by the rules,” said Barry Flansburg, the Farmland Protection Board chairman.