Upcoming Crop Field Days!

Join us for two upcoming events looking at cropping systems in Addison and Rutland County.

 

  • August 26th 11 am – 2 pm:

    Corn Variety Trial Demonstration. We will be looking at a whole series of corn silage varieties planted side-by-side to examine development and potential for earlier harvest for better establishment ofCorn a cover crop. We will also have time after lunch to see other cover crop/no-till fields. This event is FREE and THERE WILL BE A CATERED LUNCH. Yes, you read that right, free catered lunch! So grab your farm friends and get excited (hopefully) for short(er) season corn. More information can be found on our flyer: Corn Trial Field Day 8-26-16, or by contacting Kirsten Workman [kirsten.workman@uvm.edu, 802-388-4969 x 347]. Vorsteveld Farm, 3925 Panton Rd. Panton, VT

    Special thanks to Crop Production Services for providing lunch.

  • August 30th, 12 – 2 pm:

    Crop Patrol in the Southern Champlain Valley. Join us CropPatroland the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition as we ‘tour’ neighboring fields to look at no-till corn, alfalfa and annual ryegrass. The event will begin at Dorset Peak Jerseys, in Danby, VT – 468 Danby Mt. Rd. More information can be found on our flyer: crop patrol 8-30-16, or by contacting Rico Balzano [rico.balzano@uvm.edu, 802-388-4969 x 338]. This event is free.

 

 

University of Vermont Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status. To request a disability related accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Karen Gallott at (802) 388-4969 or 1-800-956-1125 (toll-free in Vt. only) by August 22, 2016 (first event) and August 27, 2016 (second event).

Join Us At Addison County Fair & Field Days! And…. bring your submission to our crops exhibit!

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Hey Folks, Addison County Fair and Field Days is coming up August 9 – 13th and we are looking forward to your entries. Help us show and tell the general public about the crops you grow and use your prize winnings on fair treats for the family!
 2016 ADDISON COUNTY FAIR & FIELD DAYS
Bring in your crop entries:

Monday, August 8, 2016 – 8 AM to 12 noon

FIELD CROPS ENTRY RULES
  1. A farm may have only one (1) entry in each class. All entries must be produced on the exhibitor’s farm.
  2. Bring exhibits to the 4-H Exhibit Building on Monday, August 8th between 8:00 AM and 12:00 noon-This is the only time to enter!
  3. Entries must be tagged using Field Days’ tags: grower name, farm name, address, class, & variety.
  4. Entries will be judged and awarded ribbons as follows: Excellent – Blue;   Good – Red;  Fair – White;
Rosettes for Best of Class and Best of Show.
  1. Premiums paid:          Blue – $15             Red – $10              White – $5
Best of Each Class – $25     Overall Best of Show – $50
CROP CLASSES
1.   Corn Plants – 3 whole plants with roots intact
2.   Soybean – 5 whole plants with roots intact
3.   Cereal Grains-Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye – bundle
4.   Corn Silage – 1 Quart Jar
5.   Snaplage or ground ear corn – 1 Quart Jar
6.   Grass Haylage – 1 Quart Jar
7.   Legume Haylage- 1 Quart Jar
8.   Dry Hay-Legume – 1 Slice of a Bale
9.   Dry Hay-Grass- 1 Slice of a Bale
10. Dry Hay-Mixed legume/grass – 1 Slice of a Bale
11. Wrapped Baleage Hay – 1 Gallon zip-lock bag
12. Corn Grain Whole – 1 Quart Jar
13. Corn Grain Ground- 1 Quart Jar
14. Soybean Grain Whole – 1 Quart Jar
15. Cereal Grain Whole – 1 Quart Jar
16. OTHER Pulse OR Brassuca Seed Whole- 1 Quart Jar
Addison County Fair Website: http://www.addisoncountyfielddays.com/
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Integrating Irrigation Into Your Grazing System: Thursday August 4, 2016

Hescock Cows

Joe and Kathleen Hescock’s Elysian Fields has been certified organic since 1998, where they currently manage 225 milking cows on pasture. This workshop will look at how they have recently integrated a traveling gun irrigation system into their grazing program. We will discuss the impacts of installing pasture irrigation with opportunities to maximize dry matter yields, shorten recovery periods and increase the number of rotations.

When: Thursday August 4, 2016 at 12:30pm to 2:30pm
Where: Elysian Fields, 3658 Route 74W, Shoreham, VT
Cost: $10 for farmers, $20 all others
Register: At the NOFA VT Events Page

This workshop is part of the Summer Organic Dairy Series put on by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) and UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program and the Champlain Valley Crop, Soil and Pasture Program.

Aeration Tillage & Precision Ag Field Day: Tuesday August 2, 2016

Aeration Tillage

The Champlain Valley Crop, Soils, and Pasture Team will lead a hands-on discussion of benefits and challenges of aeration tillage on hay ground. We will examine:

  • Compaction relief
  • Manure incorporation
  • Potential drawbacks

Results from a 2-year SARE research project studying the aeration of permanent hay land will be presented and discussed. Additionally, GPS guidance assist will be discussed as a way to make aeration tillage more efficient.

When: Tuesday August 2, 2016 at 10am – 12pm
Where: Doug Gould Farm – 2072 Nortontown Rd., Addison VT
RSVP: Rico Balzano-(802)-388-4969 ext 338 or or rico.balzano@uvm.edu
Download the Flyer

Special thanks to Doug Gould.

University of Vermont Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status. To request a disability related accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Karen Gallott at (802) 388-4969 or 1-800-956-1125 (toll-free in Vt. only) by July 28, 2016.

In the News and Around the Town

Lately we’ve been busy bees (particularly Kirsten Workman!) and have found ourselves on Across the Fence as well as NPR.  Here are some links where you can see and hear more about what we are up to!

http://digital.vpr.net/post/farmers-embrace-cover-crops-improve-soil-reduce-runoff#stream/0

http://digital.vpr.net/post/no-till-tell-all#stream/0

 

 

 

 

Conservation Work Highlighted

“These changes have resulted in the reduction of soil and nutrient runoff from more than 27,763 acres of cropland and livestock production facilities. When including practices implemented since 2011, that number grows to an impressive 86,382 acres.”  140 Farms Reduced Their Nutrient Runoff – just in the past year.  How Did They Do It?

  • Nutrient Management Plans: 12,311 acres
  • Manure Management: 2,255 acres
  • Conservation Mulch Tillage: 1,547 Acres
  • Cover Crops: 8,590 Acres
  • No-Till Planting: 3,060 Acres

Read more in the latest Extension Quarterly Newsletter:

Quarterly

 

Grazing School Coming To Pawlet

Cheryl Cesario has coordinated a ‘Grazing School’ event to be held Wednesday June 22nd, 2016.

Sarah Flack, a prominent grazing consultant in our area will lead a discussion at both Consider Bardwell and Wayward Goose Farms. There will be something for everyone and Sarah can tailor the conversation to the grazing level of the participants.

Topics covered will include:

  • Management Intensive Grazing (Intensive Discussion!)
  • Multi-Species Grazing
  • Small Scale Cheese Production Business Model
  • Animal Welfare Approved Certification

More Information Can Be Found Below:

CBF kidCBF Goat pasturegallery-cows2x

2016 No-Till and Cover Crop Symposium

Our 3rd Annual No-Till & Cover Crops Symposium:

Our symposium has come and gone but you can find information about it below, including proceedings, links and presentations.

See you next February! Thank you to all our speakers and participants for a great symposium!

Please respect primary authorship of presentations and research.

NTCC2016

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Check out our proceedings, full of useful information from our speakers.

–> NTCC Proceedings_2016

 Guest Speakers:

  • John Kemmeren, a NY dairymen with 40 years of no-till experience on his 200 head dairy farm. He will share successes and challenges of no-till and cover cropping.
  • Dr. Kevin Bradley, associate professor and extension weed scientist at the University of Missouri. He will share his perspectives on how cover crops, herbicides, and good weed control can work in a no-till system.

More information about Dr. Bradley’s research can be found at:  http://plantsci.missouri.edu/faculty/bradley.cfm  and   http://weedscience.missouri.edu/

  • Odette Menard, a soil conservation honoree and employee in Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture will share her insight into helping farmers identify strategies to build soil health, increase yields, improve economics, and reduce erosion.

Other speakers and facilitators from UVM Extension:

As with previous years, we will also have a great panel discussion:
* Mark Anderson, Land View Farms * Kevin Kocsak, Salem Farm Supply *Larry Gervais, Gervais Family Farm * Brad Thomas, Jillian Holsteins *

The UVM Extension’s Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team & the Northwest Crops & Soils Program invited all farmers and technical advisers to attend this event dedicated to No-Till and Cover Cropping systems for field crop growers in our area.

NTCC2016B

Thank You to Our Sponsors!!!

Platinum Sponsor:

mansfield_LOGO_2000

____________________________________________

Gold Sponsors:

Caring Dairy

Champlain Valley Equipment

____________________________________________

Silver Sponsors:

CVFC_color_round_cropped matts trucking

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____________________________________________

Bronze Sponsors:

mview_new logoJBI Heli_logo

Scott Magnan’s Custom Service

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Thank You to Our Other Supporting Organizations:

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                                   Conservation Innovation Grant

USDA NIFA LogoUSDA NRCS

SARE_Northeast_CMYK

VAAFM

UVM EXT

3rd Annual No-Till and Cover Crop Symposium

NTCC2016Join Us For This Great Event Full of Useful Information For Your Farm!

February 17th at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, Burlington, VT

Registration is now open for this event. We have a day filled with guest speakers and professionals from around the state, country and also Quebec. Speakers will be addressing soil health, herbicides, cover crop research and demonstration trials, no-till successes and challenges, economics and soil conservation.

All the information about this event can be found on our 2016 Symposium Page.

You can register online here.

To view the pdf brochure of the event: NTCC Brochure 2016

We are still accepting sponsors! 2016 Sponsor and Exhibitor Form

Questions? Feel free to contact us! [802-388-4969, cvcrops@uvm.edu]

December 2015 Pasture Workshop

Irrigation and Tile Drainage: Tools For Pasture Productivity

When: Friday, December 4, 2015  10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where: Bridport Community Hall, 52 Middle Rd, Bridport, VT

Cost: $20

More Information –> download our pdf: Irrigation and Tile with Pasture Flyer

Register Online By December 1st ——> www.regonline.com/irrigationonpasture

It often seems we either have too much water or not enough. We will be discussing how water management fits into pasture productivity. Irrigation specialist Jim Peeler of Charles W. Harris Irrigation will start the day with a session on design and implementation considerations, while farmers Tyler Webb and Earl Fournier will talk about how it has worked on their farms. Eric Young from the Miner Institute in Chazy, NY will update us on research in tile drainage systems for optimizing nutrient retention. This workshop will specifically be focused on how these topics apply to pastures, but we are also happy to have other farmers interested in these concepts attend.

Registration Questions? Contact Karen Gallott [802-388-4969 x 330, karen.gallott@uvm.edu]

Questions about the Topic? Contact Cheryl Cesario [802-388-4969 x 346, cheryl.cesario@uvm.edu]

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