Cornell Climate Stewards

ITHACA, N.Y. – New York farmers coping with extreme weather and climate variability now have a new resource at their disposal: Cornell University’s Climate Smart Farming Extension Team. Organized by Cornell University’s Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture (CICCA), in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), the cross-state team will provide growers with assistance and access to the latest in management practices that improve farm resiliency.

“The Climate Smart Farming Team pulls together top farm specialists from Cornell and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) to provide new research and decision-making tools that can help farmers reduce the risks climate change presents to their operations,” says Dr. Allison Chatrchyan, CICCA director.

“We will offer solid research-based information on climate change that farmers can use to manage risks to their farms and to take advantage of new opportunities. Our ultimate goal is to strengthen New York agriculture’s capacity to face a changing climate.”

Quicker access to new research findings will come through new extension materials, increased outreach efforts, guidance and training programs, Chatrchyan said.

“The pilot team is the first in the nation devoted to climate change resiliency, and can serve as a model for extension across the United States,” said Chris Watkins, Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension. “The specialists on the team cover many key sectors in New York agriculture, and many regions of the state, from western and northern New York, to the Hudson Valley, helping it reach a broad audience of farmers.”

The line-up of extension team members includes a diverse group of agriculture specialists from around the state. Expertise on the Cornell campus will come from Dr. Toby Ault, assistant professor and expert on climate change modeling and seasonal forecasts; Dr. Art DeGaetano, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, and expert on climate data and decision tools; Deb Grantham, senior extension associate in the soil and crop sciences section, and CCE administration; Dr. Mike Hoffmann, professor of entomology and Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Science associate dean; Dr. Dave Wolfe, professor of horticulture and climate change expert; Chatrchyan, and other faculty.

Experts located throughout New York’s counties include: Luke Haggerty, viticulture extension specialist; Laura McDermott, extension small fruits specialist; Dr. Kim Morrill, regional dairy specialist; Dr. Kitty O’Neil, regional field crops and soil specialist; Dr. Darcy Telenko, extension vegetable specialist; and Bob Weybright, a specialist in agricultural marketing and development.

Initial support for the team is being provided by CICCA through a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Smith Lever extension project, a NIFA Hatch project for the research components, and through funding from the New World Foundation.

CICCA was established in 2013 through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to address the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture in the Northeast as aresult of extreme weather and long-term climate change. Cornell Cooperative Extension puts knowledge to work in pursuit of economic vitality, ecological sustainability and social well-being.

Floods, droughts, pests and pathogens were among the weighty topics considered at the New York State Capitol on Tuesday.

In the middle of a busy legislative session day, Sen. Tom O’Mara and Assembly member Steve Englebright, chairs of the Senate and Assembly environmental conservation committees, hosted a Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences educational forum designed to provide insight into how extreme weather variations are impacting New York’s farm community. O’Mara and Englebright opened the forum, which also saw attendance by Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Bill Magee, Assembly members Barbara Lifton and Cliff Crouch – along with a packed house of legislative and executive staff, and agricultural and environmental stakeholders.

Assistant Professor Toby Ault from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences entertained and sobered the crowd by explaining radiant heat. Taking a page from famous Cornell alum Bill Nye the Science Guy, Ault walked attendees through a demonstration of radiant heat with an infrared camera, a metal globe and a blowtorch. Explaining how greenhouse gases interact with earth’s surface for good and for bad, Ault pointed out the extremes in weather fluctuations have become far greater over time, how his recent work has predicted a megadrought in the US Southwest, and that over time the United States will become progressively drier.

Horticulture Professor David Wolfe, a contributing author to the 2011 New York State ClimAID report, told the audience how increased “growing degree days,” changes in plant hardiness zones and fluctuations in extreme rainfall events are hitting New York’s farmers. With ecosystems changing as direct result of changing weather patterns and more extreme weather events, farmers will face greater challenges in dealing with invasive species, increased overwintering pests, early warming and unseasonable frost events, intensified rainfall and difficulty in predicting what types of crops to plant.  Wolfe emphasized the need to focus resources towards Cornell’s New York State Integrated Pest Management program, noting the prevalence of new and different pests will bring more challenges to farmers that should be met with by environmentally sensitive strategies for control.

California farmers have faced severe hardships weathering the impacts of a four-year drought, and Entomology Professor Mike Hoffmann, associate dean of CALS and director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, showcased recent research documenting the price increases for consumers nationally as a result of California’s difficult drought and farm economy. Hoffman said price increases, but also an inability to grow certain crops such as red wine grapes and other water-thirsty varieties may create a demand for farmers in New York and the Northeast to supply more fresh market fruits and vegetables.

Allison Chatrchyan, the director the Cornell Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture, spoke about farmer adaptation and mitigation needs for the future. Citing a yet-to-be-published poll that found that 82 percent of New York’s farmers believe that climate change is occurring, Chatrchyan’s work has found that farmers are already facing losses from severe weather events. Chatrchyan said the institute is working to create a set of online decision-making tools for New York farmers to better understand and minimize their risk. Using historical data and climate modeling, tools such as a frost free calculator, a growing-degree yield prediction tool, and eventually a carbon-assessment tool will give farmers in New York specific data by which to make better farming decisions.

Climate Change‬ and agriculture experts presented a forum in Albany on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 to bring their research to lawmakers and staff in order to help inform potential policy. Pictured are (L-R): Professor Mike Hoffmann, director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station; Allison Chatrchyan, director of the Cornell Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture; David Wolfe, Horticulture professor and co-author of New York’s ClimAID report. New York State Sen. Tom O’Mara; Toby Ault, assistant professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science; and Julie Suarez, associate dean of government and community relations for CALS.

When: Wednesday, April 8, 6:00 – 8:30 pm (dinner 6-7, dialogue 7-8:30 pm)

 Where: The Space @ Greenstar, 700 West Buffalo Street

 What: Supper (light fare), panel discussion and broader dialogue between farmers and eaters in the Finger Lakes region and Malawi about how we can build an ecological, resilient and just food system.

Join us in a discussion with farmers from the Finger Lakes region as well as Malawi, Africa about how we can build a more ecological, socially just and resilient food system. Farmers who use agroecological methods in the Finger Lakes region – Maryrose Livingston (Northland Sheep Dairy and Northeast Organic Farmers Association NY President), Thor Oeschner (Oeschner Farm, Farmer Ground Mill), Karma and Michael Glos (Kingbird Farm) and others will join farmers from Malawi who are part of the Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology project. In addition we will have two academic voices – Dr. Allison Chatrychan, the Director of the Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture, and Dr. Willard Magalasi, a Professor in Humanities at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. Dr. Rachel Bezner Kerr (Cornell University, Director of the Malawi project) will facilitate the discussion.

Sponsored by: Department of Development Sociology, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, the Cornell Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture and St. Paul’s Methodist Church. Contact Rachel Bezner-Kerr for more information at: rbeznerkerr@cornell.edu.

 

Norman Uphoff, professor emeritus of government and former director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), who has been working with System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for over 20 years, accepted the international Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security during the third Global Science Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture March 16, 2015 in Montpellier, France.

SRI is an agro-ecological method of growing rice that enhances crop yields and climate change resiliency.  SRI has been awarded this prize for its impact on the availability, affordability, accessibility and adequacy of food. The Olam Prize provides $50,000 to support further SRI research.

Read the full story in the Cornell Chronicle.