Organic
The USDA organic regulations recognize four categories of organic products: crops, defined as a plant that is grown to be harvested as food, livestock feed, fiber, or used to add nutrients to the field. Livestock defined as animals that can be used for food or in the production of food, fiber, or feed. Processed Products defined as items that have been handled and packaged (i.e. chopped carrots) or combined, processed, and packaged (i.e. soup). Wild Crops defined as plants from a growing site that is not cultivated. In the Northern New York Region there are 89 organic dairy farms. Please see the links below for more information on organic operations and certifications and should you have further questions, contact a member of the regional team. ORGANIC CATEGORIES
General Information from the USDA on Organic
Kelsey O'Shea, Agriculture Business Development
North Country Regional Ag Team
Last Modified: May 31, 2016
List of Organic Certifiers by State
Kelsey O'Shea, Agriculture Business Development
North Country Regional Ag Team
Last Modified: May 31, 2016
Northeast Organic Farming Association
Kelsey O'Shea, Agriculture Business Development
North Country Regional Ag Team
Last Modified: May 31, 2016
NY Ag and Markets
Kelsey O'Shea, Agriculture Business Development
North Country Regional Ag Team
Last Modified: May 31, 2016
Cornell NY Organic Dairy Program's resource page
Last Modified: April 21, 2016
IPM for Organic Dairies
Ron Kuck, Livestock Specialist
North Country Regional Ag Team
Last Modified: April 20, 2016
USDA Guide for Organic Crop Producers
Bill Verbeten, Field Crops
Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
Last Modified: February 12, 2015
Thinking about transitioning some acres to organic production? Already an organic crop farmer and need to review some information? Check out the USDA Guide for Organic Crop Producers in the PDF below.
Dairy
Business
Livestock
Forages
Grains
Upcoming Events
Pasture Walk and Grazing Program
June 14, 2022
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Hidden Hill Ranch
2081 Thayer Hill Rd
Boonville, NY
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Zufall Farm 20 Campbell Rd Lisbon, NY
Robotic Milking System Farm Tour
July 11, 2022
Belleville, NY
This program is applicable to any dairy farmers who are interested in learning more about robotic milking systems or who already have robots. Doubledale recently built a new facility with 8 Lely robots, while Gehrkes retrofitted an existing facility to install 1 DeLaval robot. Come tour two unique farms, enjoy lunch, socialize with other farms, and learn from each other.
Dairy Cattle Handling and Safety Program for Farm Workers
July 25, 2022
Champlain , NY
This program is applicable to any current (or prospective) farm workers that currently work with (or aspire to work with) dairy cattle. This on-farm program will focus on cattle behavior, flight zone, good handling practices, risks and hazards when handling cattle, and it will include a hands-on portion.
Announcements
Looking to add land to an existing NYS Certified Agricultural District
Annual Thirty Day Period for Landowners to Request Additions of Viable Agricultural Land to Existing Agricultural Districts
The Jefferson County Board of Legislators has set June 1st through June 30th of each year for the purpose accepting requests to add predominantly viable agricultural land to an existing NYS Certified Agricultural District in the County.
Viable agricultural land: actively farmed as well as land that is highly suitable for agricultural production.
A parcel of land is "predominantly" viable if a minimum of 51% of the parcel is viable agricultural land.
The purpose of NYS Certified Agricultural Districts is to encourage the continued use of farmland for agricultural production. The Agricultural District Program is based on a combination of landowner incentives and protections, all of which are designed to forestall the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses.
Landowners who wish to submit a request to add land to an existing NYS Certified Agricultural District may download the form from the Jefferson County Department of Planning web page under NYS Certified Agricultural Districts, or you may call the Jefferson County Department of Planning, (315) 785-3144 and ask for the 2022 Agricultural Annual Inclusion Form.
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly across the world.
Although cities have the most sick people, the disease has reached rural communities of New York as well. Everyone needs to take this very seriously. Agriculture is an essential business, so many of us will continue to go to work. However, we all need to take precautions to stay safe and help prevent further spread of the disease. The key things to do are limit contact with other people and keep everything very clean. We've prepared a new resource to help Spanish- and English-speaking farm employees access credible, multi-lingual information that they can use right away. Here are this links to a printable resource for farms to use:English COVID 19 Procedures
Spanish COVID 19 Procedures
To see a full list of other relevant resources, click here.
How to Manage COVID-19 Risk on Dairy Farms
Straightforward helpful steps to manage risk on dairy farms! We are happy to help talk farms through these steps and develop risk management plans for protecting owners and team members. Reach out to Kelsey O'Shea via email kio3@cornell.edu for more information.