July 2025 | Vol. 17 Issue 7

Agriculture in the Classroom June Farm Tour Field Trip on June 11-12, 2025

Grill Smart This Summer: Safety Tips for National Grilling Month

July is National Grilling Month, the perfect time to enjoy backyard barbecues, cookouts, and family picnics. But before you throw those burgers and veggies on the grill, make sure you're practicing safe food handling to prevent foodborne illness. According to the USDA, foodborne illnesses peak in the summer due to warmer temperatures and outdoor cooking conditions.

Before you get started, make sure to take some safety precautions to keep yourself and others healthy. Avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw meat, poultry, and seafood away from other foods while shopping and preparing. Keep your meats refrigerated until you’re ready to cook them. Always make sure your hands and surfaces are clean before, during, and after dealing with raw meat. Cook your meat to the proper temperature to kill harmful germs, and refrigerate leftovers to prevent bacterial growth. Now you’re ready to grill safely! Download this Tip Sheet to learn more.

Fire up your next BBQ with these tasty recipes!

Healthy Mexican Street Corn

Grilled Fruit

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Sources:

www.cdc.gov/foodsafety

https://snapedny.org

UC IPM's Urban and Community Webinar Series

July 17, 2025 - Wild World of Wasps!

Wasps are a very diverse group of insects. Some species can be nuisance pests, creating galls on plants and stinging people, but many others are beneficial pollinators and predators of pests, such as aphids. And some wasps are just cool! In this webinar, we will discuss different behaviors of wasps and some of their roles in the ecosystem.  Register here

This series is free and open to the public but advance registration is required. All webinars will be recorded and posted to our YouTube playlist. 

Pasture Walk

Wednesday, August 20th, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: Anthony Marko's Farm - Woodhull, NY

Join us on one of our region's sheep farms to walk their pastures and explore managing sheep in a frequent rotational grazing system. We'll discuss how evasive grazing techniques and frequent rotation leads to better pasture health, greater forage yields, and lighter parasite burdens in sheep and goats. 

We'll also cover:

• Evaluate hay samples and how to read their reports
• Review how to interpret soil samples
• Discuss how soil fertility impacts forage production
• How to use evasive grazing to mitigate parasite pressure

The farm tour will be led by Anthony Marko and conversations on the topics above will be led by Katelyn Miller, Field Crops and Forage Specialist and Amy Barkley, Livestock Specialist with the CCE SWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program.



This event is free to attend

Register by Friday, August 15 by using the link at the top right of this page or by contacting Amy Barkley at amb544@cornell.edu or (716) 640-0844.

Cornell is an equal opportunity employer. For more information visit hr.cornell.edu/eeeo.

For accommodations, please reach out to Amy Barkley at amb544 or (716) 640-0844.

U-Pick Season is upon us and there are so many things to do in the Finger Lakes during summer!

Finger Lakes Farm Country (FLFC) makes it easy to locate farm experiences and farm stays. From family gatherings at a restaurant offering farm-to-table options to various on farm experiences, you can plan a fun daytrip, event, or longer holiday centered around Steuben County Agriculture right from Finger Lakes Farm Country.

Check out the u-pick options throughout our Region - U-Pick Tours. Access to delicious berries, cherries, blueberries, apples and more!

Farm producers and agritourism business owners, don't forget to list your events with FLFC! If you aren't a listed producer/farm and would like to be,

Complete The Participation Form

Or if you have questions about Finger Lakes Farm Country, please contact Kevin Peterson at kpeterson@corningfingerlakes.com or call 607-936-6544.

CCE Steuben Hosts First Outdoor & Agriculture Education Field Day for Local Students

Coopers Plains, NY – On Wednesday, June 4, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Steuben (CCE Steuben) proudly hosted its first Outdoor & Agriculture Education Field Day, bringing hands-on learning and career exploration to over 400 area students in grades 5 through 7. The event, held at the GST BOCES Coopers Plains campus, was organized for students participating in CCE Steuben’s Agriculture in the Classroom program and included attendees from the Addison, Campbell-Savona, and Canisteo-Greenwood school districts.

Designed to ignite curiosity and broaden students’ understanding of outdoor and agricultural careers, the field day featured a wide range of interactive presentations and demonstrations. Students rotated through stations where they learned about animal science, heavy equipment, environmental conservation, emergency services, and more.

“We are thrilled to have brought together such a diverse group of professionals and educators to inspire the next generation of agricultural and environmental leaders,” said Jenny Groen, Youth Development Program Leader at CCE Steuben. “The enthusiasm from both students and presenters was truly energizing.”

CCE Steuben extends a sincere thank you to the station presenters whose support and expertise made the day a success:

• BOCES Programs: Animal Science, Autobody, Criminal Justice, Heavy Equipment
• CCE Steuben: Agriculture in the Classroom, 4-H Shooting Sports
• Community Partners: Steuben County Soil & Water Conservation District, Steuben County Sheriff, Arkport Cycles, NYS DEC Forester, NYS DEC Forest Rangers, NYS DEC Wildlife, Larry Romance & Son, Penn Yan Ambulance, and Peter Marchese

CCE Steuben also thanks GST BOCES for their support including the BOCES Culinary Program who prepared boxed lunch for station presenters.

This inaugural event reflects CCE Steuben’s commitment to experiential learning and connecting classroom knowledge to real-world applications.

Farm Tour Field Trip at Smith’s Stock Farms Sparks Interest in Agricultural Careers

Hornell, NY – On Wednesday, June 11 and Thursday, June 12, 2025, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Steuben County (CCE Steuben) and Smith’s Stock Farms hosted a Farm Tour for Steuben County elementary students participating in the Agriculture in the Classroom program. Across the two-day event, Smith’s Stock Farms saw over 600 local students ranging from kindergarten through fourth grade. This exciting tour through a working dairy farm marks the end of a whole academic year of educational programming in local schools through CCE Steuben’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.

Students stopped at a variety of stations around the farm where they learned how the farm operates and followed the journey of dairy production from calf to dairy product distribution. At each station students were met by a presenter knowledgeable in the field of agriculture. Stops along the tour included the feed barn, the calf barn, the milk room, the mechanic’s shop, the milking parlor, and a tractor ride that took passengers around the property.

Students attending the Farm Tour field trip participated in a variety of activities including interacting with calves in the calf barn, participating in bone strengthening exercises with SNAP-Ed educators, and learning about New York State dairy processing plants with Dairy Farmers of America.

This field trip was organized as part of CCE Steuben’s Agriculture in the Classroom initiative, a program that brings agriculture education to primary through middle school classrooms across the county in an effort to encourage youth interest in agriculture and educate students about the impact of agriculture on their daily lives. Agriculture in the Classroom educators visit area schools throughout the school year with lessons ranging from dairy farming and the fibers found in our clothes to grape cultivation and the life cycle of evergreen trees. This year-long educational program culminates in a visit to a farm, where students get the opportunity to experience firsthand what life on a working dairy farm looks like.

Students and chaperones alike had a fun and educational experience that sparked interest in the agricultural field. “How old do you have to be to work on a farm?” asked one second grade student who was ready to start working with the cows that day.

Presenters from Dairy Farmers of America, Southwest NY Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Team, Steuben County 4-H, SNAP-Ed of Steuben County as well as the family and staff at Smith’s Stock Farms helped to make this two-day program a success. 

Master Gardener Training Classes

The 2025 Master Gardener Volunteer Training Classes have been in progress since April. We've been fortunate to have experienced Master Gardener Volunteers and Community Garden Managers, Stuart Sammis and Ray Long, host in-person classes and tell us more about their community garden volunteer work. Both Stuart and Ray devote a tremendous amount of volunteer hours toward community garden management.

Stuart's work at Jodi's Garden (Corning Community Food Pantry Garden) and Kate Danforth Community Gardens in Corning, NY not only enable the Corning Community Food Pantry to help more people in need each year, but these gardens strengthen the sense of community in Corning as well as provide a healthy environment for garden volunteers and growers to spend their free time.

Likewise, Ray Long, spends much of his time managing the St. Thomas Community Gardens in Bath, NY. The food grown in this garden supports the Red Door Luncheon at St. Thomas Episcopal Church (a program that provides a hot lunch 1 day a week to those in need through the Region), Sunday Suppers, food donations to directly to people in need, as well as another community food pantry.

The important work Ray and Stuart are involved in makes a direct impact on food security in our Region. Both Ray and Stuart are always in need of more volunteers and would be happy to welcome anyone into their garden teams! Please reach out if you are interested.

Youth Gardening Updates

Master Gardener Program Trainees from the 2025 Training Course planned out the Youth Garden during an in-person class to provide the Youth with creative ideas for how to design their own garden plan or layout. One MGV group added a pole bean teepee which the kids decided would be a fun addition to their garden! Plants are currently going in; the kids chose many great vegetables including sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, pole beans, cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, sunflowers, birdhouse gourds, among others. I will post updates throughout the season. If anyone is interested in helping with youth activities such as seed saving, creating birdhouse gourds, pumpkin pie in a bag, using vegetables to make simple foods, and working with the Red Door Luncheon Program to donate and prepare food for the hot lunch program, please reach out!

4H Youth participated in an easter egg garden and beneficial insect scavenger hunt earlier this Spring. During these activities the kids learned about permaculture garden design and why insects are important for our natural healthy ecosystems. The kids made their own insect hotels, learned how to prepare a garden bed and plant wildflower seeds, as well as selected vegetable seeds to take home and prepared a garden at home!

To be involved in the YDP garden activities or any other programs please reach out to Susan Walker, smw272@cornell.edu.

Do you have ideas for starting a Youth or Community Garden somewhere in Steuben County? Contact Susan for assistance!

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