October 2025 | Vol. 17 Issue 10

Students attending ProAction's Youth Development Program in Bath harvest beans from the garden they planted with help from CCE Steuben!

Join us for Farm Trail Day on Saturday, October 11! The first 30 people at each farm will receive a free Farm Trail Day tote bag. Stop at 4 or more farms to be entered in a drawing for a free basket of local farm goods! See what all the farms have to offer and download your farm passport here!

Join us for dinner, trivia, awards, and our annual dessert auction!

RSVP by 10/31/25!

Optimizing the Economic Return of Pasture-Raised Slow-Growth and Conventional Broilers

October 15, 2025

6pm - 8pm

Location : ZOOM Webinar

Cost: FREE

Over the past three years, Cornell Cooperative Extension has worked with nearly 40 small farmers across NYS to gather information on the true costs of raising broilers (meat chickens) on pasture. This presentation is a summary of the findings of this research project.

We will share:

- Statewide averages and benchmarks for both raising and selling meat chickens

- Common pitfalls when it comes to being profitable

- The performance metrics for Cornish Cross and Slow Growth broilers raised on pasture

- Evidence-based suggestions to improve both performance and profitability

This event is free to attend, but registrations are required using the link at the top of this page. A recording will be available and sent out to all registrants.

For questions, reach out to Amy Barkley at amb544@cornell.edu or 716-640-0844.

Host

Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program

Amy Barkley

716-640-0844

Location:

Hosted in Frank Morrison Hall at Cornell University, located at the intersections of Judd Falls and Tower Roads.

Program Agenda and Hotel information can now be viewed online, https://cals.cornell.edu/pro-livestock/events-programs/sheep-goat-symposium

Contact for more information:

Jessica Waltemyer

NYS Small Ruminant Extension Specialist, PRO-LIVESTOCK, Animal Science

(607) 882-4772

jrk272@cornell.edu

Fecal Egg Count Mobile Workshop

SAVE THE DATE

November 4th

6-8 pm

Location: Steuben County Civil Defense, 7220 NY-54, Bath, NY

This workshop is designed to give sheep and goat farmers hands-on experience to help prepare, evaluate, and interpret fecal samples for parasite eggs.

The lab is 2 hours long, with a half hour devoted to the science behind the process, and an hour and a half devoted to hands-on practice and evaluation.

Stay Tuned for Registration Information.

Host

Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program

Amy Barkley

716-640-0844, amb544@cornell.edu

Visit the Conference Website & Register!

Registration Opens 9/30/25!

Recent Master Gardener Volunteer Led Workshops

Community Composting Workshop in Corning

On Saturday, September 6th Master Gardener Volunteer Claudia Haile led a composting workshop at the Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning. The event was full, with attendees ranging from composting novices to people who have been composting for years. Attendees learned about the basics of composting and gained inspiration for their own composting projects!

Beginners Seed Saving Workshop in Bath

On Monday evening, September 29th, Steuben County Master Gardener Volunteers hosted a seed saving workshop for beginners at the CCE Permaculture Learning Garden in Bath. Attendees were able to learn basic seed saving techniques for annual flower seeds. Those who attended the workshop also left with some seeds to plant in their own gardens next spring.

Useful Links

Check out all of our publications here!

County Enrollment, Subscription, and Support

The Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program with Cornell Cooperative Extension offers educational programming and research based information to agricultural producers, growers, and agribusinesses in the five-county region of Southwestern New York.

Our specialists work with Cornell Faculty and Extension Educators statewide to address the issues that impact the agricultural industry and provide services to farms of all sizes and production techniques. The educational programming and support that we offer ranges from workshops to on-farm events, and includes one-on-one consultations. Our program is designed to meet the rapidly changing needs of our region's diverse agricultural community.

For more information, contact any of the specialists.

Please support CCE Steuben by signing up for their enrollment programs.

Reach out to CCE-Steuben at 607-664-2300 and ask about enrollment.

The enrollment form can be found online, here.

The Cornell Vegetable Program works with Cornell faculty and Extension educators to address the issues that impact the New York vegetable industry. The team offers educational programs and information to growers, processors, and agribusiness professionals in pest management, variety evaluation, cultural practices, market development, and farm food safety.

Cornell Vegetable Program Specialists expertise includes processing vegetables, fresh market vegetables, weed science, soil health, food safety, organic, marketing, greenhouses and high tunnels.

Learn more about the specialists HERE.

To enroll click here.

The Finger Lakes Grape Program (FLGP) is a regional extension program of Cornell Cooperative Extension serving the grape and wine industry of the Finger Lakes.

The staff of the Finger Lakes Grape Program is committed to providing grape growers in the Finger Lakes and beyond with cutting edge, research-based information to help them improve the productivity and sustainability of their vineyards and the quality of the fruit that they produce. We work with researchers and extension staff from Cornell and other institutions to create informative extension materials and programs that help to keep grape growing a viable and profitable industry that enhances the communities of the Finger Lakes and upstate New York.

Learn more about the specialists HERE.

To enroll click here.