Pre-Registration Deadline: February 15, 2019

EVENT HAS PASSED

Pollinator and Beneficial Insect Conservation Short Course

March 1, 2019


This full day workshop will focus on concepts around protecting and enhancing populations of pollinators and beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes. The course will provide an overview of pollinator and beneficial insect natural history and farm practices that support these populations, such as protecting and creating habitat, modified horticultural practices, and advice on how to manage pests while protecting pollinators.

Introductory topics include the principles of pollinator biology and integrated crop pollination, the economics of insect pollination, basic field identification, and evaluating pollinator and beneficial insect habitat. Advanced modules will cover land management practices for pollinator protection, pollinator habitat restoration, incorporating pollinator conservation into federal conservation programs, selection of plants for pollinator enhancement sites, management of natural landscapes, and financial and technical resources to support these efforts. Throughout the short course these training modules are illustrated by case studies of pollinator conservation efforts across the country.

Registrants will receive the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Toolkit which includes Xerces' book, Attracting Native Pollinators, as well as habitat management guidelines and relevant USDA-NRCS and extension publications.

The content of this course is tailored to the needs of NRCS, SWCD, Cooperative Extension, and state department of agriculture employees, as well as farmers, crop consultants, natural resource specialists, non-governmental conservation organization staff, and producers of bee-pollinated crops.

This short course is hosted by The Xerces Society and was made possible thanks to the support of the New York NRCS and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY. Special thanks to CCE Harvest Urban Agriculture team for providing the venue for this event.

Strategic Workforce Approaches Symposium

May 22, 2019
Wednesday, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Ithaca, NY

Retention. Attraction. Workforce. People. The dairy industry has consistently shared that these factors need to be improved. Our Cornell Dairy team is hosting a Strategic Workforce Approaches Symposium on Wednesday, May 22nd where we will be hearing from industry partners on existing workforce development resources and current strategies that are working for businesses. Featured speakers will include the Manufacturers Association of Central New York; Bruce Krupke, Executive Vice President of Northeast Dairy Foods Association; Dr. Richard Stup, Agriculture Workforce Specialist of Cornell University; and an industry panel, "Navigating Employee Interaction Strategies."

NYS Agricultural Soil Survey

In order to better understand the unique soils used in New York City's urban farms, Cornell Cooperative Extension's urban agriculture program launched the NYC Survey of Agricultural Soils in 2018. After obtaining soil and plant tissue analysis from ten urban farms in NYC, we are expanding the survey in 2019 with the goal of informing best management practices for unique productive urban soils. See our preliminary findings and more information, including a how-to tip sheet for NYC urban farmers on collecting soil samples and getting a soil test.