ONONDAGA COUNTY SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

6680 Onondaga Lake Parkway Liverpool, NY 13088 Phone: 315-457-0325 Fax: 315-457-0410 Email: info@ocswcd.org www.ocswcd.org

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Onondaga County Soi l & Water Conservation Distr ict

Spring 2014 CONSERVATION QUARTERLY Summer 2015

On Saturday, August 8, 2015, the “Conservation Farm of the Year” award was pre-sented to Lawrence Doody & Sons LLC. Ed and Kathy Doody were present to receive the award. The Doodys own and operate a 1,175 acre, 1,000 cow dairy farm in the Town of Otisco, established in 1949. They raise hay, corn and barley to support their dairy herd. In 2000, the Doodys joined the Ag-ricultural Environmental Management program and adopted many best management practices on their farm as part of New York State’s Agricultural Envi-ronmental Management initiative. The farm was recognized for their commitment to erosion control on their cropland in order to protect water quality in the Onondaga Lake watershed.

Onondaga County Soil & Water Conservation District

2015 AWARDS FARM OF THE YEAR

Lawrence Doody & Sons LLC MUNICIPAL PARTNER Department of Transportation

Both awards were presented during the Con-servation Day on the Farm sponsored by the Onon-daga County Soil & Water Conservation District and hosted at Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville during the farm’s annual Blueberry Festival.

The District created a “Municipal Partner” award, giving it to first time recipient, the Onondaga County Department of Transportation. To acknowl-edge the tremendous support between the agencies, the award was presented to Glen Ireland, represent-ing Onondaga County DOT.

Mark Burger, Executive Director, stands with Kathy and Ed Doody. County Legislator and District Board member David Knapp is at right.

On behalf of the County’s Department of Transportation, Glen Ireland accepts the first “Municipal Partner” award.

By Mark Burger, Executive Director

By Mark Burger, Executive Director

The Onondaga County Soil & Water Conser-vation District sponsored its fifth Conservation Day on the Farm, Saturday, August 8th during Blueberry Festival at Abbott Farms in Baldwins-ville. More than 600 visitors attended the event where the District and partners set up displays and exhibits; tractor drawn wagons took visitors around the farm with District staff showcasing the many conservation practices the farm employs. The Abbott Farms’ store was open to sell fresh blueberries and seasonal selections of Pride of New York certified preserves, honey and maple syrup. Other vendors and crafters set up their displays; live music was played throughout the day, all part of the farm’s “agri-tainment”. A blue-berry pancake breakfast and picnic lunch were available all day, prepared and sold by the Future Farmers of America, Tully Chapter (the only re-maining chapter in Onondaga County!).

Other attractions included kid entertainment with a corn pit, bouncy house and slides; a small petting zoo where children enjoyed feeding the goats, chickens, pigs, rabbits and cows. Taylor Grosso, Onondaga County Dairy Princess handed out Byrne Dairy milk, yogurt, ice cream and Cabot cheese. Large modern and antique farm equip-ment was on display from Empire Tractor and Ab-bott Farms, and a seeding demo was done to show modern conservation techniques. Thanks to the Onondaga County Ag Council sponsoring bus transportation and lunch, Helping Hands Urban Farm Garden brought 30 students to participate in Day on the Farm. The students were from Dr. King Elementary School, Danforth Middle School and Mary Nelson’s Youth Center. Plans are underway for the organization to open an urban farm garden this Fall on a half acre in the City of Syracuse where these students will take part in growing the food.

CONSERVATION DAY ON THE FARM

Photos courtesy of Roland Ivers, District volunteer, and Cornell Cooperative Extension, Onondaga Co.

FUN FOR ALL!

EQUIPMENT RENTAL

SPRING REPORT

The Skaneateles Lake Watershed Agricultural Program is a cooperative effort between the Soil & Water Conservation Districts and Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Onondaga, Cortland and Cayuga Counties, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the City of Syracuse, and Skaneateles Lake watershed farmers. Principal funding provided by the City of Syracuse.

Paper is recyclable

Our mission - To carry out a cost-effective, innovative program for the farming community that upholds the high drinking water quality standards of Skaneateles Lake.

The Ag equipment rental program made no-till technology available to farms in the watershed and around Onondaga County again this past spring. The 6-row John Deere 1750 conservation planter was used on 8 farms for about 222 acres. The 10-foot Great Plains 1006 no-till drill worked on 9 farms for over 187 acres. T h e s e units are available for rent each p l a n t i n g season: no-till drill $11/acre & con-s e r v a t i o n planter at $13/acre, on a first come/first served basis to qualified farmers with an 80 hp tractor. A certificate of insurance is required. A deliv-ery/set up fee of $100 (which includes a seed calibration) will be charged.

The no-t i l l dri l l works great for fall seed-ing and plant-ing of cover crops! For more informa-tion on Ag e q u i p m e n t rental, con-t a c t t h e

SLWAP & Onondaga County Soil & Water Conservation District office location at 6680 Onondaga Lake Parkway, Liverpool at (315) 457-0325.

institutional livestock farms in Nigeria. Bob-wealth holds a DVM, MSc, and is concluding a PhD/FCVSN program in Theriogenology at Ahmadu Bello Univer-sity, Zaria. Upon com-pletion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he intends to create a non-governmental or-ganization dedicated to promoting the adoption of reproductive biotech-nologies in animal pro-duction and livestock distribution to rural women and youths. Young African Lead-ers Initiative These young pro-fessionals are partici-pating in The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Lead-ers. This is the new flag-ship program of Presi-

dent Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). President Obama launched YALI in 2010 to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. The Mandela Washington Fellow-ship, which began in 2014, will bring 500 young leaders to the United States each year for academic coursework and leadership training and will create unique opportunities in Africa for Fellows to put new skills to practical use in lead-ing organizations, communities, and countries. On the av-erage, 5,000 people apply for this scholarship. Seventeen leading academic institutions around the United States host these professionals. Locally, Syracuse University was the host. The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the U.S. government and supported in its implementation by IREX. For more infor-mation on President Obama’s Young African Leaders Ini-tiative (YALI), please visit youngafricanleaders.state.gov.

By Eric Jensen, Resource Conservation Specialist

Dennis Birdsall welcomes Drs. Bob-wealth Omontese and Chisanga Mwamba to his beef farm in the Town of Spafford.

Mike McMahon greets Drs. Bob-wealth Omontese and Chisanga Mwamba to his E-Z Acres dairy farm in the Town of Homer.

Planter

No-till Drill

SKANEATELES LAKE WATERSHED AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM

By Mark Burger, Executive Director

Our vision - The Skaneateles Lake watershed will be an environmentally sound region, where a viable agricultural industry and others benefiting from the lake work together harmoniously to improve and maintain a high standard of water quality.

beef farmers to Mr. Birdsall and their dairy farmers to Mr. McMahon to exchange ideas and continue business development in the African countries. A Bit About Our Guests Dr. Chisanga Mwamba is a veterinarian work-ing in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in the Nalolo district of Zambia. She has over four years’ experience in animal health and production at a commercial and small-scale level, with particular interest in traditional farmers. In addition to veteri-

nary services, she focuses on bridging the information gap between farmers and veteri-nary service providers through linkages with the private sec-tor, trainings, and field days to impact change - from tradi-tional ways of livestock rear-ing to commercially-oriented methods and developing a sense of ownership, to govern-ment livestock disease control programs. Chisanga is cur-rently pursuing her Master’s degree in One Health and upon her return, will continue

to focus on development of the livestock sector through initiation and implementation of sustain-able animal health and production programs in rural Zambia, and the promotion and development of pro-grams that encourage women and youth participa-tion. Dr. Bobwealth Omontese has over six years’ experience in animal reproduction research. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer with the ar-tificial insemination unit of the National Animal Production Research Institute at Ahmadu Bello Uni-versity, Shika-Zaria where he focuses on conducting research to improve indigenous livestock reproduc-tion, teaches and supervises students, and offers consultancy services to both private and

NETWORKING WITH YOUNG AFRICAN LEADERS IN THE SKANEATELES LAKE WATERSHED

Overview On July 8 and again on July 27, the Skaneate-les Lake Watershed Agricultural Program (SLWAP) met with Young African Leaders in the watershed to discuss agricultural, conservation, and animal hus-bandry practices common amongst our cooperators. On July 8, Richard Abbott (Public Health Sanitarian for the City of Syracuse Department of Water) and Mike Lynn (Water Plant Manager for the City of Syracuse Department of Water) provided a tour of the Water Plant to 25 attendees, discussed how the water system operates, and showed the atten-dees how the dam is used to regulate water levels in the lake. Mark Burger (Program Manager for the SLWAP) discussed the voluntary participation of the 42 farms in the ag program and how the farmers and staff work to-gether to plan, design, and imple-ment conservation practices on farm land to protect water qual-ity. Information was also shared with the group on the intricate supply and delivery of drinking water to residents and businesses of Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse from the lakes of Otisco, Skaneateles, and Ontario. On July 27, Mark Burger took Drs. Bobwealth Omontese (Nigeria) and Chisanga Mwamba (Zambia) to tour Birdsall Beef Farm in the Town of Spafford and McMahon’s E-Z Acres Dairy Farm in the Town of Homer. The tours helped these leaders learn newer technologies in beef and dairy produc-tion, which they intend to introduce back in their respective countries. Their overall goal is to help im-prove the livestock sector in Nigeria and Zambia as the farmers in these countries will be able to in-crease production by adapting to newer technologies. Drs. Bobwealth and Chisanga intend to link their

The group meets at the ‘gatehouse to begin the tour.

Next page

ASH TREE UPDATE

raiser, move the car wash onto a lawn to absorb the potentially thousands of gallons of soapy wash water. And, it is strongly recommended to make sure that your munici-pality does not have ordi-nances on the books making discharge of pollutants into storm drains illegal. If they do, an alternative is to sell coupons to a local environmentally friendly car-wash facility that has all the required waste wa-ter treatment facilities.)

Source: Terri Bennett, “How to Wash Your Car the Green Way”, The Seattle Times, June 8, 2010.

Every time you wash your car, an average of 80 to 140 gallons of water is used. Carried in this soapy mess are road contaminants such as brake dust, oil, and harsh detergents from the soaps. This soapy concoction flows down your drive-way and into the nearest storm drain where it travels, untreated, into our lakes and streams wreaking havoc on the environment. The simplest solution to protect the environ-ment and water quality is to: 1) move your car from the driveway onto the lawn

or a gravel surface where the car-wash runoff can be absorbed into the ground,

2) utilize phosphorous-free soaps. (If you are having a parking lot car wash fund

ardous are not considered as candidates. The tree’s position in the landscape is also important. For ex-ample, an ash tree that provides shade and aes-thetic value for a picnic area is considered to be of higher value than a tree that is growing along the

edge of forested area, where it will be more easily replaced by natural forest succession. This coming fall and winter, Onondaga County and the District plan to cut about 1,500 ash trees. Ef-forts will be focused on County owned property in the Town of DeWitt, Town of Manlius, and Onondaga Lake Park due to the prox-imity of the known infesta-tions. Purple traps will also be collected after the trees begin to drop their leaves. The District will use specimens collected

from traps to determine which areas of Onondaga County will be prioritized for future preservation treatments and tree removals. The District will also begin replanting a diverse array of non-host species in the spring of 2016 in order to restore can-opy lost to Emerald Ash Borer.

WHERE DO YOU WASH YOUR CAR? By Mark Burger, Executive Director

By Eva Sztechmiler, District Technician With the fall season just around the corner, the District is working to complete ash tree preser-vation treatments for Onondaga County. This year, over 200 ash trees will have been injected with a systemic pesticide, Tree-äge (Emamectin Benzoate) in order to pro-tect them from the Emer-ald Ash Borer. The focus this year was on Onon-daga Lake Park where the vast majority of the trees were located. A small number of trees were also treated at the NBT Bank Stadium and the Rosa-mond Gifford Zoo. Efforts were focused on these parks because of their proximity to known infes-tations. Onondaga County and the District plan to treat more trees in more parks in the coming years. Treatments will need to be repeated about every two years. The treatment process begins with the assess-ment of each individual tree in order to select only high-value ash trees. To be considered a high-value tree, the tree needs to be in good health with no major signs of rot, decay, or dieback. Trees with structural flaws that may be considered haz-

On the left, an ash tree that was not selected for treat-ment due to the severe level of decay observed at the base of the tree. On the right, the Good Dog Park, a popular destination that depends completely on ash trees for shade, these high value trees were selected for preservation.

The Onondaga County Soil & Water Conservation District prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status.

Manure storages of dairy cows bedded with Gypsum: Human and cattle deaths have prompted investigation into what is causing dangerous conditions during otherwise routine manure handling procedures on farms. Find-ings from on-farm monitoring of dairies using gypsum as stall bedding has been found to have highly toxic levels of hydrogen sulfide gas dur-ing manure movement and agitation.

Gypsum is calcium sulfate (CaSO₄·2H₂O) so it provides a source of sulfate, which under an-aerobic conditions can be microbially converted to hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas. Anaerobic conditions (without oxygen) exist in dairy manure slurry within many short-term and most long-term storages. Hydrogen sulfide is heavier-than-air. It therefore settles in low areas such as in pits, near storages, and in the breathing zones of calves and children. When present, H₂S is released in bursts that are dengerous to nearby humans and cattle during manure movement or agitation.

Hydrogen sulfide is immediately dangerous to life and health above 100 ppm. Lower concentrations of 10 to 20 ppm can be tolerated for periods of time, such as a part of a workday. Hydrogen sulfide gas has a familiar “rotten egg” odor to a healthy human nose. Unfortunately, this distinctive odor goes undetected at dangerous levels or after extensive exposure.

SAFETY RISK FROM MANURE STORAGES (Source: Penn State College of Agricultural Science)

Because of this, instruments are needed to detect concentrations to avoid dangerous conditions.

P o r t a b l e g a s instruments detect and indicate hazardous situations. Audible, vibration, and visual alarms are set to alert the user of dangerous gas concentrations that are not otherwise detectable. It is recommended that farm operators working around manure storages with gypsum bedding wear a hydrogen sulfide personal gas monitor. Single gas monitors are about the size of a cell phone and cost under $350. Units can provide multi-year battery life, display of gas level, and a second backup sensor. For professinal dairy manure haulers a four-gas monitor offers additional safety from methane, low oxygen level in a confined space, carbon monoxide (exhaust) from equipment operation, in addition to hydrogen sulfide protection for gypsum-using farms.

Most volunteer fire departments are stocked with these gas monitors. At right is a Tango TX-1 single gas monitor, made by the Industrial Scientific Corporation. They can be purchased at Grainger Industrial Supply stores across the State. Visit their website at www.grainger.com

Dangerous conditions can exist us-ing Gypsum for animal bedding.

Announcing a Cover Crop Workshop for Small Organic Vegetable Growers October 16, 2015 - Lunch available for $10.00

To register: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=fzz4ttqab&oeidk=a07ebazbqlv59c0ed3d For more information contact: paul.salon@ny.usda.gov or call him at 607-562-8404. Sponsored by the USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Program, Cornell Co-operative Extension, and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD) The USDA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Directions to Big Flats Plant Material Center 3266-A State Route 352 Corning, NY 14830 Take Route 17 (I 86) to Exit 48 (East Corning/Route 352). Follow Route 352 east for 1.5 miles. The en-trance is on the left. You can visit the Plant Materi-als Program website at: http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/ Plant Solutions for Conser-vation Needs. This is a field tour let us know if you have special needs.

Tango TX-1

Courtesy of Doug Fisher, Program Manager

ONONDAGA COUNTY SOIL & WATER

CONSERVATION DISTRICT Board of Directors: F. Spencer Givens III, Chair, At-Large Representative Craig Dennis, Vice-Chair, Practical Farm Representative Annette Raus - Farm Bureau Representative Wayne Norris, Treasurer, Grange Representative Vacant, At-Large Representative David Knapp, County Legislator - 12th District Derek Shepard, Jr., County Legislator - 13th District Staff: Mark Burger, Executive Director Maggie Connelly, Secretary Gwyn Olenych, Account Clerk II Doug Fisher, Program Manager Alan Masters, Resource Conservation Specialist Jeremiah Eaton, Resource Conservation Specialist Aaron Buchta, Resource Conservation Specialist Eric Renfer, Resource Conservation Specialist Eva Sztechmiler, District Conservation Technician Nick Bobbett, Seasonal Aide Roland Ivers, Volunteer Phone: 315-457-0325 Fax: 315-457-0410 E-mail: info@ocswcd.org Website: www.ocswcd.org

SKANEATELES LAKE WATERSHED AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM

Watershed Agricultural Program Review Committee (WAPRC) Mike McMahon, Chair, Cortland Co. Steve Nemec, Vice Chair, Cayuga Co. Rich Abbott, City of Syracuse Jim Greenfield, Onondaga Co. Ed Tidd, Onondaga Co. Eric Brayman, Onondaga Co. David Perry, Cortland Co. Gaelen Head, Cayuga Co. Dale Kehoe, Counsel Staff: Mark Burger, Program Manager Ryan Cunningham, Design & Implementation Eric Jensen, Farm & Nutrient Mgmt Planner Phone: 315-457-0325 Fax: 315-457-0410 E-mail: slwap@ocswcd.org Website: www.ocswcd.org

COVER CROP SUCCESS STORY

At the District, we typically promote cover crops as a way to reduce soil erosion or scavenge nutrients to pre-vent nutrient loss to the environment. I was glad to have the opportunity to follow up with Dan Palladino of Pal-ladino Farms, in Pompey, on the impact his cover crop mix had on the next year’s crop. Dan planted a mix of clo-ver, tillage radish, and cereal rye on grain fields last Au-gust after applying manure with costs partially offset through District funding provided by the EPA. A year later, Dan said that corn, grain and soy fields with the cover crop had significant yield increases compared to ad-

jacent fields with no cover crop. Field nutrient in-puts and tillage remained the same, and soil types on these fields are the same. At around $60 per acre, it is expensive and time intensive to estab-lish the cover crop, but the increased yields means more bushels per acre and less money spent on fertilizer to produce a bumper crop. The daikon “tillage” radish has a deep taproot which breaks up compaction in the soil and scavenges for nutrients deep in the pro-file. The addition of clover fixes more nitrogen to the soil, and the rye also scavenges nutrients and reduces soil erosion. The

combination of these factors surely helped provide addi-tional nutrients and better soil for the following corn and soy. The District is always looking for new participants for cover crop projects, and several opportunities through state and federal funding are available. If you’re inter-ested in trying cover crops, whether for the first time or a new mix, don’t hesitate to contact Aaron Buchta at (315) 457-0325 to start the process of planning cover crops for your fields.

Conventional soy field without cover crops.

An adjacent field received clover-radish-rye cover crop in 2014.

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH THE OFFICE AFTER HOURS DUE TO A FARM EMERGENCY, PLEASE CALL MARK BURGER, DISTRICT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON HIS CELL PHONE (315) 415-5057.

By Aaron Buchta, Resource Conservation Specialist