Yes, indeed.  Vermonters do enjoy a uniquely beautiful fall season, and farmers know best of all that this harvest season can be a wonderful time to be out harvesting crops and enjoying the natural world.  Please enjoy this poem by James Whitcomb Riley.  You'd think he was a Vermonter by this poem, but alas he is from Indiana.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. University of Vermont Extension, Burlington, Vermont. 

 

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University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.

 

No-Till Success in 2014 

by Rico Balzano

 

 

Jillian Holsteins

Brad Thomas, Orwell VT

Soils: Vergennes (moderately well drained clay)

Yield: 17.7 tons/ac.

Planter: Kinze set up for no-till (spiked closing wheels)

Notes: Planted into killed sod after first cut (haylage yield: 5 t/ac.)

 

Dorset Peak Jerseys

Caleb Smith, Danby VT

Soils: Copake, Dutchess, Warwick-Quonset (well drained to excessively drained silt loams and sandy loams)

Yield: 20 tons/ac.

Planter: White 8000 set up for no-till(front coulter and row cleaners, Thompson closing wheels.)

Notes: Second year no-till corn (killed sod in 2013)

 

Deer Valley Farm

Ray Brands, Ferrisburgh VT

Soils: Covington (poorly drained silty clay)

Yield: 20 tons/ac.

Planter: White 8000 set up for no-till(row cleaners, Thompson closing wheels.)

Notes: planted into winterkill covercrops (radish, oats, peas)

 

    

CVFC Holds Water Quality meeting for Farmers and Legislative Candidates

By Jeff Carter, UVM Extension

 

Vermont agriculture and water quality in Lake Champlain will be a prominent issue in Montpelier this year as new legislation is expected to be passed in the upcoming 2015 session. Farmers need to be better informed about how reductions in Phosphorus pollution can be implemented so they can have profitable farm businesses and a strong agricultural industry. Legislative candidates and policy makers need to understand the complexities of agriculture so they make wise decisions in developing policy that meets goals of cleaning up Lake Champlain while maintaining a strong agricultural working landscape in Vermont. The Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition (CVFC) was formed by a group of local farmers in the Lake Champlain watershed to help inform farmers, non-farmers and policy makers about the things that farmers can and will do to clean up water quality in the lake. The UVM Extension Crop Team in Middlebury supports the work of the Farmer Coalition to demonstrate their commitment to clean water and strong farm businesses.

 

The Farmer Coalition and UVM Extension conducted a meeting in Charlotte where farmers and legislative candidates met to help each other understand the issues better. Eric Clifford welcomed about 50 people who came for the discussions. Buzz Hoerr, Chair of the Lake Champlain Basin Program Education and Outreach committee opened with comments about action that will be needed to make significant changes to improve the condition of the lake. Mike Winslow, Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) staff scientist provided the background of where the phosphorus problems are coming from and where the greatest results can be had in reducing the amount of P going into the lake. Julie Moore, Stone Environmental group leader and Chair of the Lake Champlain Citizens Advisory Committee for the Lake Champlain Basin Program showed results from the work they have done to map out specific critical source areas within specific sub-watersheds, right down to the farm field level. Jeff Carter outlined the opportunities that are being initiated by Vermont Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as a result of the $45M that will be focused on the Lake Champlain basin for farm Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) practices. The presentations were rounded out with a farmer panel that included Jeff Senesac of Cottonwood Stables in Colchester, Brian Kemp of Mountain Meadows Farm in Sudbury, and John Lucas of Lucas Dairy in Starksboro. There was time for discussions about agriculture practices, how much they cost and what was the impact on farms.

 

The fifty people participating in the discussions included a nice mix of farmers, agribusiness owners, political candidates, and staff from Agency of Agriculture and UVM Extension. Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross spoke to the group with praise that the farmer organization was making great headway in demonstrating that the farmers really are on board to address these sometimes difficult issues. After the meeting, a fair majority of people stayed around to talk with each other about their ideas for moving forward this year. The presentations and discussion helped bring this large group together on a similar level of understanding of the issues. If the issue of Phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain is to be solved, these are the people who will make well-informed decisions as we move forward during the next several years.

  

FIELD OF DREAMS 

CVFC Member, Lorenzo Whitcomb made and interesting donation to the Travis Roy Foundation's annual Wiffle Ball Tournament fundraiser this August.  Folks from the foundation came and dug up corn plants to transplant into their "Field of Dreams" themed wiffle ball field.  Amazingly enough...the corn survived transplanting and even  more amazing, the Travis Roy Foundation raised $470,000 for cutting-edge research and grants for spinal cor injury survivors.  Find out more about the tournament at http://travisroyfoundation.org/trf-wiffleball-tournament 

 CROP INSURANCE SPOTLIGHT

Please welcome, Nathaniel Severy.  The newest member of the Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team.  If you think he looks familiar, you're right!  Nate grew up on his dad's dairy farm in Cornwall.  He is glad to be back in Addison County working with farmers, and he hasn't wasted any time getting his hands (and feet) dirty!!

Nate Severy grew up on a small dairy farm, which helped led him to a bachelor's degree from the University of Maine in Ecology and Environmental Science with a concentration in Soil and Water Sciences.  Before moving to Middlebury, he spent a year and a half living on an organic dairy in Fairfax and two years working in St. Albans as an Agricultural Resource Specialist helping farmers reduce phosphorus runoff into waterways.  As an Outreach Professional, Nate will be working with farmers to help them with on-farm management decisions and with the Champlain Valley Farmers Coalition to help organize events and outreach activities.  When not at work, Nate likes to spend time hiking with his wife and dog as well as helping out on his family's farm milking cows and managing cropland.

by Nate Severy

This was an odd year for growing corn. The wet spring delayed planting, and then a cooler summer resulted in fewer Growing Degree Days (GDDs), which was then followed by an early first frost for many of us. What this means- frost-killed corn leaves with stalks and ears that are still too immature for harvesting. Combine the dead plant material with some wet weather and mild temperatures and we suddenly have the perfect environment for fungi, that is, mold. We have heard some reports from people harvesting of a Black Mold on their corn. It is sooty in consistency, and will turn equipment black while chopping. There are many varieties of black mold, so if you find any in your field, stop and have someone come out and take samples to make sure that it is not toxic to you or to your animals. It might be tempting to just keep on chopping, but be careful because the black-stuff are mold spores and even if they are not toxic, inhaling a large quantity of them can give you respiratory problems and possibly make you feel ill. Also, make sure to do a nutritional analysis of your feed too, as mold will decrease the quality of your feed and you may need to make adjustments in your feeding ration.