Climate, Weather, Data: Protecting Our Crops and Landscapes
August 15, 2016 at Albany County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 24 Martin Rd., Voorheesville, NY 12186
Agenda
A wide variety of speakers from New York and the Northeast provided background information on the current state of knowledge on climate change, changes in our weather patterns, and how collecting climate and weather data can help us predict and manage pests. Topics included climate change; agricultural, forest and landscape pests; human health; decision tools; and weather monitoring. Open discussion sessions were also are included.
We are honored that Richard Ball, the Commissioner of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, opened the conference with his remarks. A native New Yorker, Commissioner Ball is the owner and operator of Schoharie Valley Farms in Schoharie, NY—200 acres of vegetable, small fruit and greenhouse crops with an onsite farm market “The Carrot Barn” supplying food to local buyers and restaurants. Video of this presentation
Speakers, topic summaries, and PDFs of talks
Mike Hoffmann, Executive Director of the Cornell Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture (CICCA) explored the challenges and opportunities of a changing climate. Listen to Mike’s TEDx talk, Climate change: It’s time to raise our voices to learn more. CICCA helps raise the profile of the challenges posed by a rapidly warming climate with the aim to help those who grow our food adapt to the changing conditions and reduce their carbon footprint. PDF of this presentation, Part 1 • Part 2 • Video of this presentation
Allison Chatrchyan, Director of CICCA provided an overview of the Climate Smart Farming Program in her presentation. Dr. Chatrychan also presented the Climate Smart Farming Program at their display table. PDF of this presentation • Video of this presentation
David Hollinger, Director of the USDA Northeast Regional Climate Hub, and plant physiologist at the Forest Service Northern Research Station, focused on how climate factors affect forest function and the role of forests in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Dr. Hollinger told us about the Northeast Climate Hub collaborative projects and spoke specifically about his research on forest pests. PDF of this presentation • Video of this presentation
Steve Young, Director, Northeastern IPM Center has created four signature programs for the Center. Dr. Young described the goals of The Climate Change and Pests Signature Program during his talk, Climate Change and Pests: A Northeastern IPM Center Signature Program. His talk also announced the upcoming National Forum on Climate and Pests, Oct 4-6, 2016 in Washington DC. PDF of this presentation • Video of this presentation
Chris Thorncroft, Chair of the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, explained the NYS Mesonet’s weather stations and their promise for notifying New Yorkers about weather conditions and improving severe weather forecasting. PDF of this presentation • Video of this presentation
Rebecca Wiseman and Laurie McBride from the Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension Agricultural Stewardship Program on Long Island talked about building a local mesonet and using the weather data to help vegetable, vineyard and orchard growers practice IPM in this sensitive agro-ecosystem. PDF of this presentation, Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Video of this presentation
Glen Koehler, Associate Scientist IPM, with University of Maine Cooperative Extension informed us about their system of decision support tools, Ag-Radar, which integrates weather into farm management decisions for apples, potatoes, lowbush blueberries and honeybees in Maine. Recordings of this presentation are unavailable.
Katie Campbell-Nelson, Vegetable Extension Educator, with University of Massachusetts Extension teaches the diversified vegetable growers in Massachusetts how to utilize weather forecasting and modeling to inform IPM practices. Ms. Campbell-Nelson shared her insights on extending this type of information to growers. PDF of this presentation • Video of this presentation
Juliet Carroll, Leader of the NYS IPM Program’s Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA), provided an overview of NEWA and the tools slated for development in the coming year. Since 1996, grower-based interest has grown NEWA to include over 400 weather stations in 23 states in the Northeast. NEWA provides open access to 30 IPM and crop production tools and 13 degree day tools. PDF of this presentation • Video of this presentation
Bryon Backenson, NYS Dept of Health, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control provided a perspective on human diseases carried by ticks and mosquitos and how climate can affect these vectors. Mr. Backenson conducts research on infectious disease epidemiology, particularly arthropod-borne diseases; risk communication; and public health education. You won’t want to miss his talk, Arthropod-Borne Diseases and Climate in New York. PDF of this presentation • Video of this Presentation
Elizabeth Lamb, Ornamentals IPM Coordinator, provided an overview of research on the impact of a climate change on a variety of plant species being conducted at the Climate Change Garden, in the Cornell Plantations Botanical Gardens. Plants are exposed to climate change conditions, like rising temperatures, heat waves, heavy downpours, and droughts and visitors can witness how a changing climate affects their growth. PDF of this presentation, Part 1 • Part 2 • Video of this presentation
Funding Partner: Cornell Cooperative Extension