NOFA-NY Field Days: Organic Disease Management in (Another!) Wet Year

This month, NOFA-NY, along with researchers and industry personnel, will present a workshop in Geneva, NY on organic vegetable production methods.  NOFA-NY Fruit & Vegetable Coordinator Maryellen Sheehan urges vegetable growers to make use of these opportunities to learn from experts in organic disease and pest management.  “It’s so important to assess what worked (and didn’t) in the past season, and to be prepared for upcoming challenges.  So much of organic production is about prevention and preparation, so growers should be thinking now about what techniques they’re going to use.  What better way to start that line of thinking than to hear the latest information from researchers and other growers?”

Did you have a rough disease year in your fields?  Did bacteria, fungi, and assorted plant pathogens have you (and your veggies) down?  Come join NOFA-NY, Cornell researchers and educators, and your fellow farmers to discuss what worked, what didn’t, and what plans we can make for better control and crops in the future!  This intensive workshop will discuss some of the worst disease challenges facing NYS organic growers in 2014 as well as the strategies that had the most impact controlling them.  Discussion will cover bacterial issues, fungal diseases, and soil borne pathogens in the morning, before moving on to discuss late blight monitoring, forecasting, and managing in the afternoon.  Bring your questions, your success stories, and your challenges to hash out this difficult growing season and leave with the resources and information to plan effective organic disease management strategies for the future!

Registration: To pre-register, click here or call Stephanie at 585-271-1979 ext. 509. Pre-registration is encouraged and closes at 4pm on October 17th. After this, registration will be taken at the event- please arrive 15 minutes early to walk-in register.

This program is sponsored by NOFA-NY through NYSDAM Specialty Crop Block Grant.