CCEUC Showcase

The 4-H Veterinary Science Career Exploration Program gives high school students (grades 9-12) an opportunity to explore veterinary careers and develop skills with experienced animal professionals.

On Wednesdays from 6:30pm - 7:30pm on October 9 - 30, youth ages 8-18 will learn how to effectively communicate with their dogs using positive reinforcement methods.

This new class is for youth age 9 years through 12 years, and you don't need to be a member of 4H to participate!

During this free five-session event, youth will learn woodworking basics and complete a project.

Consumer demand for locally raised meats, sourced directly from the farm, spiked in 2020 as consumers faced
pandemic-induced grocery store shortages and price increases. Market demand remains strong as consumers
appreciate the quality and value when they purchase meat from local farms. While new demand presents an
opportunity for NY’s livestock farmers, selling meat direct-to-consumer also presents challenges and risks. This
workshop teaches producers how to avoid and address common challenges they encounter with meat processing and
direct-to-consumer meat marketing.

The Fall presentation series coincides with the announcement of a new Meat Processor Directory, an addition to the
MeatSuite.com directory of bulk meat farm products. The workshop will address a variety of topics, including:

Evaluating Livestock for Ideal Harvest Timing
Livestock Handling & Delivery for Meat Quality
How to Work with your Processor & Navigate Difficult Situations
Carcass Math Break-Down & Pricing
How Much Value does Value-added Add?
Creating Consumer and Processor-friendly Bulk Meat Sales
An introduction to MeatSuite.com, the Cornell Meat Price Calculator, and the forthcoming Meat Processor Directory.

Presenters include Matt LeRoux, Extension Associate at Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and
Management and, from North Carolina State University’s meat-focused “NC Choices” program, Sarah Blacklin,
Director, and Lee Menius, Technical Specialist.

The program costs $10/person and includes dinner. Please let us know if you have any food allergies or preferences.

Speaker Bios:
Lee Menius, Technical Specialist, NC Choices
Menius owns and operates Wild Turkey Farms in China Grove, NC, which has spent the majority of its time providing
pasture raised meats direct to consumers and restaurants since its founding in 1998. In 2016, Lee opened Carolina
Craft Butchery, an NCDA inspected butcher shop along with his wife, Domisty Menius. Lee has worked with
Cooperative Extension, Rowan Soil & Water Conservation District, NC Farm School, and NC Choices where his work
has focused on educational projects and working with farmers and processors to develop effective and profitable
systems. Throughout his career, Lee has led numerous workshops and producer training on topics such as business
planning, processing, and outdoor swine production.

Sarah Blacklin, Program Director, NC Choices
Sarah Blacklin is a NC Cooperative Extension educator and Program Director at NC Choices, a program of the Center
for Environmental Farming Systems. Since 2002, Sarah has helped small farmers in NC maximize direct and wholesale
marketing efforts to enhance profitability. She deals directly with livestock farms and local meat businesses along the
entire local meat supply chain including commercial meat processors, restaurants and butcher shops, regulatory
agents and various allied businesses.

Matt LeRoux, Extension Associate, Cornell University
Matt has over 20 years’ experience serving farms through Cornell Cooperative Extension, non-profits, and consulting.
Specializing in market strategy, Matt works with a diverse mix of produce and livestock farmers and food businesses.
Career highlights include developing the Marketing Channel Assessment Tool for produce growers and the Cornell
Meat Price Calculator.

This is material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2022-70419-38562.

Join us for a deep dive into the Hudson Valley Pollinator Action Guide, a project of Partners for Climate Action. Avalon Bunge, Ecological Restoration Projects Manager at PCA, will provide an overview and orientation to the Action Guide, your go-to resource for protecting threatened native pollinators using locally native plant species. This comprehensive online toolkit is designed to support gardeners and land managers at all scales in creating pollinator habitat, from small urban gardens to multi-acre wildflower meadows. The Action Guide covers a variety of techniques for site selection and preparation, plant selection and sourcing, and project installation and management; and includes an in-depth plant list targeted to support nearly 100 of the Hudson Valley's most vulnerable pollinators. We'll also discuss practical lessons learned from four "case study" plantings installed in 2023.

Avalon oversees PCA’s Ecological Restoration Grant program and manages PollinateHV, including the Hudson Valley Pollinator Action Guide. She also manages PCA's local ecotype seed propagation work with Hudson Valley Seed Company. Avalon received a BA in Geology from Colgate University and an MS in Ecosystem Restoration from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and is currently pursuing a PhD in ecological restoration at Antioch University. Avalon lives in Columbia County with her husband, dog, and overflowing native plant collection.

Have questions about poultry health? If so, please join us for this upcoming workshop to learn more and ask a vet what you should look out for with your flock. Dr. Jarra Jagne from the Avian Health Program at Cornell University's Animal Health Diagnostic Center will be leading us in a discussion and answering any questions we may have in regards to poultry diseases and health. All poultry keepers welcome!

The Avian Health Program offers diagnostic testing, consultation and extension services for commercial and backyard poultry producers. They provide testing plans for covering one pet chicken, small flocks, or commercial producers.

Dr. Jarra Jagne, DVM, DACPV  Poultry Diagnostician, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine

Jarra Jagne is a veterinarian with over 29 years of experience in poultry disease management and control and a faculty member of the Department of Public and Ecosystem Health and the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. She performs field investigations of common diseases of poultry and teaches poultry medicine to veterinary students. She also has extensive international experience, having worked as a Veterinary Advisor for a USAID-funded project on avian influenza and for the UN Food and Agricultural Organization. Dr. Jagne holds a DVM from Cornell University, a BSc in Biology from Colorado State University and is a Diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.

Contact Kathryn Brignac, Livestock and Natural Resources Educator for CCE Ulster County with questions at klb339@cornell.edu or by phone at 845-340-3990 ext.329
 

Join the staff of Cornell Cooperative Extension for an exciting chance to sample our many divese programs and opportunities. Come for an afternoon of exploration and education at the Ashokan Center. Stay for dinner and continue the conversation! It's too late to register for dinner, but we'd love to have your for the rest of the event!

We're happy to have you for any portion of the event. Attend whichever parts interest you and that you are able to attend! No need to be there the whole time if it's a challenge for you.

Open to all youth, second grade and up. You don't need to be in 4-H to participate!

What will you learn?  How to match your yarn to the correct size crochet hook, how to make basic stitches, and how to figure out what a pattern is telling you.

What will you make?   A great hat to fit you or a friend that will be a great entry for next year's Ulster County Fair!

The class is $5 per participating youth to attend, payable by cash or a check made out to CCE-UC.

We will have crochet hooks available for you and an assortment of yarn for you to choose from. But, if you'd like to bring your own yarn, please choose a smooth, worsted weight yarn (medium weight number 4).

Are you a New York producer looking to increase your market reach and sales? Join us on Thursday, November 7, from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM for an exclusive informational webinar on how to become a Taste NY Vendor featuring Christopher Charles Lawton, Manager at Taste NY, Capital Region Welcome Center, and Gregory Flores, Taste NY Market Assistant Manager.

This free online Zoom session will delve into the Taste NY program, how to navigate the vendor application process, and strategies for product branding to boost their market presence. NY producers of food and non-alcoholic beverages, health and beauty items, textiles, and crafts are invited to learn how to partner with Taste NY store at the Capital Region Welcome Center. The webinar will also include a Q&A session to address any specific questions that arise.

Register today to secure your spot and learn how you can expand your business and market your products through the Taste NY program!

If you have any questions, please reach out to Uliana Ahashkova, Agriculture Economic Development Educator, at ua38@cornell.edu or 845-340-3900 x390.

Interested in tapping into your own trees for syrup production? This workshop will cover a variety of aspects of maple
syrup production including: why make maple syrup, tree identification, tree health, tapping, sap collection and handling,
boiling, energy efficiency, finishing and grading syrup, canning, marketing and regulations. This workshop is aimed at
the small or beginning maple producer and would be useful to the homeowner looking to tap a few trees in the backyard
or even expand to tapping a few hundred trees.

This workshop will be taught by Adam Wild. Adam Wild is Director of Cornell University's Uihlein Maple Research
Forest, and co-director of the Cornell Maple Program. The Uihlein Maple Research Forest, located in Lake Placid, NY,
is a 350-acre forest providing applied research and education for the maple industry. As director, Adam oversees
research within their 7,000+ tap commercial maple operation along with tapping and producing other tree syrups such
as birch and beech. In addition to his work within the research forest, Adam provides educational workshops and
training for maple producers to increase productivity and sustainability of their maple operations.