Soil and Crop Management

Onondaga County contains approximately 90,000 acres of land devoted hay, corn for grain, corn for corn silage, soybeans, wheat, oats, and rye. Nutrient management is a term to describe how manure is incorporated into a cropping system to support crop growth and minimize risk to groundwater and surface water contamination. To access the Cornell Guide for Integrated Field Crop Management click here.

Skaneateles Lake Watershed Agricultural Program (SLWAP)

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County is contracted through the SLWAP program to provide continuing education in environmental impacts of agriculture on water quality, help develop farming mission, vision, emergency plans, and provide economic impact analysis to farm cooperators while farms implements Best Management Practice within the geographical area of the program. Funding is provided through the City of Syracuse for this continued effort in water quality education. For more information click here.

Cornell Waste Management Institute

The Cornell Waste Management Institute was formed to research best practices for mortality composting, manure composting, and information about the use of sewage sludge on farmland. For more information about on-farm recycling and CWMI click here.

Cornell Soil Health

The health of the soil is the intersection of the physical properties of the soil, the nutrients and fertility and contaminants contained in the soil and the biological attributes of the soil such as single cell organisms. To learn more about measuring soil health click here.

Nutrient Management SPEAR Program

The Cornell Crop and Soil Science Department has created the SPEAR Program to provide information through Agronohttp://nmsp.css.cornell.edu/my Factsheets, nutrient guidelines, and soil test summaries. To access the SPEAR program click here.

Onondaga County Soil Test Survey

Cornell University College of Agriculture and Science summarized the results of 2,447 soil samples submitted by commercial growers and 472 homeowner’s samples submitted to the Soils Laboratory between 2002-2006. To learn how your soil sample compares with the range of soils within the county click here.

Field Crop Hybrid Research

Cornell Cooperative Extension works with Cornell University staff to design field trials to determine which forage, corn, and soybean varieties are most adapted to NYS growing conditions. To access recent issues of What’s Cropping Up? And to learn about recent hybrid trials click here.

Onondaga County Forage Production

The soils and climate in Onondaga County support the growth of cool season grasses and legumes, those species which are fast growing in early spring and fall. High quality forage is essential to support the local dairy and livestock sectors. To learn more about forages click here.

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a strategy whereby pests and disease pressure is identified and measured. Control measures may be implemented when certain pests meet economic or environmental thresholds. Management strategies may or may not necessarily involve chemical treatment. To learn more about IPM click here.

What’s Cropping Up

The NYS Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) provided weekly scouting reports of crops grown across NYS. This report provides timely information to help users learn about, and better anticipate current and emerging problems and improve their integrated pest management efforts. To access this report during the growing season and past reports click here.

Plant Disease Diagnostic Center

Cornell Cooperative Extension strongly recommends that plant diseases and pests be identified in order to determine proper treatment. Plant samples can be submitted to the Plant Diagnostic Center. To learn more about pests, fungi, molds and diseases impacting field crops, fruits, vegetables, turf, greenhouse plants, shrubs, etc. and requirements to submit plant samples visit here.

Cornell Nutrient Analysis Laboratory

Cornell Cooperative Extension strongly recommends that growers know pH, fertility levels in soils in order to make informed decisions regarding the purchase of fertilizers that will enhance a crop. Soil sample bags are available from CCE Onondaga County or they can be ordered directly from the Cornell Nutrient Analysis Laboratory. For a list of tests offered through CNAL click here.

Forage Species Selector

The animal species consuming forages and the type of soils in which the forages will be grown impacts the type of forages that should be selected. Some plant species are more suitable for some soil types compared to other plant species. This is due to the pH of the soil and soil characteristics (silty, clayey, sandy). To determine which species might most useful click here.