Editors Note: For those who are looking at ways to promote New York agriculture, agriculture in general, or would just like to see some of the innovations their fellow farmers have come up with to help stay profitable and competitive, this documentary seems to just the ticket.

New York Agriculture Documentary to Air Statewide on PBS during May & June

A new PBS documentary, "The Performers: Taking Center Stage in New York Agriculture" will air on all nine New York Public Television Stations with a potential audience of more than 18 million people.

This one-hour documentary examines agriculture today and the variety of products being produced on New York State farms, plus cutting edge technology that will keep agriculture competitive in a global economy. Hosted by Liz Ayers, WCNY's vice president of Television and Media Services, the documentary takes viewers on a journey across the state to capture New York's bounty and explore the impact of 21st century farmers.

"This is agriculture like you've never seen it before, with high-tech equipment that drives us to the future," said Ayers, "It's an entertaining way to discover what is going on backstage in today's agribusiness." Meet these farm families and discover how they embrace yesterday's traditions along with today's innovations.

This special features the following farms:

The New York State Agricultural Society suggested the idea for the documentary and contributed toward its production. The film received accolades from many of the more than 500 people in attendance at a premiere screening at the Society's 175th Annual Meeting in Syracuse in January 2007. "One of the Society's goals is to promote a better understanding of the state's agricultural industry and its importance in the lives of all New Yorkers," comments documentary committee chair Bob Bitz, "This documentary meets that goal and will help many recognize the contribution made by the state's agriculture to healthy food, a safe environment and sustainable resources."

DVDs of this educational program, "The Performers: Taking Center Stage in New York Agriculture" are available from WCNY. To order, contact Joyce Hamlin at 315-453-2424, Ext 270 or e-mail joyce_hamlin@wcny.org. The price for a DVD is $19.99, plus shipping and handling.

Driving to and from our Coffee Pot meeting in North East, PA yesterday it was hard not to notice the increasing number of vineyards where pruning had not yet been accomplished and a surprising number which looked like they have been left to fend for themselves for a number of years.

These vineyards are ripe for pest problems, not only in the vineyard itself but also in the surrounding vineyards. For those of you who have vineyards bordering vineyard blocks that have been abandoned or are seeing a decrease in management, you should look at adjusting your disease management program in the area closest to the problem blocks. We have seen in the past year where these poorly maintained blocks have become reservoirs for powdery mildew and black rot, producing large numbers of spores which are available to be blown downwind into other vineyard blocks.

While powdery mildew is always around, the problem vineyards give it a chance to multiply rapidly in the spring leading to huge amounts of inoculum by harvest, resulting in a much larger population of overwintered inoculum the next spring. A large amount of inoculum right next door to your vineyard means an increased potential for primary infection in your well managed vineyard.

While black rot spores do not travel the airways quite as easily (or as far) as powdery mildew, we saw last year where black rot was creeping into commercially managed vineyards from vineyards with black rot problems.

There are a few things you can do to help reduce the chances that your neighbor's problems do not become yours.

Talk with your favorite farm supply dealer for pricing out an expanded disease management program. Wayne Wilcox did another excellent job with his disease management overview in last month's newsletter where he discussed the diseases, the control methods and possible spray programs so there is little I can add here.

If you have any questions on Grape Integrated Pest Management strategies or specific pest problems, I will be happy to help.

If you did not see Wayne's article in the Lake Erie Vineyard Notes you are probably not a member of extension - and you should be. Get in touch with me at thw4@cornell.edu and I will get you the info on how to join.

Budbreak

We hit our official date of budbreak here at the Vineyard Lab on Tuesday, May 8, which is pretty close to our average date of May 5 (give or take a couple of days). We also reach budbreak on the heavier soils at our Portland site, while the vines on the gravel soils weren't quite there (they probably are by now). So far, so good. With a little bit of rainfall last night and this morning, along with more sun and warmth forecast for the next few days, growth should progress right along. We could be at 3-5" of shoot growth within the next several days, so if there are steps that need to be taken with regard to pest and disease management at that stage (e.g., phomopsis control) growers should be prepared to do them soon.

The two hybrid wine varieties in our trial block here (Traminette and Noiret) have also reached budbreak as of yesterday, May 9. Riesling was very close to being "officially" at budbreak, while Cabernet Sauvignon is still probably a few days behind.

N at Budbreak?
With the arrival of budbreak for the 2007 season, it's time for my annual reminder that applying nitrogen at this point in the season is not the most efficient use of the material. Research has shown that only about 10% of the nitrogen that is applied at budbreak is taken up by the vines by the end of the season. If the fertilizer is applied near bloom, the percentage increases to about 17-20%.

So if you historically have applied 100 lbs of nitrogen (actual) per acre at budbreak, your vines have actually taken up about 10 pounds of that. If you apply your material within a couple weeks of bloom, you only need to apply 58 lbs of actual N/acre (because the vines can take up more of what is applied) to get that same 10 lbs of nitrogen/acre to the vines. If you assume that the grower is using urea (46% N) and it costs $480/ton, that one change in timing would save about $22/acre, without changing the amount of nitrogen that is actually being supplied to the vines. Sound good to anybody?