Our eighth tailgate meeting of 2016 will take place on August 2 at Doyle Vineyard Management's farm in Hammondsport.

The use of sulfur dioxide and filtration to ensure bottle stability is a common practice within the wine industry. However, many producers also use potassium sorbate additions to inhibit re-fermentation of sweetened wines despite sulfur dioxide additions and utilization of sterile filtration. Enology experts from both Cornell and Penn State Universities will review how to best accomplish wine stability in the winery so that producers can improve production decisions. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding of how sulfur dioxide and potassium sorbate work in wine, what filtration accomplishes for wine stability, and how to implement quality control practices to ensure that wines are of minimal spoilage risk post-bottling. This workshop will also include a wine tasting to emphasize identification of the flavor associated with potassium sorbate additions and how it affects wine quality. The $50 includes all registration materials and lunch. This workshop is focused for winemakers, cellar staff, and enologists as it contains a production focus.

Come join us for an evening of education, chicken BBQ and good company. The chicken BBQ is FREE but registration is mandatory!! Please call Penn State Extension office at 814-825-0900 by July 22, 2016. If you do not register, a meal will not be reserved for you.

Join us for the inaugural Chautauqua County Craft Beverage Summit hosted by the Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development in cooperation with Chautauqua County Cornell Cooperative Extension Association and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program. Speakers will include owners of NYS craft breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries. Malting barley, cooperatives, hops production and the potential for the craft beverage industry in NYS will be discussed with all aspects covered from producing the raw materials, producing a craft beverage, marketing the finished product and working together to bring a craft beverage operation to fruition in Chautauqua County.

Our ninth tailgate meeting of 2016 will take place on August 16 at Ventosa Vineyards in Geneva.

Our tenth and final tailgate meeting of 2016 will take place on August 30 at Fulkerson Winery in Dundee.

Join the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program for a full day of education surrounding cover crops in Concord vineyards.
• Current research
• Leading scientists in cover crop research
• Tour demonstration plots
• Hear local growers sharing their experience
Fee $10; includes morning refreshments and lunch

A number of significant changes to the federal Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides (WPS) will go into effect on January 2, 2017. These changes will affect farms, greenhouses, nurseries, forests, and other establishments (including organic establishments) on which pesticides are used in the production of agricultural crops. If you use, supervise the use, or are responsible for the use of pesticides on such establishments, the Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) invites you to attend a WPS Mock Inspection.

The Worker Protection Standard Has Been Revised, Are You Ready?
EPA is implementing stronger protections for the nation’s two million agricultural workers and their families working on farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. These revisions to the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard will afford farmworkers similar health protections that are already afforded to workers in other industries. The revisions will take effect on January 2, 2017.
Word on the street is, unlike during the initial rollout of the WPS, there will not be a year of educational programming to give growers every opportunity to be in compliance.
In order to provide you with the information you need to be in compliance with the new WPS, the NYS DEC Pest Management Staff will be providing training on the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Worker Protection Standard. The new WPS provides occupational protections from pesticide exposure for agricultural exposure. This training is for those who use or supervise the use of pesticides on farms.
The training will take place in the CLEREL Meeting Room, 6592 West Main Road, Portland, NY 14769 on October 25 with registration beginning at 9:30 AM. The training will be from 10 AM until noon. Two recertification credits will be available in categories 1a, 1d, 10, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25.
Make sure you save the date on your calendar and while the training is free, we ask that you register for the event by going to our website https://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/ and check under Upcoming Events in the lower right hand corner, or give Kate a call at (716) 792-2800.