On an evening in late July, eight heifers awaited inspection at Hidden Canyon Farms, a 60-head beef cattle farm in Lyons, New York, in front of an audience of 35 New York state beef producers. With a cowboy hat and Southern accent relaying his rural Virginia roots, Adam Murray, Cornell's new beef cattle extension specialist, stepped in to perform a live assessment of the animals as well as analyses of DNA test results and other metrics, to demonstrate how livestock farmers can integrate multiple tools to improve their animals.
It was just the kind of programming that New York state beef producers need, according to Sue Olson, who co-owns Hidden Canyon Farms with her husband, Steve Olson.
"You could actually see things instead of looking at a PowerPoint," she said. "That transferred knowledge of what's coming in the industry, what's working and doesn't work, is vital to us as U.S. beef producers, and I know how important universities are in that knowledge transfer."
The talk in July was one of many outreach efforts laying the groundwork for PRO-LIVESTOCK, a new Cornell program that aims to support New York state livestock farmers, beginning with cattle, goat and sheep farmers. The Department of Animal Science, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), launched the program earlier this year, and released an official announcement this summer.
The program officially launched this summer and is housed in the Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
With line-item funding from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the program is modeled on Cornell's PRO-DAIRY, a national leader in extension and applied research that has been supporting dairy farmers in the state for 35 years. Murray and Jessica Waltemyer, Cornell's new small ruminant extension specialist, have been visiting farms and holding meetings and forums all over the state and virtually in the past 18 months, to spread the word about PRO-LIVESTOCK.
"Supporting New York agriculture as a whole is supporting our food sources, our food systems, our food security," said Waltemyer, who previously managed the 250-head Cornell Sheep Flock. "And there's a high demand for local- and state-grown products. I think New York sees that as an opportunity to bring more economic sustainability to the state and to make sure the next generation of farmers can be profitable and sustain the lifestyle."
Annual beef cattle production brought in nearly $500 million to New York state last year, with revenues more than doubling between 2017 and 2022. Demand for local goat and sheep milk and wool is also on the rise, as well as sheep for grazing under solar arrays.
But in a survey of 450 New York livestock farmers, conducted by the Cornell Small Farms Program in 2018, 85% said they need more science-based guidance on production and market development to grow their operations.
"There's such a need for more science-based resources from New York," said Nancy Glazier, small farms and livestock specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), who advocated for PRO-LIVESTOCK. "We need people who producers can go to if they have a specific question about beef cattle - somebody to really help us get producers to that next level. And then the same thing with sheep and goats."
With additional funding, the program's strategic plan is to add a poultry and swine systems specialist, a livestock processing business specialist and a forage and grazing systems specialist.
The current state funding commitment was championed by New York State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-41st District) and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-123rd District).
"I was proud to help secure funding for this effort in the state budget," Hinchey said in a press release, "and thank my colleagues and the governor for their support as well as Cornell CALS for their continued service to all sectors of New York agriculture."
Response to the program has been "incredible," Waltemyer said, with constant communications with farmers, breed and industry associations, and state and extension partners.
With PRO-LIVESTOCK, the opportunities for livestock farmers to collaborate with Cornell are "endless," Sue Olson said. "We've got the personnel on board now, so let's take advantage of it and run with it."
'An agriculture state'
When it comes to raising livestock, New York has one great thing going for it: grass.
"With the cool season forages, the orchard grass, clover and some of these limestone soils in New York - it really sets up for a great, low-cost but high-quality feedstuff," said Murray, who grew up showing beef cattle and hogs and maintains a herd of Angus cattle on his family's farm in Virigina. "There's also more direct-to-consumer marketing in New York than I've seen anywhere in the country."
Beef farms in New York run the gamut in terms of size, with the average herd only 15 to 20 cattle; Murray views his role as helping producers at various levels take advantage of New York's strengths, whether that's through local markets or the broader U.S. beef industry.
Adam Murray, Cornell's new beef cattle extension specialist, wants to help beef producers take advantage of New York's strengths and hopes to bring a beef cattle herd back to Cornell's campus.
"I've had a lot of conversations with producers about knowing your market and matching your production system with your resources and end consumer, then working backwards to select cattle that fit within your production scenario," Murray said. "Long term, I want to focus on where New York fits within the greater cattle industry. With our climate, soil and environment, it really heavily favors cow-calf and weaned-calf production. So, let's optimize that and let folks know that New York's not just a dairy state. It's an agriculture state."
Murray also hopes to bring beef cattle back to campus; the last of Cornell's herd was sold off in 2016. He envisions a short-term, feeder-calf program where smaller producers could send their weaned calves to Cornell while retaining ownership. Cornell specialists would manage the cattle through the pivotal stage following weaning, adding weight and standardizing a vaccination protocol. The combination of increased cattle uniformity and health management, as well as pooling a larger group of calves, would add value for "stockers" or "feeder/finishers" purchasing the cattle for the next stage of the production cycle, leading to higher prices for New York farmers.
In addition to earning producers more money, Murray said, it would strengthen mutually beneficial ties between the New York cattle industry and Cornell. Having beef cattle back at the university would also allow for hands-on teaching experiences for undergraduates and veterinary students, and the potential for applied research opportunities like feeding trials.
"Taking care of a Holstein is not the same as working with a 700-pound yearling, so having that as a teaching aid and having a pool of research cattle would be huge," Murray said. "You talk about the three-pronged approach of a land-grant university, between teaching, research and extension, and this would hit all three."
'Someone you can trust'
Providing consistent veterinary care for New York's small ruminants is also a top priority for Waltemyer. She has spent much of her first 18 months on the job helping producers deal with the barber pole worm, a parasite that evolves quickly to resist anti-parasitic drugs; it causes anemia, weight loss and "ill-thrift," or failure to grow normally, in small ruminants.
When Waltemyer offered a webinar on the topic, more than 450 people from across the country registered.
"Part of my position is figuring out how we can get more research and continued education opportunities to our veterinarians for small ruminants," said Waltemyer, who works with students in the College of Veterinary Medicine to provide some of those opportunities on campus.
A priority for both Murray and Waltemyer is working with the next generation of farmers, from 4-H kids to Cornell students to new producers. And Waltemyer practices what she preaches; with her family, she manages a 220-acre farm with 70 dairy cows, 20 hair sheep, seven dogs and six horses. She said she sees in her own kids the physical, mental and emotional benefits of an agrarian life and wants to extend those benefits to others, while also helping the industry meet and profit from a growing demand in the state for sheep and goat products.
Mary Jeanne Packer, founder and owner of Battenkill Fibers, New York state's largest commercial spinning mill, in Greenwich, New York, has seen her operation grow dramatically since she opened her doors in 2009. The demand for locally sourced yarn has driven the growth, she said. The mill hit nearly $1 million in sales last year and employs 18 people.
Packer said workshops and symposiums organized by Cornell and CCE provide the latest research and serve as vital venues for sheep farmers to come together with each other and with industry. At those events, Packer has connected with farmers, and her industry partners have provided trainings on how to produce wool that meets the standards for processing.
"We have a long history of receiving excellent help and support from Cornell," Packer said. "Universities and especially extensions are still seen as someone you can trust. I can give farmers the facts, but at the end of the day, I'm in the for-profit sector, so I have a vested interest."
Packer said extension doesn't have a horse in the race. "They exist just to take the most current research and share that knowledge and information, and, to their credit, they've managed to stay relevant and have grown with the industry and with their customers - it's a real tribute."
