Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

NOTE: As part of this transition process, there will be a two hour meeting with CCE educators at the November in-service meeting (Tuesday November 10; 8 to 10 AM). The focus of the meeting will be to provide information, gather CCE feedback and address any remaining concerns that have been raised over the past several months.

To Cornell Cooperative Extension Staff and Association Executive Directors

The purpose of this message is to provide you with an update on the transition of CNAL soil testing activities to Agro-One (Dairy One).   Processing of routine soil test samples was transferred to Agro-One onAugust 18, 2009, and we have been functioning in the new collaborative model for the past two months.

The current soil fertility recommendations are being sent out based on Agro-One’s analytical procedures and incorporate the use of conversion equations.  Also, we have converted to a newly-coded recommendation engine and Web-based database system.  This is a significant improvement to the previous system that will pay off in the long run.  CNAL and Agro-One personnel have been working very closely to insure a smooth transition, although there have been some minor hurdles that are logical consequences of a complex transition.  We appreciate the feedback that has been provided by the field staff, as well as your patience and understanding.

There are still a few issues that are being considered at this time.  More comparison samples have been processed and analyzed to validate the conversion equations and make refinements as appropriate.  This will be completed in the next months, and all remaining transition issues are expected to be resolved by the end of the year.  Tissue testing is still being performed at CNAL, but will be transferred to Agro-One July 1, 2010. The Transition Committee has effectively supported this process and Agro-One has been very accommodating in addressing challenges at multiple levels. We are attaching a plan from CNAL Director Renuka Rao Mathur that details the remaining process to complete the transition.  Also, you are invited to an open discussion session about the transition on Tuesday, November 10, from 8 to 10 AM during Ag&Food In-Service week.

Agro-One has effectively handled the sample processing needs and the ancillary reporting issues since the August 18 transition.  We are pleased with this partnership, which is a model for university-private sector collaboration.  It will also allow CNAL to better focus on research issues and innovation in soil analyses.  There are additional benefits such as Agro-One’s competitive cost structure and free sample transportation from pickup locations around the Northeast.

At this time, it is important that stakeholders are fully informed about the transition and that we build confidence with them in the partnership.  We therefore request that you effectively communicate these developments with your stakeholders through the regular channels so they have a full understanding of the changes.  The transition details have been worked out in such a way that the impact on stakeholders is minimal and flexibility is built in the transition process. Still, there will undoubtedly be questions from the stakeholders, and we request your cooperation in responding to them.  The Dairy One web site (www.dairyone.com) and the menu items to Agro-One Services provide further details.  We are committed to a successful transition.

Again, we appreciate your patience and commitment during this transition.  There have been challenges, but in the end we will have strong soil and tissue testing services for our stakeholders.
Sincerely,

Jan P. Nyrop

Senior Associate Dean, CALS

Helene R. Dillard

Associate Dean, CALS

Director, CCE

In the summer of 2009 a CCE student intern working at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schenectady County help us tackle the question of how volunteers and staff members might keep up to date on pest management products for residential environments. This poster Home Landscape and Pest Management offers some more information on that effort including some recommendations. What do you think of the recommendations?

Moreover, I’d like to apply to have a summer intern  again in 2010 who could tackle a community horticulture issue so please send Lori your thoughts on:

1) Would you be interested in supervising a summer intern in your county? 2) What are the most pressing residential horticulture question you’d like us to consider address?

Register today for the CCE Agriculture & Food Systems In-service.

It is Tuesday Nov 10 through Thursday Nov 12 at the Clarion Hotel in Ithaca.

See this pdf for a list of session for Horticulture educators. And you need to stay though Thursday because the scoop on bed bugs is going to be very helpful in addressing all those questions that will come in…they are in the news (see NYTimes)

With this pdf in hand click  here to register for the in-service.

Their blog site here offers more about the in-service but it is really hard to navigatewhich is why I made you the pdf.

We really need Horticulture to be a part of this yearly in-service. That will only happen if our 70 plus county horticulture educators attend. Register today or let me know what is holding you back.

Cornell Cooperative Extension educators and Researchers;

Karen Jeannette, Content Coordinator of eXtension.org Gardens, Lawns, and Landscapes would like to complete this survey.

http://is-nri.com/take?i=152534&h=lTeb-dvPASoK-c7Vgk3qzQ

Questions about the survey? Contact Rick Koelsch

rkoelsch1@unl.edu, 402/472-2966, University of Nebraska-Lincoln or the University of Nebraska IRB office at402/472- 6965.  This survey is approved by the University of Nebraska Institutional Review Board (#200608523 EP).

Unfamiliar with eXtension? eXtension is an Internet-based collaborative environment where Land Grant University and other content providers use research-based knowledge to solve real challenges in real time. Access the published content at

http://www.extension.org/ .  There are currently 37 Communities of Practice (CoP – subject matter teams leading content development) contributing web content of which 21 host a live web site.

Who Developed This Survey? Ashley Griffin, eXtension;  Sue Hawkins, University of Vermont; Karen Jeannette, University of Minnesota; Bryan Kaphammer, USDA ARS; Ben MacNeill, eXtension; Pat Swanson, Iowa State University; Mike Wilson, University of Kentucky.

I strongly encourage you to take the time to give lease feedback on this is Mike. Here is the survey (doc).

Hello Horticulture/Master Gardener Volunteer Extension contacts -

As many of you may know, Pest Management Around the Home — Part II Pesticide Guidelines (A.K.A. Bulletin 74) is in the process of being updated for 2009. The Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP), in cooperation with Carolyn Klass, needs your help on how best to distribute this Guideline to the general public and Extension educators. (Our appreciation to Lori Bushway for sharing your name with us.)

Attached is a Word file containing a short survey on distributing Part II. We’d ask that you complete the survey as an electronic file and return it via email to me at mjh14@cornell.edu. If you prefer, you can print the survey off, complete it, and fax or mail it to me. (My mail/fax info is below and on the survey.) We’d like all responses back by June 15th.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Mike Helms

Mike Helms
Managing Editor – Cornell Guidelines
Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP)
Cornell University
5140 Comstock Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2601
Phone: (607) 254-6441

Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP) at the University of Delaware is researching state-level policies that are used to support small-scale agriculture (SSA).   We are currently focusing on two components of SSA: community gardens and home gardens.

An important part of the research project is to determine what other states are doing to promote community and home gardens.

The survey is very short, it should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

click here for the survey

While much of the survey is focused on state-level policies they are interested in relevant policies or programs at all levels of government that might be useful models for Delaware.  Do share any information you have about community or home garden policies or programs.

Jessica Quinn
Center for Energy and Environmental Policy
JCQuinn@udel.edu

The bi-annually state MGV conference will take place July 22-24th 2009.  We want to create a schedule that is attractive to MGV and highlights our campus resources.

Please take a few minutes to respond to this brief survey ASAP (no later than Dec 8th):

Cornell’s Mann Library seeks your assistance in identifying the information needs of Cooperative Extension staff in counties throughout NY State. Your feedback will help us allocate our resources to best enhance your work life as a Cornell Cooperative Extension staff member. This one page survey should take about 10 minutes to complete, and you can access it at

http://surveys.cit.cornell.edu/Survey.aspx?s=54a64dd6048a4ee6bc9e104947242215

Greetings from Horticulture magazine.

As you may know, Horticulture is a national magazine for avid home
gardeners. In 2009 we¹re planning to introduce some regionally specific
coverage to the mix, with a couple pages of news and tips from Master
Gardeners across the country.

I would like to talk or e-mail with staff or volunteers about gardeners’ questions, tasks and activities in your area (according to the issue’s month), and quote gardeners in
the article. I’ ll also include information about your program.

We¹re also planning to recognize gardeners with great community spirit‹hobby
gardeners who make a difference to others through their passion for plants.
I¹d love to hear about any special projects or successful initiatives by the
gardeners in your area. We¹d like to feature one outstanding gardener or
group of gardeners in each issue.

We¹re already working on our 2009 issues, so please let me know if there¹s a
chance you’d would be willing to work with me. Feel free to forward this e-mail to others in your organization.

 Thank you,

Meghan Lynch
Editor
Horticulture
513-722-6631
meghan.lynch@fwpubs.com

Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center of North America regularly sends me a press feature packet. Which contains images as well as seasonally appropriate stories.

 Click here to see the package

Iis useful to county educators?

I’ll only pass it along if some portion say yes it is useful.

Thanks.

Lori