2009 4-H County Fair Book

The LaVack family established a memorial scholarship fund in memory of Alton LaVack, who passed away in April 2004.  Thanks to generous donations from family and friends, we will be awarding the sixth annual scholarship in the amount of $500 this year at the Gouverneur-St. Lawrence County Fair.

Applicants must be past or present St. Lawrence County 4-H or FFA membes enrolled this fall at a two or four-year college in any major.  Applicants must have been youth dairy exhibitors at the Gouverneur-St. Lawrence County Fair.  Previous winners will not be eligible, but all other college bound students are encourged to apply each year.  Applications are available at the 4-H office or by clicking below.

Alton LaVack Scholarship Application

Extension Learning Farm

The Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm is located in Canton, NY. We are part of our local county extension office and we are a long ways from Ithaca where Cornell University is located. However, like them, our mission is education. Livestock and crop demonstrations, ag awareness activities for schools and the public, maple production, 4-H activities, and an FFA aquaculture program are our main operations.

We have volunteer groups like the BOCES Community Connections Program and Work-study students from SUNY Canton that help with the sheep operation. Several local young people volunteer to help during the summer because of their interest in animals or becoming a veterinarian someday. Many groups such as the Maple Producers, North Country Shepherds, Farm Bureau, etc, meet at the farm. There is a steady stream of busses, vans and cars coming and going.

Welcome To St. Lawrence County

Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Office Complex

1894 State Highway 68 Canton, NY 13617

315-379-9192
315-379-0926 Fax

Extension Learning Farm

2043 State Highway 68, Canton, NY 13617

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide unbiased, educational outreach to the North Country through research, education and demonstration in Food and Agricultural Systems, Life Skills, Community Enhancement, Rural Stewardship, and Youth Development

VISION STATEMENT

To be a center of dynamic educational programming which will dramatically improve the quality of life and opportunity of North Country residents.

“Cornell Cooperative Extension actively supports equal educational and employment opportunities. No person shall be denied admission to any educational program or activity or be denied employment on the basis of any legally prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, color, religion, political beliefs, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital or family status, maintenance of affirmative action programs that will assure the continuation of such equality of opportunity”

If you have any comments or concerns please contact Anita Figueras at the Extension Office or cceprograms@cornell.edu

Breastfeeding Program

The Academy of Pediatrics and other health and nutrition authorities recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least the first year of life, along with the gradual introduction of a variety of healthy foods.

Getting babies started out with the best nutrition is important. Infants who are not breastfed have a greater risk for a variety of short and long term illnesses.

Program Educators at Cornell Cooperative Extension provide information about feeding infants. They are skilled at helping mothers learn how to breastfeed. Educators can provide information by phone or; at home for those who are eligible for our nutrition education programs. The following are some of the topics that CCE educators will cover.

• What you need to know about breastfeeding before baby is born.

• Help breastfeeding woman with concerns such as uncomfortable breastfeeding or concerns about milk supply.

• Supplementing baby with bottles of breastmilk or formula.

• Help mothers plan for continuing to breastfeed once they return to work or school.

• Answer questions about the current recommendations for infant nutrition.

• Talk to families about feeding solid foods to baby.

• Talk to families about safe use of infant formula.

For more information contact: Janet LoMastro, Ext 253  jl523@cornell.edu

ESNY is a Nutrition Program which provides opportunities and choices including:

Help to famlies elegible to receive or receiving food stamps to maintain a well-balanced diet.
A series of lessons, taught by a trained nutrition teaching visitor, tailored to your needs.
Nutrition and health programs for youth, families, and individuals.

Eat Smart New York Can Help Participants to:

Plan and prepare econonmical and nutritious meals and snacks
Stretch your food dollar.
Add variety to meals with new foods.
Identify key nutrients in foods.
Identify methods to store and preserve foods.
Make the best use of food stamps.
Eat healthy to maintain a healthy body.
Teach your children good eating habits that will last them a lifetime.
Utilize food resources and services within the community.
Start a family garden.
Budget your income to get the msot for your money.
Develop a personalized exercise program.

For More Information Contact

Kristin Colarusso, Ext. 222 kec47@cornell.edu

Maternal and Infant Health

Welcome To Eat Smart New York!!

For More Information Contact:
Kristin Colarusso, Ext 222 kec47@cornell.edu

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Sheep Program

The sheep operation has been part of our livestock demonstration for quite awhile. The sheep flock has had as few as 35 and as many as 150 sheep but we are currently running around 70 ewes (including ewe lambs) for quite awhile now. Seventy is a comfortable number to run in our converted dairy facilities and a small open front barn.

Our sheep are primarily Dorset based but our base was Finn-Dorset 10 years ago. In the past we have run a Polypay ram, many Dorset rams and are now trying an Ile de France ram. We basically want a short, chunky, white-face ewe with lots of milk and good mothering abilities. We have selected on weaning weights and out of season breeding for many years. For years we operated on the Cornell STAR system lambing five times per year. Labor became an issue and we went to lambing twice a year. The first lambing is in March and helps provide lambs for the breeding stock market and also avoids lambing in the 20 below zero weather in January and February. The second lambing is in the fall to have lambs for the Christmas market. Fall lambs are vigorous and the ewes are always in good condition after a summer of rotational grazing. The ewes that are not lambing until spring stay out on the pasture until mid-December (with round bale hay as supplement when needed).

Our lambs never leave the barn (at least not on purpose). They are born, nurse their mothers and start on creep and then are weaned onto a full grain diet. The grain is high in digestible fiber so they can eat as much as they want. Our gains are between 0.5 and 1 pound/day, which allows us to move lambs to market quickly. Our lambing percentage runs about 1.8 to 2.0 lambs born. Most lambs are born on their own without staff being present.

Pasture

We use a five strand high tensile fence as a perimeter for the pasture and electro-net or tension-net for dividers. The pasture is divided into about 6 paddocks and the back three are hayed before we graze them. There is a rotation but it is not super intensive. The coyotes have been a problem in the past, even killing sheep in the middle of the day. Our Great Pyrenees guardian dog, llamas and beef cattle stationed in the pasture next to the sheep pasture have kept the coyotes at bay so far this season. We also made an effort to get the charge up on the perimeter fence and mow around the outsides of the fence to eliminate cover.

Marketing

Our lambs are marketed to the eastern market. Some go as hothouse and some at 70 to 80 pounds. A few are sold as freezer lambs, usually at about 110 pounds. About half of our lambs are sold for breeding stock. Our marketing options include a local graded sale at Easter and Christmas, coordinated truckloads to New Holland, PA, and working with a co-op in Vermont that markets to New York city Restaurants.

Scrapie Program

Our flock is enrolled in the voluntary scrapie program and is certified scrapie free. We try hard to provide good, easy care breeding stock for local (and not so local) farms.

Summary

Most of all our sheep provide a good educational demonstration for 4-H sheep camp, hands-on training for beginning farmers and Vet Tech students, are willing victims for the shearing school and herding dog training (maybe not so willing) and entertain many school kids with their antics.