PROJECT GOALS & OBJECTIVES
The overall goal of this project is to improve the energy-efficient productivity, profitability, and environmental performance of New York State agriculture through a partnership for communicating manure project findings to a broad agricultural sector. The project will use a partnership of established agricultural delivery systems such as those developed by: Cornell Cooperative Extension; the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES); the New York State Farm Bureau; New York State's Agriculture and Technical Colleges; the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; United States Department of Agriculture offices; Soil and Water Conservation Districts; producers' associations; and others from the agricultural sector.
The first objective will be to establish the Project Advisory Group (PAG) to review and help develop proposed specific work plans, set priorities, and select specific tasks that will best accomplish the objectives of the project and also to evaluate the results.
The next objective will be to compile and analyze data and develop informational materials based on on-farm manure treatment and handling systems that potentially can turn manure handling and treatment into a profit center for the farm. These data principally shall come from projects receiving funding from NYSERDA, but other data sources may be used as well.
The third objective is to disseminate informational resource material. The project's primary audience consists of farmers and their advisors. This target audience will be reached through the existing systems by the use of demonstrations, open houses, seminars, agriculture press print publications, and educational programs. These materials will be made available over time by maintaining information on a website through Cornell's server and by using NRAES to continually market key materials. In addition to disseminating information on farm waste management, the program will share information and opportunities on energy efficiency measures and services available through NYSERDA.
This project will measure its success by keeping track of the numbers of (a) recipients of the project informational materials and (b) farms that adopt the improved manure management technologies supported by this project.
To achieve these objectives, this project will include both baseline work and work that will be approved to the extent authorized by NYSERDA approvals. All proposed work and results will be reviewed by the PAG.
Baseline tasks include (a) hosting a kickoff workshop (and quarterly meetings) with the PAG to review specific work plans, (b) compiling comparable basic data on agricultural waste management from NYSERDA projects, (c) preparing and updating posters and fact sheets about projects, (d) preparing resource lists of services available for farmers interested in NYSERDA project technologies, (e) posting information on a Cornell website suitable for farmers and advisors, (f) hosting workshops to train local farm advisors to assist in delivering information, and (g) documenting metrics on numbers of persons receiving information and numbers of farms instituting technologies demonstrated in NYSERDA projects.
Work to be initiated only to the extent provided for by written authorization will include: (a) specific analyses of project data that are found to be important for addressing challenges and opportunities, (b) preparation of selected guideline publications that will assist farmers and their advisors in cost-effective use of technologies demonstrated in NYSERDA projects, and (c) establishing a Quick Response Team (QRT) to apply expertise to help farmers respond to problems and opportunities that occur as they are learning to implement these technologies.