A Busy End of the Week

Thursday I learned about the three experiment stations that Cornell has, which are integral in the research that Cornell does. The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva has been around for over 125 years! It became part of Cornell University in 1923, and includes over 700 acres of land, orchards and vineyards. The research they do there includes: horticulture and research in production of fruits and vegetables, food safety and food science, entomology and IPM, viticulture, and and plant pathology. They also do extension work to make sure the producers and consumers and food businesses are up to date on research. Then there is Willsboro Research Farm which is located along Lake Champlain and was donated to Cornell is 1982. This farm has a wide range of research projects going on with dairy, fertilizer, renewable energy, greenhouses, wine grape trials, organic research, and forage production. There is an automated weather station that provides important information on air and soil temperatures, light, precipitation, and wind.  Finally there is Uihlein Farm located in the Adirondack Mountains which is dedicated to potato research and seed stock production. There is also a laboratory and greenhouse on the farm that is used for breeding programs and produce about 65 varieties of potatoes for distribution to seed growers.


Lee also introduced me to a new project I will take over for New York Farm Days. This event was started ten years ago by Secretary Hilary Clinton, and continues with Senator Kristen Gillibrand. It is held in Washington, D.C. and typically features over 50 exhibitors sharing farm fresh products and wines. Last year Cornell features its Apple Breeding Program and served three new apple varieties. This year our focus will be on two new raspberry varieties that have been introduced, as well as high tunnels. My job is to design our table layout and write the informational posters for the table and communicate with the professor in charge of the research. It will be exciting to figure it all out!


On Friday Zoe and I headed to New York City on an early morning train to attend and help run the Symposium and MOU Signing for the Kwara State Agricultural Modernization Master Plan (KAMP) at the ILR conference center in Manhattan. First of all it was my fourth time in the City, and goodness it is so overwhelming! So many people and tall buildings and crazily enough I ran into an old friend from high school who is living there and auditioning for shows to pursue a career in theater. It was a crazy coincidence to run into her a diner where Zoe and I had breakfast.

The ILR center was recently renovated, and it is lovely inside, a perfect location for the afternoon. It was really wonderful to learn more about Nigeria and the Kwara state which is one of the most innovative agricultural states in Nigeria. They have developed a five-year transformational agricultural modernization master plan to help establish Kwara as the agricultural hub in Nigeria. Cornell is partnering with Kwara state to help implement the plan. There were over forty attendees to the event, and there was a large delegation from Nigeria of government officials, professors, and more as well as Cornell University professors and administrators. It was a very busy afternoon, followed by a wonderful dinner and celebration at the Hilton Hotel. It really felt like a wedding with fancy food and people toasting and celebrating the work that has been done for this project. There was a huge cake in addition to dessert that was delicious, butter shaped like roses, and many courses. A Nigerian comedian spoke and though I couldn't understand all the jokes, there was a happy feeling all around. There was also Nigerian music, which was really neat.