Agriculture represents an important economic sector in Essex County. Farms create direct economic benefits, provide our residents with fresh local foods, support other local businesses across many sectors, and preserve the rural character that our residents and visitors value so highly. Through Cornell Regional Agriculture Teams, CCE-Essex supports local agriculture by providing resources for farmers, and consumers, to help strengthen our local and regional food systems.
What we do
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County offers research-based resources and education to our farming community, and addresses the overall goals of our local Ag & Farmland Protection Plans.
Educators help farms to remain viable and profitable businesses by providing comprehensive, research-based information in animal and natural resource husbandry, business planning and marketing, diversified farm products, and technical and financial support opportunities.
We connect clients with Cornell University faculty, Extension experts, and with other community agencies that also can provide information and support.
About Agriculture in CCE Essex County
CCE Essex County is unique among local organizations in offering a continuum of education and resources that enable it to address food systems issues in a holistic way. By working at a food-system level, we can more effectively respond to cross-cutting needs such as food safety, food access, local agriculture, and community infrastructure. We offer resources for farmers and consumers that span the food system.
CCE Essex County agricultural support includes county-specific projects, regional teams, and collaborators at Cornell University. Please see the pages at the left (Farmland Protection and Transition Support, etc) to learn about the work ongoing in the CCE Essex County office. Please contact the CCE Essex County office with any questions or to request a farm visit. Farm visits are a very useful way to learn more about the needs of your farm. You can visit the office for soil testing boxes and guidance in soil or forage sample submission.
Agricultural resources and events are announced and archived through a Google Groups forum: Essex County Farmer-to-Farmer. This forum allows all resources to be accessed by topic at any time, for participants to share resources and create dialogue, and for participants to customize how messages are received. To join, contact Carly Summers.
Essex County residents interested in support from the regional teams or Cornell resources below are encouraged to first contact CCE Essex and we will link you to the best expert for your question or need. Each team produces (highly recommended) regular newsletters with research-based information relevant for the time of year and current needs of the region.
The CCE Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Team provides excellent support and consultation for vegetable and fruit production, as well as business management.
Adirondack Harvest is a collaborative marketing organization for direct-market farming, forestry and fiber businesses. The organization is based and run out of CCE Essex. Adirondack Harvest provides the only comprehensive and current local food resource website for the Adirondack region, as well as various events for local food outreach.
The Harvest NY CCE team provides marketing and value-added processing support.
The Willsboro Research Farm is a Cornell University Experimental Station, one of only 3 in the state, and is located in Essex County, conducting research specific to the needs of this region.
The Uihlein Maple Research Station focuses on maple research and workshops, located in Lake Placid.
Cornell Small Farms provides excellent online webinars and resources addressing every aspect of farming, from production to business management.
Agriculture Staff
ct693@cornell.edu
518-962-4810 X 4409
ihs27@cornell.edu
518-962-4810 X 4412
Main Contact
Cole Trager
Agriculture & Local Food Senior Team Leader
ct693 [at] cornell.edu (ct693[at]cornell[dot]edu)
518-962-4810 X 4409