Renewable Energy Field Days Draw Statewide Crowd

The four field days hosted over 90 attendees total! I was able to attend 2 of the 4 field days that I helped to organize: Warren's off-the-grid systems on August 5 and Bondi's solar livestock watering on August 6. I enjoyed meeting the hosts and learning about the systems myself, but the best part was watching the attendees get to know each other and exchange ideas and information.

Sam Warren of On Warren Pond Farm in Trumansburg has been homesteading since the early 1990s. He's installed his energy systems over fifteen years for less than the utility companies wanted to charge him to run power down to the farm. Violet was worried that attendees would lose interest, but Sam's systems kept everybody enthralled. After a brief introduction everyone had the opportunity to see the windmills, solar panels, and waterwheel up close and ask questions. The waterwheel was a curiosity for most people; they saw more practical application in the solar and wind technologies. However, the waterwheel runs many of Sam's tools (e.g., a drill press) directly and simultaneously, which means that there's no need to store electricity for later use. This field day hosted the largest group: we counted 36 people in attendance!



Bob and Mary Lou Bondi are just getting started with a small beef operation - fulfilling Bob's lifelong dream - in a historic barn in Pultaney, NY. 19 people turned out to learn about Bob's solar pump system for livestock watering, which was installed with grant assistance from the Finger Lakes Resource Conservation and Development Council. Dick Winnett of FLRC&D talked about funding options and Bob explained how the system works. Bob and Mary Lou were gracious hosts, which was a big help for me and Violet since MapQuest steered us wrong and we arrived later than planned. Though this field day was a success, for me the best part was touring the barn, which was restored with grant aid a few years ago. Bob also showed us a pond built on the high point of his farm, which will provide gravity-fed water to more remote pastures.



There were many differences between these two events, but the similarities strike me as being much more important. Each farmer is exploring several different technologies to find what combination works best. The attendees were a diverse group, including farmers, journalists, extension agents, homeowners, students, and would-be homesteaders; everyone was attentive and curious and they learned as much from each other as they did from the hosts. "Green" might be the buzzword of the day, but passion for renewable energy is present in such a diverse population that I will be surprised if interest declines anytime soon.

It was truly a rewarding experience to see so many people show up partly because of my efforts.

Renewable Energy Field Days!

The field days I wrote about are finally scheduled! When I posted about the process before I wasn't sure how long it would take. It turned into one of those situations in which you work and work and work and think you're making no progress, but one day, without warning, you find yourself with your goal in hand! Our networking efforts produced some great results: three of the field days are co-sponsored. Sincere thanks are due to Richard Gast of Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Molly Ames of Jefferson County CCE, and Dick Winnett of the Finger Lakes Resource Conservation & Development Council. Richard and Molly are members of the Small Farms Energy Work Team.

There are four field days scheduled. See the Small Farms Program website for more information.
July 25, 2009: Photovoltaic electric system at Happy Haven Farm, Mooers.
July 30, 2009: Photovoltaic electric system at Lilac Lawns Farm, Mannsville.
August 5, 2009: Off-grid solar, wind, and water energy at On Warren Pond Farm, Trumansburg.
August 6, 2009: Solar-powered livestock watering at Bob Bondi's farm, Pulteney.

The current challenge is publicizing the field days. Violet realized that our press list was last updated three years ago, so she's asked me to make sure that the contacts are current and to expand the list. While working on that project, I've brainstormed some other ideas for getting the word out. My favorites: posting fliers at county fairs, asking farmers' market managers to tell their vendors, and listing the field days on the Ithaca Journal events calendar. Publicity has already gone out through the newsletters of several organizations and people are starting to sign up!

Welcome to Your Small Farm

The 2009 4-H Career Explorations were held here on campus from June 30 through July 2. Violet and I were asked to lead one of the focus groups, called Exploring the Small Farm Dream. We led 13 teens and 4 chaperones in a discussion of the many farm-related careers and different possibilities for farming on a small scale on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, we visited Dilmun Hill (Cornell's student-run farm), Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese, and Reisinger's Apple Country. We finished on Thursday morning by discussing the field trip and asking the group to reflect on their experiences.

Since everyone was so quiet in the vans on Wednesday, I was surprised and grateful when Thursday's discussion turned out to be lively. Visiting farms with different business models worked out well: it was easy and educational to compare their strengths and weaknesses. One group of teens recorded a video of the field trip. The highlight (of course) was getting the vans stuck in the mud.

If you're unfamiliar with 4-H, check this out.

Dilmun Hill put us to work:













The cheese was amazing!













Mr. Reisinger explains about thinning the fruit.

Problem / Solution

Between foreign policy and environmental concerns and energy availability and cost, "green" energy is on everyone's radar these days, and farmers are no exception. To help get the word out about energy conservation strategies and technologies that work for small farms, the Small Farms Program is organizing a series of field days to highlight small farms with successful alternative energy strategies. In practice, the organizers are my supervisor, Violet Stone, and me!

Two weeks ago, I would have outlined Basic Field Day Organizing Strategy thusly:
1. Identify hosts & choose dates
2. Invite speakers
3. Publicize the heck out of the events!

Not so fast! I'm quickly learning that the renewable energy scene in New York is quite a muddle. Individual organizations and people are approaching the issue from every possible angle, but there isn't much communication going on between all the different efforts. No one seems to know what the big picture is. For New York, this state of affairs means that often people are reinventing the wheel instead of improving upon previous efforts. For me, it's difficult to find needed information.

Problem: lack of communication makes finding information difficult. Solution: network! Perhaps nobody knows the big picture, but many people know about energy initiatives in their areas. The most successful strategy I've tried so far was to send an email to all the county Small Farms Educators asking about farms they know of that are using renewable energy. We only need to schedule 3-4 field days, but I'm also creating a database of all the responses. I've gotten leads not only on small farms, but also on renewable energy technology companies and energy education/training programs. I'm sure that I won't learn about all the renewable energy initiatives in the state, but the database will be a good start. It'll be accessible for the Small Farms Energy Work Team to use and grow after I leave, too!

Gearing Up

Welcome! I'm a student in Cornell's Agricultural Science major, getting ready to graduate in December. This summer, I'm working for - and blogging about - the Small Farms Program and the Organic Dairy Initiative. As an intern, I have the opportunity to learn these programs inside and out by:

• organizing renewable energy field days and organic dairy field days;
• profiling the renewable energy strategies of farms;
• assisting with a field trial to test the incorporation of brassicas into pasture;
• profiling small dairies;
• assisting with editing the Small Farms Quarterly;
• updating relevant websites

The list may change, of course; one of the qualifications for the job is "willingness to learn quickly and work in a flexible environment."

I started work on May 18, but between my sister's graduation and Memorial Day weekend this week (the third consecutive week) is my first full one. Stay tuned for further adventures!