DELHI, NY – “A tradition is kept alive only by something being added to it,” said Henry James.
The 2025 Catskill Regional Agriculture Conference has followed this sentiment for 22 years, as one of the first gatherings to christen the new year with practical knowledge and networking for the 135 area farmers who attended.
The 2025 event was once again spearheaded by CCE Delaware, in partnership with the storied Watershed Agricultural Council, and held on the SUNY Delhi campus. Dairy, livestock, grazing and horticulture tracks offered a cornucopia of subjects to learn more about.
The campus vestibule once again featured a small trade show of complimentary ag services from the Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District, Farm Credit East, the Upper Susquehanna Coalition, NYC Environmental Protection, Pure Catskills, NOFA-NY, the Cornell Farmers Market Research Project, the National Grazing Lands Coalition, NY FarmNet, Alpha-gal Syndrome Awareness Initiative and the Watershed Ag Council.
Three early bird sessions showcased “Growing Outdoor Mushrooms for Markets” featuring Steve Gabriel from Wellspring Forest Farm, “Digital Agronomy Using Farmers Datalab for Your Farm” by Cornell University’s Louis Longchamps and an “Intro to Blueberry & Raspberry Production” led by CCE Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Berry Specialist Heather Kase.

Dr. Kathy Soder led discussions on animal nutrition and grazing management. Photo by Troy Bishopp
As is tradition, a splendid lunch (with copious amounts of local milk) was the setting for an engaging keynote by SUNY Delhi Professor Douglas Gulotty, with his take on an “ambidextrous business model” and its ramifications for the regional food and farming systems.
The dairy track featured nutrition and management practices for getting fresh cows off to a good start, early intervention and prevention strategies for down cows and “Immunology 101” for dairy farms.
The grazing sessions featured optimizing all phases of grazing management with guest speakers Dr. Ed Rayburn and Dr. Kathy Soder from the USDA-ARS Pasture Lab in Pennsylvania. CCE Ulster Livestock & Natural Resources Educator Kathryn Brignac led a discussion on the merits of silvopasture for local farms.
Livestock topics included learning about animal nutrient needs, forage testing and grazing behavior and hay harvest planning for optimal quality and quantity. Cornell’s Pro-Livestock Beef Specialist Adam Murray discussed the factors influencing the beef-eating experience, saying, “Tenderness and flavor are the drivers of customer acceptance.”
The horticulture tracks focused on growing your own nitrogen from manures, cover crops and compost to enhance vegetable production, indoor mushroom production considerations and feasibility and using farmer-friendly point of sale software to analyze marketing techniques and track beneficial sales led by Tioga County farmer Becca Rimmel and Cornell University’s Luca Rigotti.
To access presentation materials, contact Senior Team Leader Dale DeWing at drd4@cornell.edu, Senior Resource Dairy/Livestock Educator Rich Toebe at rrt43@cornell.edu or call the CCE Delaware office at 607.865.7090.
by Troy Bishopp
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