Map of Dairy Viability Study Area (in .bmp format)
Principal Investigator: Gil Gillespie, Community, Food and Agriculture Program, 607-255-1675 or gwg2@cornell.edu.
There are a host of opportunities for smaller dairy operators to remain viable by bringing together strategies that make effective use of farm household labor and resources, personal proclivities, cost control measures, diversification options, and marketing innovations. This project is aimed at better understanding the characteristics of small and mid-sized dairy businesses, and the internal and external factors that contribute to their viability. The study will also explore opportunities for synergy and cooperation among dairies of similar size and between dairies of different sizes in the same community.
Primary contact: Fay Benson, CCE Cortland County, afb3@cornell.edu, (607) 753-5213
The Cornell Small Farm Program received funding from The New York Viability Institute (NYFVI) to demonstrate that via farmer discussion groups, peer mentoring, and distance learning, previous investments by the NYFVI can be efficiently shared with small and midsized dairy producers. By fostering farmer groups on dairy value-adding and other management practices, we will extend the outreach of the NY Ag Innovation Center’s Value-Added Dairy, Business Planning Assistance, and Business Structure components to a wider group of farmers. We will test use of videoconferencing and other tools to create local and virtual communities around specific interests, allowing smaller producers to take advantage of statewide resources to improve profitability.
