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Our Staff
Agricultural Stewardship Program Staff
Agricultural Stewardship Coordinator: Rebecca Wiseman
Responsibilities include the development, implementation and education of
environmentally sound agricultural practices to minimize the impact of agricultural
inputs on surface water and groundwater. Rebecca’s primary responsibility is to
coordinate all aspects of the Agricultural Stewardship Program, both in the office
and in the field. The target audience is production agriculture/horticulture enterprises.
The Coordinator works in cooperation with CCE educators, Cornell faculty,
Natural Resource and Conservation Service and Suffolk County Soil and Water
Conservation District personnel.
Stewardship Technicians: Kevin Sanwald, Laurie Mickaliger and Lea Loizos
The Stewardship Technicians are responsible for providing agricultural growers with
technical assistance in best management practices by conducting AEM farm assessments
and on-farm demonstration projects. They are also integral to the overall development and
implementation of the Stewardship Program. Stewardship Technicians work with individual
growers and CCE Educators to collect and interpret data from various research and
demonstration projects.. Results from these projects are shared with cooperating farms,
vineyards, nurseries, and greenhouses. AEM assessments help growers identify on-farm
practices that could possibly cause contamination of ground and/or surface waters. On-farm
demonstration projects teach growers the benefit of best management practices through the
technicians’ direct application of new agricultural practices aimed at reducing the possibility of
ground and surface water contamination from fertilizer and pesticide use.
Administrative Assistant: Sally Swain
Responsible for Access database to track participation in AEM and the general progress of the Stewardship Program. Sally is an invaluable part of the team, assisting in the overall development, implementation, and marketing of the Stewardship Program.
Stewardship Seasonal Staff: Employees hired to work with various agricultural stewardship projects. The seasonal staff work has centered on implementing agricultural practices to minimize nitrate and fertilizer runoff into groundwater and surface water.
Agricultural Stewardship Supporting Staff
The Stewardship Support staff is essential in fulfilling the goals of the Suffolk County Agricultural Stewardship Program. This group of individuals has provided professional guidance to streamline AEM worksheets, develop educational programs and best management practices, implement on-farm demonstration projects and work with growers to prepare Agricultural Conservation Plans. Members of the Support Staff include:
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Agriculture Program Staff, Long Island Horticulture Research and Extension Center Staff, and Cornell University Specialists. Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service are important liaisons to growers and are experts in understanding the economics and viability of new agricultural practices.
Technical Committee
The Technical Committee was organized in 2004 to provide the Agricultural Stewardship Program with education and technical leadership. Members representing Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), and USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) meet monthly for the purpose of communicating concerns and issues related to the program. Other staff, members of the agricultural community and members of the Working Group attend on occasion to provide input and support as it relates to the program. It is our goal to continue to develop and maintain an ongoing cooperative partnership that will promote an incentive based, voluntary environmental program to reduce fertilizer and pesticide use in production agriculture while promoting its continued success and viability. Current committee members: Dale Moyer (CCE), Rebecca Wiseman (CCE), Tom McMahon (SWCD), and Allan Connell (NRCS).
Working Group
Membership of the Working Group includes the Technical Committee and representatives from: Suffolk County’s Executive Office, the Department of Health Services and Planning Department, Cornell University, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Long Island Farm Bureau, environmental groups, NYS Agri-business Association, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and local agricultural growers. Members meet quarterly except for the summer planting season to share ways to reduce groundwater and other environmental risks and investigate funding sources to further the goals of the Agricultural Stewardship Program and cost sharing practices. The Group is committed to a voluntary, incentive based program that takes into account a whole farm management perspective. Our mission is to promote the use of agricultural inputs in a responsible and environmentally sound manner while maintaining a strong, viable agricultural industry in Suffolk County.
This program is funded by the
Suffolk County Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program.October 2008