One area of research at the Farm Hub is the establishment and monitoring of on-farm habitats. The goal of this work is to study these on-farm habitats in order to better understand their roles on agricultural land for both wildlife conservation and providing habitat for beneficials that might provide services to crops. In the spring of 2017, in partnership with the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program and the Xerces Society, we established the native meadow trial on former cornfields. These fields had been taken out of tillage because of their exposure to infrequent but severe flooding. The overall objective is to understand what seed mixes and management systems can produce good habitat for beneficials and other wildlife.

Now in its fourth year, we have a lot to share with you about what we have learned. We will share our experience with planning —with help from The Xerces Society—choice of species, and the fieldwork undertaken to establish and manage the plots without the help of herbicides over four seasons. We will describe how the plant composition in the meadows continues to evolve and share our insights into the use of different meadows by pollinators, pest predators, and other wildlife on the farm.

Speakers:

Claudia Knab-Vispo, Botanist, Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program

Conrad Vispo, Wildlife Ecologist, Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program

Anne Bloomfield, Applied Farmscape Ecology Program Manager, Hudson Valley Farm Hub