In mid-July 2024, a team of extension staff, farmers, manure applicators and agency staff from New York and Vermont partnered with Annex Media and the North American Manure Expo (NAME) Board to bring NAME to central New York. After more than a year of planning, the event held at Patterson Farms in Auburn, N.Y. on July 17 and 18 was the realization of many hours of planning, coordination, and plain old hard work. And what a two days it was! Here are a few highlights:

ATTENDANCE

Over the course of the two-day event, we welcomed 1,300 attendees from at least 36 different states and provinces across North America. Attendees included farm owners, farm workers, custom applicators and their employees, academic faculty, extension faculty and staff, agency staff, manufacturers, and students.

EXHIBITORS AND VENDORS

The show included 81 exhibitors and vendors that included equipment manufacturers, farmer organizations, consultants and educational organizations, safety education, agronomic inputs and more. The exhibitors are the heart of the show and the primary reason we can hold it. Their financial support, demonstrations, and technical support are what make it happen!

TOURS

Always a draw, our N.Y. tours were no exception. Almost 300 people attended one of four tours that included a water quality focused trip to Sunnyside Farms, a manure-to-energy themed tour of Aurora Ridge and Lincoln Dairies, a soil health themed trip to Spruce Haven Dairy and DuMond Farms, and multiple tours of our host farm Patterson Farms, on their now infamous Cow Bus.

SAFETY SCHOOL

For the second year in a row, NAME hosted a two-hour safety school at the culmination of the first day. This year, more than ever, with a manure tanker accident that took the lives of Nathan Doody and Tyler Memory just one short month before the event, we had a particular emphasis on manure handling safety. Safety School was kicked off with an emotional reminder from Scott Potter, Dairy Support Services, and Nathan and Tyler’s families about how important every decision for safe work operations is. We then split into three groups where roughly 300 attendees engaged with instructors at our Road, Truck and Equipment; Confined Space Entry and Manure Gas; and Dragline safety stations. We ended safety school with the big event, a real-life pressurized drag hose release demonstration that exhibited the true danger of a fully charged drag hose that is full of air. While standing at a safe distance, attendees saw first-hand the damage even 50 to 60 PSI can do to a human as our dummy Milton lost a limb.

WORKSHOPS AND POSTER SESSION

Our workshops tents were standing room only for 18 different presentations about the most recent research, technology, and practical applications from 35 different presenters. We had four education tents with the themes of safety, water quality, agronomy and soil health, and climate resilience. The poster session had 15 posters focused on manure research, with three student prizes awarded.

DEMONSTRATIONS

Demonstrations are the true highlight of NAME and make it the only show of its kind in North America, where manure equipment from storage, to separation, to application all are demonstrated live in front of a discerning audience. This year we had so many demonstrations. We started off on day one with a pit agitation demonstration that highlighted four pumps and two boats, while also showing the value of personal gas monitors to alert when manure gases start to rise, and when more care is needed during agitation. Immediately following, hay wagons took visitors to the separator demonstration, where four different manure separators were on display and operating side by side.

The second day was chock full of application demonstrations. We started with solid manure demonstrations, where after a short discussion about calibration, we saw eight state-of-the-art solid spreaders, as well as a new tractor-mounted automated precision soil sampler. The afternoon highlighted liquid applications with eight different pieces of equipment. Of note was that all the equipment vendors were excited to show their newest injection technologies, highlighting their commitment to environmental stewardship. We saw applications on grass, in standing corn, and on no-till bare ground. Three applications were done with drag hoses while the remainder were done with tanks. We even saw some tillage equipment designed to incorporate manure with less disturbance than conventional tillage. A highlight and crowd-pleaser was the horse-drawn manure spreader that showed that big or small, manure application is serious business in the Northeast. We rounded out the whole event with an excellent spill response and restoration demonstration. Led by University of Wisconsin’s Keven Erb and Onondaga Soil and Water Conservation District’s Mark Burger, we saw first-hand how to properly respond to a manure spill and clean it up without losing manure into a waterway.

BBQ

Another highlight was the catered BBQ on the first night. With over 200 attendees, we were treated to some great local food from Mooney’s BBQ and fantastic local beer from Heritage Hill Brewery’s tap truck. Lots of smiles were had thanks to the generous support of six different farmer organizations from N.Y. and V.T. New York’s Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner, Richard Ball, shared great words of wisdom with attendees and we capped it off with a birthday serenade for Reilley Patterson, who celebrated her 18th birthday with us at the Expo!

PARTNERS

The sentiment surrounding the planning and execution of this event was partnership. N.Y. and V.T. extension, farmers, manure applicators, agencies, and industry really stepped up to the plate, and folks who traveled from other areas of the country felt the immense support of our partners, to pull off one of the best NAME events in recent history. We showcased our collaboration, our progressive and practical approaches to environmental stewardship, and highlighted our focus on agronomic and economic professional nutrient management that will help profitability and sustainability long-term.

Next year’s event will be held at the Fulton County Fairgrounds in northwest Ohio. And it’s already shaping up to be a good one. Keep track of 2025 updates and see some of the highlights of our 2024 event online.

This article appeared in PRO-DAIRY's The Manager in March 2025. To learn more about Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY, visit PRO-DAIRY.