Agriculture

Wayne County is diverse in its agricultural base. The countryside is plentiful in orchards, vegetables, dairy farms, grain operations and nurseries. Cornell Cooperative Extension provides education for these ag businesses.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Wayne County supports four regional agriculture teams and provides support for the “backyard” grower through our Master Gardener Program. By providing local county dollars into the regional agriculture program, Wayne County farmers and agriservice have access to more than 17 specialists in specific commodity areas. Check out the “Commercial Agriculture” page to get more information.

2026 Ag Enrollment is coming soon! More information about our regional agriculture teams is available on our Ag Specialist Page through the link above for "Commercial Agriculture". Sign up to get all the specialist teams’ newsletter and educational activities announcement. CCE Wayne now has information for growers of all commodities: dairy, livestock, field crops, vegetables, fruit and wine grapes, enroll now!

For more specific information on agriculture in Wayne County, look in the NYS Ag Statistics web page.

Interested in compost for your farm? On Monday, September 29th, the Institute for Sustainability Engagement (ISE) will be facilitating a half-day, in-person workshop at Syracuse University about compost use and soil health.

Attendees will first learn about the benefits of and best practices for using finished compost to improve agricultural soils. Then, attendees will tour a large-scale composting site managed by the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) to learn how high-quality compost is produced from food scraps and landscape debris. The workshop will include information about compost production and quality, soil health benefits, different end uses, application equipment and rates, compost procurement and costs, and more.

The workshop is free, but space is limited so registration is required. Those interested can learn more and register online. Questions can be directed to me at jekerns@syr.edu.

Last updated August 20, 2025