Cornell appoints New York state maple specialist

Childs

By Linda McCandless

Stephen Childs has been appointed as the New York State extension maple specialist in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell. Childs has extensive experience with maple both as a producer and an extension educator in Wyoming County.

"This is a full-time, statewide position with a primary focus on extension and a secondary focus on research," said Brian Chabot, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of the Cornell Maple Program.

Producer input to the Cornell Maple Program's strategic plan emphasizes the need to focus on the business and marketing side of the maple industry. "Steve's expertise in this area comes from running his own successful farm-based business and from extension work with maple and many types of farm-based businesses," said Chabot. "He has an unusual depth of experience and a record of innovative approaches to improving business and marketing practices."

"Steve's goals as the maple specialist are to support and expand county-level activity in maple programming and help the industry expand and improve profitability," said Peter Smallidge, the New York state extension forester and director of the Arnot Teaching and Research Forest at Cornell.

Childs' applied research collaborations will also include projects working directly with maple producers and other projects situated at the Uihlein Sugar Maple Field Station in Lake Placid. Smallidge, who has some responsibility for maple, will work closely with Childs at the 40-acre sugarbush in the Arnot Forest.

Childs has been a member of the Cornell Maple Team since its inception in 1998 and has been extensively involved with agriculture, natural resource management and maple production.

"I have had the good fortune of being directly connected to the maple industry for my entire life," said Childs, noting that his first experience with maple production was gathering sap with his grandmother. "I believe I can be an asset to the Cornell Maple Program."