Overview

Dr. Fick has studied the ecology and management of forage crops since he came to Cornell University. He has been especially interested in alfalfa and in methods of predicting alfalfa forage quality as the crop is growing in the field. In addition, he has been teaching three or four subjects each year related to forage crops, sustainable agriculture, and research methods. His present research includes the study of sustainable land allocations to support a balanced local food system. He is an academic advisor, having served over 165 undergraduate and 65 graduate student advisees, an author with over 295 scientific publications and abstracts, and an editor with service to 14 scientific journals.

Research Focus

Dr. Fick's present research addresses three problems. The first is the development of forage quality prediction and valuation procedures focused on the refinement of the Cornell FORVAL computer program for hay and silage pricing. The second is linked through his graduate student Steve Culman to the work of the Land Institute in Kansas studying the nitrogen dynamics of prairie grasslands and farmland developed from those grasslands. He also works with post-doc Christian Peters addressing the potential for enhancing local food systems in New York State. Spatial modeling is used to simultaneously consider land availability, sustainable crop production, optimal economic use of land, human population distributions, and dietary options to estimate "foodsheds " for population centers. The procedures allow the determination of the area and location of land needed to provide different kinds of diets.

Outreach and Extension Focus

Dr. Fick has no formal extension appointment, but his research activities are oriented toward practical applications and generally include extension personnel as collaborators. The Cornell FORVAL computer program is available online for use in the field (http://forval.css.cornell.edu/). His extension publication with Sharon Mueller is the crop science standard for staging alfalfa (http://www.css.cornell.edu/extension/AlfalfaBulletin.pdf).

Instruction Focus

Dr. Fick teaches the undergraduate courses in "sustainable agriculture" (CSS 190, 3 credits) and "forage crops" (CSS 312, 4 credits) and the graduate course in research methods (CSS 690, 1 credit). He teaches CSS 690 with Hugh Gauch, author of Scientific Method in Practice, which is the text for the course. He often offers a teaching experience course (CSS 498, 1 credit) in conjunction with CSS 190. In this course students prepare poster lessons on sustainable agriculture and present them at Ithaca High School. His own book, Food, Farming, and Faith, recently has been the basis for a special topics course (CSS 494, 1 credit) that takes a holistic view of sustainable agriculture including the perspectives of several religions.

Additional Links

• Cornell FORVAL
• CSS 190 / CSS 312 / CSS 494 / CSS 690
• Link to CALS Research portal
• Link to CALS Impact statements

Selected Publications

• Fick, G.W. 2008. Food, Farming, and Faith. State Univ. of New York Press, Albany, New York. [http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=61596]
• Peng, Li, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Estimate market value of tested forages with Cornell FORVAL (2007) on the internet. Proceeding and Reports of the 2007 Conference of the American Forage and Grassland Council and the Northeastern Branch of the Crop, Soil, and Agronomy Societies of America. 16:109.
• Peters, C.J., J.L. Wilkins, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Testing a complete-diet model for estimating the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity: The New York State example. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22:145-153. [http://www.journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1091328&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S1742170507001767]
• 2007 - Peters, C.J., and G.W. Fick. 2007. Mapping local food systems potential in New York State. In 2007 Agricultural Prosperity for Small and Medium Sized Farms PD Meeting, Washington, DC, 8-9 March 2007.
• 2007 - Barnes, R.F., C.J. Nelson, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Terminology and classification of forage plants. p. 3-14. In R.F. Barnes, C.J. Nelson, Michael Collins, and K.J. Moore. (ed.) Forages -- an introduction to grassland agriculture (Volume 2). 6th ed. Blackwell, Ames, IA.
• Peters, C.J., J.L. Wilkins, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Testing a complete-diet model for estimating the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity: The New York State example. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22:145-153. [http://www.journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1091328&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S1742170507001767]
• Peng, Li, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Estimate market value of tested forages with Cornell FORVAL (2007) on the internet. Proceeding and Reports of the 2007 Conference of the American Forage and Grassland Council and the Northeastern Branch of the Crop, Soil, and Agronomy Societies of America. 16:109.
• Barnes, R.F., C.J. Nelson, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Terminology and classification of forage plants. p. 3-14. In R.F. Barnes, C.J. Nelson, Michael Collins, and K.J. Moore. (ed.) Forages -- an introduction to grassland agriculture (Volume 2). 6th ed. Blackwell, Ames, IA.
• Fick, G.W. 2005. Farming by the book: Food, farming, and the environment in the Bible and the Qur-?n. CSS Teaching Series No. T05-1, Dep. of Crop and Soil Sci., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY. [http://hdl.handle.net/1813/2550]
• Gauch, H.G., Jr., J.T.G. Hwang, and G.W. Fick. 2003. Model evaluation by comparison of model-based predictions and measured values. Agron. J. 95:1442-1446. [http://agron.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/95/6/1442]
• Peters, C.J., G.W. Fick, and J.L. Wilkins. 2003. Cultivating better nutrition: Can the food pyramid help translate dietary recommendations into agricultural goals? Agron. J. 95:1424-1431. [http://agron.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/95/6/1424]
• Fick, G.W., W.O. Lamp, and Michael Collins. 2003. Integrated pest management. p. 295-313. In R.F. Barnes, C.J. Nelson, Michael Collins, and K.J. Moore (ed.) Forages -- an introduction to grassland agriculture (Volume 1). 6th ed. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA.
• Fick, G.W., and S.C. Mueller. 1989. Alfalfa: Quality, maturity, and mean stage of development. Cornell Coop. Ext. Information Bull. 217. Also available at [http://www.css.cornell.edu/extension/AlfalfaBulletin.pdf]

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