The 1997 growing season brought many challenges - a cold spring, a summer drought, and record potato leafhopper numbers. Farmers in 11 counties across New York State armed themselves to face these challenges and many more by participating in the Tactical Agriculture (TAg) program. Agents and Area Educators were joined by program assistants who spent time scouting fields and gathering data for use by the farmers and the agents, allowing for challenges to be addressed as they occurred.