518-673-3237 • 800-836-2888 Fax 518-673-3245|info@leepub.com
FacebookTwitterInstagram

Crop Comments: Harnessing the Fringe

2020-08-13T13:14:04-05:00August 13, 2020|Eastern Edition, Mid Atlantic, New England Farm Weekly, Western Edition|

There are at least a couple options for planting forages that really put to good use the cooler conditions that surround Indian Summer in the Northeast. The best time to plant these “packages,” seldom just a single species, is the middle 10 days of August. The question then is where to plant these. Many folks were able to get 75- to 80-day corn planted more or less on time, despite a chilly, drawn-out April. According to my April electric bill statement, the average temperature in Otsego County was 41º F. Throughout April 2020, the only crops that looked good were late summer/early fall-planted small grains/winter forages. (more…)

Read More
 0

Focusing on four farm values

2020-08-13T13:05:57-05:00August 13, 2020|Western Edition|

by Evelyn Leubner

If you have ever taken a drive through Cayuga County, there is a good chance you have cruised past some fields that belong to the Patterson family. The Pattersons run a sixth generation large-scale dairy and crop farm in Auburn, NY. On top of the 1,600-cow milking herd and 1,200 replacement heifers, they grow about 2,500 acres of hay, corn and wheat. Julie Patterson said that their children Tad, Wyatt and Rylie have their own show cows as well, but “they don’t get treated very special around here and are just a part of the herd.” She noted the show cows “still have to pull their own weight, just like the rest.” (more…)

Read More
 0

Sixteen dairies honored for 30 years of Super Milk

2020-08-13T12:49:11-05:00August 13, 2020|Western Edition|

by Enrico Villamaino

A state program dedicated to recognizing the very best in New York’s milk producers has reached a milestone in 2020.

For the 30th year, the Empire State Milk Quality Council (ESMQC) has conferred its “Super Milk” award to dairies both large and small across the state. The award was created in 1990 and first presented in 1991 to acknowledge those producers who consistently go above and beyond New York’s quality standards for dairy herds. (more…)

Read More
 0

Survey finds two-thirds of NY farms negatively impacted by COVID-19

2020-08-13T12:47:31-05:00August 13, 2020|Eastern Edition, Western Edition|

by Courtney Llewellyn

More than 500 New York Farm Bureau members participated in a survey in mid-June that asked how the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of the New York economy affected both their bottom lines and their mental health. The survey found that 65% of the respondents’ farms and businesses were negatively impacted financially by COVID-19. (more…)

Read More
 0

Crop Comments: Another dynamic duo

2020-08-13T12:46:57-05:00August 13, 2020|Eastern Edition, Mid Atlantic, New England Farm Weekly, Western Edition|

Mid-spring 1977, in my role as agronomy cooperative extension agent for Otsego County, I attended a field crop demonstration at one of Cornell’s off-campus research facilities. Several agronomy professors were stationed at their own demonstration sites. These educators would explain the details of their experiments to guests, mostly farmers. The presentation that I remember best was given by Robert Seaney, PhD. (more…)

Read More
 0

First generation dairy farmers Unc Brock

2020-08-13T12:44:33-05:00August 13, 2020|Eastern Edition|

by Katie Navarra

At a time when many second and third generation dairy farm kids left the family business, Kris and Unc Brock jumped in with both feet. Kris was working at an optometrist’s office and Unc had a trucking business. The couple had been around cows as kids and thought a small dairy operation would make an ideal retirement gig. (more…)

Read More
 0

Dairy Princess agvocates in new ways

2020-08-13T12:39:56-05:00August 13, 2020|Western Edition|

by Evelyn Leubner

The average person is more than four generations removed from the family farm. This means the majority of the public has never stepped foot on an operating farm. This poses a threat to farmers everywhere, as consumers grow confused about how their food is grown and raised. It is especially an issue in the dairy industry because there are so many groups that push untrue information out to the public as a way to scare them away from consuming dairy products. The good news is that there are people in the industry working hard to share the reality of dairy farming. One of those agvocates is Dairy Princess Kailey Kuhn of Marion, NY. (more…)

Read More
 0