If you didn't find what you were looking for, try a new search!
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
If you would like to add making maple syrup as part of your agricultural business, it’s vital to assess the health of your forest. New York State Extension Forester Peter Smallidge presented “Evaluating the Potential of a Site for the Commercial Production of Maple Sap” as a recent webinar hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
“All cities, suburbs and rural towns have Norway rats and house mice,” said Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, coordinator of community integrated pest management for Cornell, who recently presented a talk on rodent management as part of a webinar on IPM. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
If you want to expand your farm’s maple production, going with tubing rather than collection buckets can make the entire system work more smoothly. It’s vital to set up your sugarbush’s tubing properly so that it works well. Adam Wild, director of the Cornell Uihlein Maple Research Forest, and Aaron Wightman, Extension associate who oversees operations at the Arnot Research Sugarbush, recently presented the “Setting Up a Maple Tubing System” webinar, hosted by the Cornell Maple Program. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
While most farmers seek to keep animals away from their crops, Nathan and Sarah Anderson work at ways to integrate wildlife into natural habitats on Bobolink Prairie Farms, their Aurelia, Iowa, farm, to increase overall profitability. Practical Farmers of Iowa offered “Using Conservation to Improve Farm Profitability” as a recent webinar in which Nathan Anderson spoke about their edge-of-field conservation on marginal lands to provide water quality and wildlife benefits while improving return on investment on farmed acres. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
If you want to finish your beef cattle on grass, Jamie Hostetler of Rolling Meadows Farm in Bellevue, Iowa, offered some expert insights during “The Art of Grass Finishing Cattle,” a recent shared learning call hosted by Practical Farmers of Iowa. Hostetler profits $500 per acre from selling his beef cattle. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
A farm’s succession can be influenced by the family members involved. Practical Farmers of Iowa presented “Family Dynamics Farm & Ranch Succession Planning,” hosted by Diana Tourney of Clackamas Community College Small Business Development Center in Milwaukie, OR. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Many farmers want to pass on their land to a family member or a young farmer when they’re ready to retire. Since the cost of land, equipment and buildings is often higher than beginning farmers can afford, farmers anticipating succession should plan ahead to ensure their land goes where they want it to go. Practical Farmers of Iowa presented “Making the Land Affordable for the Next Generation of Farmers” as a recent webinar, hosted by Dale Nimrod, a farmer who has completed two succession plans, along with his attorney, Karl Knudson, and Matt Roberts, a certified financial planner in Des Moines. Sally Worley, representing Practical Farmers, emceed. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Raising bison may sound like an easy way to raise meat animals, as bison don’t require shelter, even in northern climates; however, Martha McFarland, in a recent Practical Farmers of Iowa presentation, said that anyone interested in raising bison needs to fully understand the animals first. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Interested in growing oats for human consumption? Practical Farmers of Iowa offered “Growing High-Quality, Food-Grade Oats” as a recent webinar with A.J. and Kellie Blair presenting. The couple operates Blair Farm LLC, a fourth-generation farm near Dayton, Iowa, raising cover crops and small grains in a no-till system. In the last few years, they decided to grow food-grade oats. (more…)
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
In a time when dairy farmers struggle to stay solvent, finding new ways to market and sell their milk – including making value-added products – can make all the difference. That’s how Craigs Creamery in Linwood, NY, started. Eight family-owned dairy farms banded together to offer a means of processing and selling milk that keeps more of the profits with the farms. (more…)
