by Brad Johnson, Assistant Professor of Animal Science, SUNY Cobleskill
If they’re not already knee-deep in new-born lambs and kids, lambing and kidding season is on the very near horizon for sheep and goat producers throughout the Northeast. Planning ahead for this stressful and sleepless time can significantly impact the success or failure of a producer’s lamb or kidding crop. Continue reading
by Karl H. Kazaks
HARRISONBURG, VA — The Virginia No-Till Alliance (VANTAGE) recently held its 5th annual winter meetings at a pair of locations, the Rockingham Fairgrounds and in Chatham at the Olde Dominion Ag Complex. Jeremy Daubert, dairy agent with Rockingham County Extension, estimated that over 250 people attended the event in his county. Continue reading
by George Looby, DVM
A program has been developed in northeastern Connecticut to encourage, foster and develop agricultural activities of all types. From its modest beginnings it has grown from a program with seven participating towns to over 14 and growing. The Agvocate Program evolved from a grant to the Town of Thompson five years ago and is now a well-defined program that is supportive of agriculture in many ways. The Agvocate Program has been defined as a grassroots program that empowers farmers, citizens and municipal decision makers to leverage partnerships, enact farm-friendly policies and regulations, provide tax incentives and revive the agricultural culture within towns. Continue reading
by Emily Enger
They’re farmers. They’re growers. They’re businesspeople. They’re entertainers. When your job includes doing everything, often the vocabulary at your disposal is limiting. So now, they’re writers, as well, having coined a new term to describe what they do.
“We’re trying to train ourselves to say ‘entrepeneurial farmers,’” explained NAFDMA’s Director of Membership and Resources Virginia Schwarzenbach.
These newly-dubbed ‘entrepeneurial farmers’ make up the membership of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA), a 501(c)3 Membership Association reaching throughout the United States and Canada. And when these busy folks are in the so-called “off-season” — the petting farms and corn mazes are shut down and the orchard is under frost — they get together for a lengthy, indepth, six day annual convention. This year it was held Jan. 31-Feb. 5 in Kansas City, MO and was titled “Makin’ Hey in the Heartland.” Continue reading
