by Pat Malin
SYRACUSE, NY — Lizzy Luckman of Lucky Lane Farm in western New York knows what it takes to show beef cattle, but it doesn’t mean she is overconfident.
“I didn’t expect to win this show,” Luckman commented after the judges at the New York State Fair bestowed the Supreme Champion Beef Female title on her homebred heifer Lucky Lane Eloise on Aug. 26. Continue reading
by Hope Holland
The one-year-old Maryland High School Rodeo Association put on its first-ever rodeo at the Brice Ridgely Live Events Arena during the Howard Country Fair in August. The rodeo was very well attended and was a showcase for the talents of the admittedly fledgling rodeo contestants. Continue reading
by Bill and Mary Weaver
Dr. Robert Van Saun, a Penn State University Extension veterinarian and professor, was called to a farm to investigate why the horses became colicky after eating. The hay in their diet appeared to be quality orchard grass hay. Van Saun’s suspicions were aroused, however, when he noticed a musty smell. An analysis showed that the hay contained over 25 percent moisture — a dead giveaway to the problem.
“To prevent mold growth,” Van Saun explained, “hay must be dried to below 15 percent moisture. Thirteen percent is safer.” He took a mold culture, and found more than a million colony forming units (CFUs) per gram of penicillium mold — a potential mycotoxin-producing mold — on the hay. Continue reading
by Laura Rodley
Farmers and residents prepared all year long for the 146th Annual Cummington Fair, grooming their animals and growing their vegetables and flowers for a chance to bask in the limelight. Last year, 34,000 people attended the fair in Cummington, MA, viewing the best of the best and partaking of usually forbidden fair food delights — such as French fries and fried dough — while watching magicians, riding on the Ferris Wheel or observing the oxen and horse pull. Continue reading
