Junior shows scheduled for June and July
by Courtney Llewellyn (more…)
Goat dairy’s planning helps offset pandemic impact
by Kara Lynn Dunn
GLENFIELD, NY – Early planning prior to purchasing their first farm in 2015 proved providential for Andrew and Blake Place when the coronavirus pandemic shut down dairy demand this spring. (more…)
Growing healthy soil takes planning
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Want healthy soil? Plan for it is Sarah Hirsh’s advice. As an Extension agent with University of Maryland, she presented “Growing Healthy Soil” as a webinar through MidAtlantic Women in Agriculture. (more…)
Spring grazier meeting
by Katie Navarra
Social distancing and a virtual meeting platform didn’t keep Capital Region farmers from attending the annual Spring Turnout Grazier Meeting in late May. The two-hour meeting offered tips for strategizing about spending money, considerations for feeding minerals to livestock and calculating costs for fencing and forage. The annual event is organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension’s (CCE) Capital Area Agriculture and Horticulture Program. (more…)
Farm phone movies
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Your smartphone is with you all the time, but you likely ignore one of its functions that could really benefit your farm: recording videos. That’s why MidAtlantic Women In Agriculture presented “Smart Phone Movies,” led by Michele Walfred, communications specialist with University of Delaware. (more…)
How many agriculturists does it take to change a lightbulb?
by Katie Navarra
Today, maybe more than ever before in our country’s recent history, our supply chain is being tested. Agriculture advocates need to think about all the perspectives that need to be considered to ensure a bright future for American agriculture and all the people it represents. (more…)
Planning for the unexpected
by Sally Colby
If there’s no contingency plan for your farm, it isn’t too late to develop one. If the farm has an outdated plan, now is a good time to review and revise. (more…)
Dosing less can benefit dung beetles
by Enrico Villamaino
A newly published academic paper has outlined the potential dangers of using endectocides (veterinary parasiticides) in cattle. (more…)
Colostrum management for future performance
Part 2: Clean colostrum and feeding goals
by Sally Colby
The long-term goal of a colostrum management program on any farm should be raising healthy and well-grown heifers that calve between 22 and 24 months of age and at 85% of mature body weight. (more…)
Grassy Cow Dairy starts bottling creamy goodness
by Troy Bishopp
REMSEN, NY — “Sending my perfectly-good milk down the drain is one of the most demoralizing things I’ve ever had to do,” said Leon Atwell. Like hundreds of dairy farmers around the Northeast, Atwell struggles to survive during the COVID-19 outbreak that has caused ongoing interruptions of bulk milk pickups. “Dairy farms don’t have a huge profit margin to begin with, so anything you take away is very detrimental to us,” he said. (more…)
Develop a marketing strategy to target the right customers
by Catie Joyce-Bulay
“I like to think of it as ‘the smell of the flower will draw in the bee,’” said Matt LeRoux, describing the importance of creating an identity for your farm business. “We’re not going to survive, especially small farms, if we don’t have an identity. This identity will draw in your target customer.” (more…)
Dairy boom or bust
by Enrico Villamaino
The current worldwide pandemic and its consequent economic shutdown are having dire effects on the dairy industry. (more…)
