Illinois Dust Storm Gives Growers Failing Grade
About 40 years ago I met a fellow named Brian on business in Cooperstown. He called California home, (more…)
Forests born every day
Ralph Waldo Emerson aptly surmised, “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” If that’s the case, there are millions of forested acres being born every day (more…)
Katahdin sheep offer several advantages
Selecting a sheep breed represents an important part of the process of launching a sheep operation. For sheep breeders Steve Gabriel and Alex Caskey, the Katahdin breed (more…)
Breeding soundness exams for beef cattle
Veterinarian Dr. Roy Lewis believes that breeding soundness exams (BSEs) are an essential part of beef herd management. Although BSE is an expense, it can save money. (more…)
Recordkeeping for really good lamb
The United Junior Suffolk Sheep Association (UJSSA) recently sponsored the presentation “Hitting the Target for Lamb Yield Quality and Value.” Dr. Travis Hoffman, (more…)
Quintet of Yellow-Petaled Springtime Greeters
Here are five floral milestones that mark out that many stages of spring (as seen by this writer). (more…)
The future of rural commercialization
Fun fact: agriturismo is how you say agritourism in Italian. It is an enormously popular (more…)
Marketing tips from a Highland rancher
Jim Lindauer is a cattle rancher with over 50 years in the beef business. He is the latest generation of the Lindauer family to run Running W Farms in Chestertown, MD. (more…)
Superior dairy beef with Wagyu
Many dairy farmers are breeding cattle, especially heifers, with beef semen for a variety of reasons. For Mark and Elaine Brisson of Daona Farm, the practice makes sense. (more…)
Focus on farmer physical fitness
“Bending, squatting, grabbing, twisting, pulling, pushing, cutting, walking, running, jumping, dragging, digging, pounding, lifting, tossing, catching, reaching. These are all examples (more…)
Nursing Winter Forages to Profitability
During most of my post-formative years as an ag educator, I referred to small grains (more…)
Farmers on high alert for activism
There’s an unwritten rule among those who raise livestock: If loose livestock are spotted, neighboring farmers do what they can to identify and return them to their rightful owner. (more…)
Earning bucks by growing buckwheat
“Buckwheat is really a pseudo grain. It’s not wheat. It’s not barley. It’s actually a seed more closely related to rhubarb, but it acts in a way similar to rice or quinoa,” explained (more…)
What has shifted in ag consumer engagement
About 10 years ago, farmers started to feel this pressure, this need to pay attention and be involved in consumer engagement. “It’s a weird thing that we agreed consumer (more…)
In the stall before the call
Three New Hampshire 4-H members recently returned from the National Ignite 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C., after presenting their workshop, “In the Stall before (more…)
