Showing animals formed the beginning of Rugenstein Family Farm in Canandaigua, NY. Owned by Mike Pyra and his wife, Amy, the farm owns 21 beef cows and 6 pigs. Since the Pyras own just 2 acres, they house only the pigs and keep the cow herd at Amy’s parents’ home four miles away, where they have 15 ...

Legislation is in the works that will greatly impact New York State agriculture, and on April 26, members of the agricultural community took the opportunity to have their testimonies heard by four members of the New York State Senate during the first of three public hearings held regarding the propo...

The Northeast Pasture Consortium’s annual meeting brought together agricultural professionals, researchers, industry representatives and stakeholder farmers dedicated to improving pasture management in the region. Grass-fed milk, organic dairy farming, and pasture forage management were some of the ...

During a March Shop meeting hosted by Simons Family Farm, Remsen NY, and coordinated by Oneida County Cooperative Extension, Ben and Chris Simons spoke to attendees about their diversification from dairy and how they have made it work. Ben explained the farm is in a partnership including himself, hi...

Recent figures released by the United States Department of Agriculture illustrate that from 2008 to 2018, 19,659 dairy farmers left their farms across the United States. However, the remaining 37,468 dairy farmers produced 27,593 billion pounds more of milk in 2018 than was produced in 2008. Wiscons...

“For the typical dairy herd in the northeast, lowering the average DIM (Days in Milk) from 200 to 160 will result in around 10 lbs./cow/day more milk simply because you now have a fresher herd,” said CCE CNY Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Area Dairy Management Specialist, Dave Balbian. “There’s a lo...

NORTH BROOKFIELD, NY — A love affair with the land and raising sheep exclusively on diverse pastures has many personal rewards for Etienne and Isabel Richards of Gibraltar Farm. It pays homage to their grandparents’ farm back in South Africa who raised all their own meat from the farm and taught the...

Part 1: heterosis EPDs are a great tool for cattle breeders, but there’s more to developing a breeding system than looking at numbers. For years, beef cattle breeders have taken advantage of crossbreeding and the resulting hybrid vigor to develop good cowherds. Dr. Megan Rolf, assistant professor of...

CLYDE, NY — It’s easy to get nearsighted with the activities on one’s own farm and lose touch with industry trends. That’s why David M. Kohl, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Agricultural and Applied Economics College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, presented “Economic Radar Screen 2019-2...

Hayley Springer cut to the chase by answering the question “What is antibiotic resistance?” It is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of an antibiotic that would otherwise kill it or stop its growth. This is due, she said, “to a change in the bacteria. People think it’s a change in the ani...

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Television commercials featuring delighted children slathering Nutella® on their toast sowed the seeds for a revolution of sorts, and the proof bends in the breeze at a Rutgers experimental farm. Prior to the invasion of the Italian chocolate/hazelnut spread, many Americans neve...

Youngsters from upstate New York had an opportunity to take part in the 2019 Richard Keene Memorial Judging Contest that took place during the opening day of the 2019 Spring Dairy Carousel in Syracuse, hosted by the New York Holstein Association. Chaired by Richard Keene’s grandson Austin Ainsley an...

When livestock are grazing, providing shade keeps them cool and productive. Shelter, to protect from precipitation or extremely cold temperatures, is sometimes needed. Pasture forages must provide the needed nutrition, in enough abundance, to promote daily gain and animal health. Silvopasture system...

Spring is here, as was attested to by the large turnout at the prestigious 2019 Spring Dairy Carousel in Syracuse, NY. The annual, 4-day, international show, hosted by the New York Holstein Association, took place at the NY State Fairgrounds and featured seven dairy breed shows, two sales, and showm...

GENEVA, NY — You know what your crops should look like as they come up but if you can’t identify what weeds come up, it can be very difficult to trounce these competitors for nutrients, especially as an organic operator. New York Certified Organic’s final Winter Meeting for 2019 discussed weed ident...