“Don’t let yourself be boxed in,” Brooke White of Don’s Dairy Supply closed her session at the 2025 Ag Solutions and Networking Expo at SUNY Cobleskill. The expo, hosted by the college, CCE Schoharie & Otsego, New York Farm Bureau and others, was focused on local and regional agricultural interests....

The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) hosted their 23rd annual winter conference recently at SNHU. Daniel King, the owner and manager of Clarkridge Farm in Goffstown, NH, presented his recommendations for effective, mobile and low-cost fencing techniques for pigs and cows. Clarkridge Farm...

Problems with lodging wheat? Lots of factors come into play, but farmers have options to improve their wheat stands. Peter Johnson, the Canadian agronomist behind the “ Wheat Pete’s Word ” podcast, presented “Breaking the Fall” at the recent Soybean & Small Grains Congress. “You lose one bushel per ...

NORWICH, NY – “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation,” said the Dalai Lama. After the last few weeks, it seems like praise for the soil soldiers might take the edge off the air of frustration. It certainly couldn’t hurt. For those who farm and graze in New York and the Northeast,...

Ben Wever Farm in Willsboro, NY, was recently awarded the 2024 Hugh Hammond Bennett National Producer Award in Salt Lake City at the National Association of Conservation Districts annual conference. This award is given to farms that have exemplified outstanding service through development and implem...

According to Dr. Noa Román-Muñiz, the first step to understanding compassion fatigue is to have a shared understanding of compassion. In 2008, Román-Muñiz joined Colorado State University’s Department of Animal Sciences as an Extension dairy specialist. She currently serves as the interim department...

Unlike its name denotes, seedcorn maggot ( Delia platura ) attacks more than just corn seeds. It also affects legumes, cucurbits and more. Knowing when and where seedcorn maggot (SCM) will emerge can help producers combat it more effectively, especially in light of the DEC’s prohibition on treated s...

Part 1: Using drugs effectively The parasite resistance issue in small ruminants isn’t new, but it’s still a struggle for many producers. Dr. Dahlia O’Brien, Virginia State University, promotes a multi-pronged approach to managing Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm), the most economically signif...

MORRISVILLE, NY – You might be wondering “What is the meaning of life?” – or whether to put milk in first or last when making tea. In an agricultural context, the number one question from customers, according to ag service providers like Cornell Cooperative Extension educators, is “What should I do ...

Shedding and spring – two words that go together in the Northeast. Although different horses shed at different rates and times, generally, by March most horses are well into the act of shedding. Why do horses shed their coats and what causes this to happen during spring? As the hours of daylight inc...

Here at Country Folks , we love a happy ending just as much as the next – and though this outcome might be bittersweet, it is heartwarming to see one of our own back on their feet after getting knocked down. Recently, Country Folks covered the devastation experienced by Insight Dairy, located in Lit...

Oscar Garrison, senior vice president of food safety and regulatory affairs for United Egg Producers (UEP), addressed the issue of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) recently at the USDA Ag Outlook Forum. What he expressed about the status of the current outbreak of was sobering. “This has bee...

While “manureshed” may sound like a place to store manure prior to land application, Dr. Robb Meinen, Penn State Extension, described the term as a nutrient management concept. “A manureshed is the area where there are surplus manure nutrients because of the density of animals,” said Meinen, who spo...

UTICA, NY – In design, shades of green bring balance, harmony, symbolize natural elements, growth, optimism, stability and good fortune. Green is also considered easy on the eyes, especially after the relentless blanket of white in Northern and Central New York. The “lake effect machine” was no matc...

Want a bigger yield for your field crops? Consider joining the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) – or at least learning from their discoveries. Peter Johnson, the agronomist behind the “ Wheat Pete’s Word ” podcast, shared information from YEN at the recent Soybean & Small Grains Congress ...