The phrase “You can’t raise cattle if you shoot the bull” is a double entendre with both metaphorical and very literal meanings. The first means that nothing gets done if you just stand around yapping. The second costs the beef industry millions of dollars annually. “Foreign material in cattle – why...

Every type of farming has opportunities available. Some will work out and others won’t. “There’s never the right time, only the right risk,” said Jessica Pralle-Trimner of Miltrim Farms Inc ., as she began her presentation “Right People, Right Place, Right Tech” at the recent Operations Manager Conf...

“If you have healthier soils, they have more soil carbon, but not all soil carbon is equal in terms of its long-term sequestration. Some of this soil is more vulnerable to being lost due to climate or even management changes,” said Caitlin Hicks Pries. “So, how can we know that the carbon that we’re...

The New York Farm Show (NYFS) returned to the state fairgrounds last week in the wake of the latest cold front to grace the Northeast. The show enjoyed great attendance as always. The NYFS is one of the premier agricultural showcases in the state, seeing thousands of visitors each year. The organiza...

As a major poultry producing state, North Carolina has plenty of broiler litter, and university specialists are working to ensure litter is spread at best time and place. However, poultry litter isn’t always available when the crop needs it most. In discussing land application of poultry manure, Ste...

The short growing season in the North means a small window for planting. Unfortunately, current literature suggests the optimal planting dates for corn and soybeans occur at the same time. If planted after the end of April, corn can suffer a loss of 1.75 bushels/acre/day. Soybeans can suffer 0.5 bus...

A recent webinar with Dr. Robert Van Saun, professor and Extension veterinarian with Penn State, dove into the impact of colostrum on the lamb’s ability to not only survive but to thrive long-term. He began by referencing a study on sheep death loss from USDA. Upward trends were noted in financial l...

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t a new concept, but it’s getting more advanced every day. As AI gains popularity, more education is needed to responsibly use the programs in everyday life. Jessie Wright, a University of New Hampshire Extension field specialist, is a big advocate for using AI. She ...

On Feb. 5, I was invited alongside Oneida County Deputy Sheriff Mohammed Aldoori of the Sheriff’s Community Affairs Unit to visit the classroom of Holland Patent High School’s agriculture teacher, Megan Lamb. We gave a presentation on proper etiquette with operating farm tractors and equipment on ou...

“Soil biology is really considered a last biotic frontier. We know more about life in outer space and in the deep sea than we do in our own backyards. Only about 10% of the species in soil have been described,” said Dr. Deborah Neher. Neher is a semiretired professor of plant and soil science at the...

Each year, Farm Credit East hosts a Dairy Outlook webinar to inform farmers of the latest trends in the dairy industry and to review statistics from the past year. Christopher Wolf, the E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics at Cornell University, led this year’s discussion reviewing the U.S...

Treating employees well is not only the right thing to do, it’s also the law. Richard Stup, Ph.D., director of Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development, presented “Employment Laws You Need to Know” at the recent Operations Management Conference hosted by Cornell PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy P...

In his recent NFL MVP speech, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen advised everyone to “Be good, do good.” Fortunately, the Dairy Pricing Association knows exactly how to do that in the most effective way. Like Josh Allen, everyone serving in leadership position or as a member of the DPA is a farmer...

Everyone in agriculture has either managed a cash crunch or will eventually deal with one. Jodi Gauker, Extension educator, business development at Penn State, defines a cash flow crunch as the result of insufficient money in an account to pay bills. “Some may have the philosophy that if there’s mon...

It’s unthinkable when it happens, but fortunately a strong community exists for when a farm tragedy – of whatever nature – occurs. That’s what we’re seeing unfold with the news of a roof collapse at Insight Dairy LLC in Little Falls, NY, on Feb. 16. This region of Upstate New York is infamous for it...