Approximately 100,000 indulged their love affair with horses during the 16th annual Equine Affaire, promoting equine education, communication, and cooperation between horses and riders and within the industry held in Springfield, MA, Nov. 7 to 10. During clinics, presenters taught people how horses ...

Mountain View Farm in Mayfield, NY, isn’t one of the largest beef operations in the area, but the Brower family is big on quality. Mark Brower grew up on a small dairy farm in New York, and Mountain View is part of that farm. They chose White Park cattle to add to their farm. “When my daughter Amy w...

When Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Carl Shaffer stepped to the podium for his annual press conference at the PFB annual meeting, he did not look like the proverbial happy camper. “One of the hottest items is our state funding of transportation,” he said. “I can’t tell you how disappointed we ar...

The production area at Homestead Heritage farm is dominated by an odd-looking contraption, one which happens to be on the cutting edge of value-added products. Visitors may hear a whistle, which forewarns of the oncoming, loud “bang,” signaling completion of the process, and the availability of a ne...

This year Halloween surprised Laurie and Melvin Lampkin III with what turned out to be a trick and a treat all in one, when one of their Holsteins presented them with triplets — three adorable calves. Laurie, who is primarily the caretaker of the calves at Lampkin’s Dairy Farm, was the first one to ...

When freshman Pennsylvania legislator Mindy Fee became a state representative, she did so with an acute awareness of farming in her district. On Nov. 7, this interest manifested itself in the form of a farmer’s breakfast held in Manheim. She was fortunate to get Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Ge...

The Organic Growers’ Research and Sharing Information Network (OGRIN), in conjunction with the Northeast Organic Farmers Association-NY, (NOFA-NY) and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), held a recent workshop on growing and processing grains. Farmer Elizabeth Dyck, foun...

NORTH BROOKFIELD, NY — A flock of white turkey hens is busy clucking, loudly announcing the arrival of a visitor to Happy Pasture Farm. Yet they remain blissfully unaware of the impending holidays and their fate. Happy Pasture Farm raises and sells grass-fed, free range turkeys, ducks, chickens, gui...

Fulton County Farm Bureau members and directors met for their annual meeting at the Perthshire Restaurant in Perth, NY on Oct. 25 to reaffirm past resolutions, discuss proposed resolutions and hold this year’s election of Directors. In addition to other resolutions reaffirmed at the local level, fun...

by Gary Elliott, Country Folks Assistant Editor I knew that I was in for a working vacation that would fit me like a glove when the Lee Publications Outreach Committee selected me earlier this year to go on a Christian Mission Trip with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International organization ...

The New York Ayrshire Club is pleased to announce that Samuel Starceski, as the 2013 calf scholarship recipient. Samuel is the 14-year-old son of Paul and Robin Starceski. The Starceski family farm is in Sherman, NY. Samuel’s responsibilities on the family farm are to do the heifer barn chores. This...

Members of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. (ADADC), District 5, gathered for their 2013 annual meeting at the Best Western in Cobleskill. Among the topics discussed, the decline in sales of fluid milk was of high priority. “We have concerns about protecting the standards of th...

There’s a new paradigm in cattle feeding. Northern New York beef producers pulled up a seat at the table, joining together in several community venues to view a presentation by Ted Perry, animal nutritionist for Purina, and former Cornell University Beef Extension and Research Specialist, to hear ju...

by Troy Bishopp, the Grass Whispere r At a Toastmasters International meeting I heard this rather simple expression, “I like oxygen, you like oxygen” by a young man describing the lowest form of agreement among people desperately trying to build consensus within a group. He also said, “Admitting the...

Ignite the Night, an FFA event, was appropriately named. The function at the Sheraton in Harrisburg, PA was further described as the 10th annual Blue and Gold Ball for FFA alumni. Besides alumni, a look around the ballroom would reveal the presence of two of the three Pennsylvania dairy princesses. ...