Selling your farm’s produce online won’t succeed without planning. Farmer Katie Olthoff recently presented “Maximize Your Online Store” as a FACT webinar . She owns ChopLocal , an alternative meat supply chain in Iowa that helps farmers generate and keep more profits. ChopLocal helps producers come ...

Farmers who plant corn for silage, snaplage or grain are continually seeking hybrids that best suit the growing conditions on their farms. When weather conditions allow timely spring planting, corn reaches between nine and 12 feet at maturity and farmers anticipate high yields. While traditional cor...

With improving genetics and management on dairy farms, dairy production and milk prices are changing from year to year. Farm Credit East hosted a session explaining the trends in the dairy industry throughout 2023 – and predicting the trends for 2024. Dr. Christopher Wolf, a professor of applied eco...

Even if you do everything right as a beef cattle producer, sometimes things go wrong. Some issues are obvious, but others may be hidden – deep in the heart of your animals. Presenting “A Continued Concern: Bovine Congestive Heart Failure” at the recent CattleCon ’24 , Kelli Retallick-Riley, a quanti...

Among the many issues of the pandemic, the fragility of the supply chain will likely endure until producers and other participants in the chain find solutions to make it more resilient. One aspect of doing so is developing better local markets for goods. Esha Chhabra, a writer and journalist who foc...

It’s not just green stuff in a field – forages are important when livestock are grazing them and when farmers harvest them. They’re important, and that’s why ongoing research is taking place around the country. At the recent American Forage & Grasslands Council annual meeting, experts in that area p...

Dairy farms that use sand or recycled manure solids for bedding are in a good position to add an anaerobic digester to their manure handling system. Bob Komro of Komro Sales and Service has developed and installed anaerobic digestion systems throughout the U.S. “Digesters have been around for about ...

Agriculture has traditionally been an industry and way of life for men, with the exception of the “farmwife” role for women. As with other industries, women are making inroads in performing leadership roles and working independently in this line of work. “Women, Livestock and Land,” a recent webinar...

There is a wealth of advertising devoted to horse feeds on the market today, from brand new startups or old familiar companies we grew up with. Horse magazines advertise “new and improved” products that offer glowing testimonials with satisfied customers singing the praises of how the new food impro...

The 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention hosted farmers from across the county in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Jan. 19 – 24. AFBF President Zippy Duvall gave a keynote address to convention attendees, encouraging them to keep up and even increase their advocacy for agricultural issues. “I’m...

The yearly Corn & Soybean Winter Expo, hosted by the New York Corn & Soybean Growers Association (NYCSGA), brings together producers of all kinds to shine a spotlight on the Empire State’s corn and soybean industries. Taking place Jan. 16 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, the day was kick-st...

The 2024 Annual Farm Bureau Federation Convention kicked off this year’s event in Salt Lake City, Utah, by having its national Promotion & Education (P&E) Program present “Communicate, Collaborate and Influence” (CCI) training. P&E is tasked by AFBF with promoting awareness and understanding of agri...

As with other types of emerging technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly called drones, have been making inroads in agriculture in making tough tasks easier. The 2024 Corn Congress included a panel discussion on drones, “Using Drones for Effective Pest Management,” featuring Rick Jordan, own...

It’s very common in family farms with multiple children to have one or more of the children become involved with the operation while other children choose to move away and work off farm. The farming children may jointly own machinery with their parents, have discounted purchase options through the p...

Audry Thompson, staff attorney with the Penn State Center for Agricultural & Shale Law , recently reviewed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), enacted in 1938, which sets minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and child labor standards. Thompson explained that FLSA requires an employment relationshi...