In late July 2012, I visited the Cornell-sponsored Valatie Research Farm. That part of Columbia County, NY, had received less than a half-inch of rainfall between early June and the date of my visit. During that six-week moisture deficiency, almost all the corn demonstration plots had dehydrated fat...

On Aug. 19, at the 164th Harford Fair, 14 former Susquehanna County Dairy Princesses gathered – some to just visit, others to see how the current court is doing, and all to enjoy time together. Most still follow how the promotion team is doing, and some are even bringing their daughters or granddaug...

Corn harvest is when many farmers are ready to drill cover crops into their fields. Cover crops offer an array of well-known benefits, including erosion control, weed suppression, increase in soil organic matter, increase in soil nitrogen (when using legumes) and possibly a source of livestock forag...

Dr. Adrian Barragan, Penn State Extension veterinarian, said uterine diseases are among the most problematic diseases in dairy cows. Uterine diseases can cost both time and money, and there’s also potential for losing valuable genetics due to culling. While costs vary from herd to herd, uterine dise...

“The overall question we’re trying to answer is how we can use algae to reduce a cow’s carbon footprint,” said Dr. Nichole Price. Price is a marine ecologist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science and a professor of environmental science at Colby College, both located in Maine. The basic idea i...

Running a farm is not an easy job, as there are many tasks that must be done on a daily basis, and it’s important to not rely on one farmer to take care of it all. Not only are extra farm hands helpful to complete the daily tasks at the barn, but dogs can also be used to take some stress off the far...

At the beginning of my dairy/field crops Extension career, in 1973, I learned that ag educators can’t expect to have answers to all questions farmers might ask – but with some effort they can usually find experts to answer those questions for them. That said, I contacted Sarah Fessenden, forage busi...

How do you know when your bull is in its most fertile state? Is your heifer ready to birth a calf? What parameters do you need to keep in mind when selecting breeding stock? The answer to these questions comes from Harrison Dudley, an associate veterinarian that provides a livestock veterinary servi...

Those who met for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) meeting in Reno this summer reviewed a number of critical industry topics. Chase DeCoite, NCBA director of animal health and food safety policy, discussed the monitoring of a proposed USDA rule that will impact traceability in the ca...

As if farmers didn’t have enough to worry about these days, Dutch, Sri Lankan, Spanish, Irish, New Zealander and French farmers are staging heated protests over their governments’ proposed “climate tyranny” action plans. The demonstrations are fueling scrutiny from North American farmers, “as only a...

“Think about the things that keep you up at night,” said Rob Leeds, Ohio State University Extension educator. “Do you have a plan?” That’s how Leeds, along with fellow OSU Extension Educator Eric Barrett, kicked off their presentation on farm emergency preparedness at this year’s NAFDMA Conference. ...

Most haymakers in the Northeast were satisfied with their 2022 first cutting in terms of quantity and quality. However, with darned few exceptions, satisfaction ran out pretty dramatically when it came to second cutting, particularly with quantity. Most growers I spoke with said that this year’s per...

New York agriculture and its farmworker network finally received news on Sept. 6 that the NY Farm Labor Wage Board has voted in favor of the recommendations to reduce the overtime threshold for farmworkers from 60 hours a week to 40. The fate of NY farm businesses was awkwardly decided by just three...

Although farmers will still have access to the antibiotics necessary for animal health, all antibiotics will soon be available only through a veterinarian or veterinary prescription. One of the reasons for the new restriction, which is set to take effect in June 2023, is the growing issue of antibio...

A heaping bathtub full of fresh grass (around 200 pounds) is a great visual to demonstrate how much a 1,200-pound dairy cow needs to eat to produce 100% organic grass milk for Organic Valley’s CROPP Cooperative branded program. According to Silvia Abel-Caines, DVM, Ph.D., and staff ruminant nutritio...