Raising beef cattle in a constantly changing market can be tough, but fifth-generation farmer Kienan Gridley is committed to continuing his family’s legacy, started in the late 1800s in Fayetteville, NY. Most recently, the family had been in the dairy business, but sold the dairy herd in 2010. Today...

Horses are large and powerful animals, and even the most calm, gentle, well-trained mount can react with lightning speed and cause injury to an unsuspecting person who is unfamiliar with what a horse might be trying to communicate. Recently I was reminded that many of the things we as horse keepers ...

Some farms benefit from offering internships, but such arrangements require understanding and commitment from both the farm owner and the intern. It’s important for farmers to understand the differences between unpaid internships and paid employment. Attorney Michael Harrington, Ford Harrison Law, s...

The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership’s (ISAP) risk management webinar “Myth ­– Tile and Conservation Don’t Mix” presented reasons why farmers’ reluctance in transitioning to a conservation cropping system can be against their interests. Dr. Ehsan Ghane, an assistant professor specializing in agri...

“Farmers have been using solar energy as long as there have been farmers,” said ag professor Daniel Ciolkosz. Referencing a photo of corn that he took near State College, PA, he said, “These are the original solar collectors.” Solar panels, which he said are cropping up from place to place, are sola...

As the war in Ukraine continues to play havoc with global markets, staples like wheat are experiencing a spike in both price and demand. In response, President Joe Biden has asked American growers to double crop – to plant a second crop in the field after the first one has been harvested. The goals ...

Certified Crop Advisor Tom Kilcer titled his online July 2022 newsletter “Last Chance Forages.” He wrote that as we get to the beginning of August, especially across the northern tier of states and southern Canada, the temperatures start to drop at night and slow the production of the warm season cr...

Peace of mind is a critical aspect of farming – knowing who is next in line for the farm is a critical aspect of mental health. Veronica McClendon, principal attorney with McClendon Law and Consulting, said physical health is often addressed but mental health is also an integral part of overall well...

For Autumn Madugno, the word “agriculture” has always been part of her vocabulary. Growing up on her family’s dairy farm in Deposit, NY, Madugno always knew she was going to be a part of the industry she was raised in. From helping to charter her school’s ag program to being the recipient of numerou...

On Aug. 1, 2018, the Soil Science Society of America published an article titled “Soil Phosphorus Availability and Lime: More Than Just pH?” Those cooperating scientists wrote that plants cannot survive without phosphorus (P). But there is often a “withdrawal limit” on how much P they can extract fr...

As it becomes an ever more integrated part of our everyday lives, social media – and social media influencers – hold more sway. This is especially true of “agvocates,” those either directly involved in agriculture or speaking out about its benefits and importance. These social media presences often ...

Ann Miller, Extension educator withPenn StateExtension’s Energy, Business and Community Vitality Unit, said input costs have gone up for everyone and consumers are behaving differently. “If there was a weakness in your business, there’s a good chance it was brought to the forefront,” said Miller. “E...

At the 2022 Grain Growers Conference, Don Hostetler discussed the role of aeration in improving grain conditioning outcomes. Hostetler is a product specialist with Brock Grain Systems in Indiana. The conference was put on by the Northern Grain Growers Association and University of Vermont Extension....

Biofuels have long been touted as a potential tool in the fight against carbon emissions. However, a study published last February suggests that America’s reliance on corn-based ethanol fuel could actually be doing more harm than good, reported Reuters News Service. On Feb. 14, Reuters published an ...

“Oftentimes, we hear that there is a relationship that healthy soils equals healthy plants equals healthy humans or animals. While that intuitively makes sense, and there’s certainly pockets of literature in their respective fields to suggest that is the case, there has been a lack of systems resear...