Palm oil and palm kernel oil have long been used as ingredients in baked goods, peanut butter and more because of their ability to impart smooth texture and extend shelf life. Palm oils can also prove helpful as ingredients in livestock rations. Elliot Block, research fellow and director of technolo...

As I write on May 24, there have been (to my knowledge) no incursions of potato leafhoppers in the Northeast. Still, thinking about this tiny six-legger is brain power well spent. The protracted chilly spring in the Northeast may be what kept these southern-based bugs from departing Dixie. Although ...

HUBBARDSVILLE, NY – The virtual world can only take one so far when applying conservation practices and grazing strategies on farms alongside farmers. Practicality in the field is where it’s at. “In the end we retain from our studies only that which we practically apply,” stated Johann Wolfgang Von ...

Most dairy farms have colostrum feeding protocol, but colostrum handling procedures vary widely. The beneficial qualities of the best colostrum can be negated by poor collection, handling, storage and feeding practices. Dr. Phillip Jardon, technical consultant for Elanco Animal Health, conducts colo...

In the Northeast and throughout the Mid-Atlantic, quality farmland is becoming rarer with each passing year. What’s not lost to human development may be dedicated instead to conservation efforts – but how do farmers know what’s worth keeping arable and what’s worth setting aside for nature? That was...

Some producers have suggested that reproductive efficiency is just something that “happens” and “is easily achievable.” There are many nuances to reproduction that can have a tremendous impact on dairy farm profitability. Reproductive efficiency is needed to maintain herd productivity. The easiest a...

MORRISVILLE, NY – “If you want a child’s mind to grow, you must first plant a seed.” That’s the premise for a new greenhouse which literally sprouted up behind the Madison County Cornell Cooperative Extension office complex on Eaton Street. The Mad4Gardening Greenhouse took root as a result of a gra...

Self-employment and choosing an advisor Paula Ledney uses this Stephen Covey quote to emphasize the importance of setting goals when farm business owners work through retirement planning. Ledney, who serves as the education program associate and financial analyst in business, energy and community vi...

Having discussed this category of plant life recently, I apologize for mentioning the subject again. However, I think the currently unfolding growing season merits a review of some of the members of this botanical grouping. Toward that end, I’ll paraphrase from Wikipedia: C-4 plants use the carbon f...

Most who raise small ruminants are aware of the growing demand for sheep and goat meat. However, despite this trend, U.S. production of lamb and mutton has been steadily decreasing while lamb imports are increasing. Lyssa Seefeldt, Extension ag educator in Wisconsin, said that although the U.S. does...

SHARON SPRINGS, NY – For over a decade, schools across the nation have not been able to serve 2% and whole milk in their cafeterias due to a federal mandate. This law was imposed due to the belief that less fat in milk would help to curb childhood obesity; however, new studies suggest the opposite. ...

What you should be feeding your sheep or goats depends on their age, weight, stage of production, sex and species. It also depends on whether they’re on pasture, in a dry lot or in a hybrid system. To explain all the differences, Jeff Semler, Extension educator with University of Maryland Extension,...

Have you ever spotted a farmer wearing a “Don’t Farm Naked” T-shirt? Rather than alluding to nudity, it’s a proclamation to the importance of cover cropping. Vegetable growers report, however, that their increasing use of cover crops is posing some challenges. Chad Cochrane, a New Hampshire-based US...

The initial question addressed was “How do I attract raptors as well as any other birds and wildlife to my farms?” The answer was presented by Matt Johnson from Cal Poly-Humboldt and Breanna Martinico from UC-Davis during a part of “The Role of Birds on the Farm” series. Johnson began by discussing ...

Joanna Follings, representing the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, presented “High Management Wheat in the Great Lakes Region” at this year’s Soybean & Small Grains Congress hosted by Cornell University. Follings is part of the Yield Enhancement Network, which connects ag org...