“Being that there’s always going to be bacteria on the food we get, the question arises as to what happens to some of those bacteria when they carry resistance genes,” said Dr. Lowell Midla, veterinary technical services manager at Merck Animal Health. His topic at the 2020 Cattle Feeders Day in Lan...

With grocery store shelves empty, farmers plowing under crops, packing plants closing and dairies dumping milk, the question on everybody’s mind is “Will there be enough food – not just tomorrow, but six months or a year from now?” “There has been some disruption in the food supply chain but nothing...

Spring is here and farmers keep farming; hopeful that this season will bring positive changes. That may happen as a result of the USDA’s recent announcement of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), a $19 billion relief support program for farmers, ranchers and consumers. Dr. Andrew Novakov...

SYRACUSE, NY – American author and farmer Wendell Berry waxed philosophic about our greatest resource: “The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, and death into life...

MARKSBORO, NJ – Some Warren County farmers are growing artisanal grain and arranging to control the processing themselves. Warren County was once known for its dairy farms and is still one of the most agricultural counties in New Jersey, but it is not known for its grains. As the market for heritage...

A little over 30 years after his father won, Schuylerville FFA member Adam King has been named the 2020 New York State FFA Star Farmer by the New York State FFA Association. The State Star Farmer is awarded to the FFA member who displays the top production agriculture supervised agricultural experie...

As announced in January, Lee Newspapers Inc., publishers of Country Folks, Country Folks Grower and Country Editor, is now responsible for hosting Empire Farm Days (EFD). The show is still scheduled to take place at Rodman Lott & Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY, July 29 – 31. Ken Maring, trade show ma...

Because COVID-19 might be altering our lives forever, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding participated in phone calls open to around 400 people the first time around, and more than 200 the second time. These took place under the auspices of Penn-Ag Industries, with Assistant Vice Pres...

For decades dairymen, veterinarians and those in university laboratories have been fighting a battle against mastitis. Researchers in the UK have employed new technology for determining the origin of mastitis in a herd. For many years, it was considered either contagious or environmental – passing f...

Before the “shelter-in-place” pandemic concept came to fruition, I was on my way to Indiana to speak to farmers on grass farming and grazing management. The notoriety of being “The Grass Whisperer” and also coming from well over 100 miles made me a draw for the annual Southern Indiana Grazing Confer...

To keep dairy farmers up to date with the ever-changing COVID-19 situation, the Center for Dairy Excellence invited dairy leaders to address common questions. Paul Bleiberg, vice president of government relations at National Milk Producers (NMP), said the proposed milk prices plan contains several e...

Just over three years ago, Fred Stone and his family in Arundel, Maine, experienced the beginning of an ongoing nightmare on Stoneridge Farms. The historic dairy farm has been in the family for over 100 years. Stone recently spoke during a webinar, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Farmers Union, explai...

Could your pasture use improvement? Sarah Flack presented “Pasture Improvement and the Grazier’s Toolbox” as a recent webinar hosted by Food Animal Concerns Trust. Her presentation focused on ruminant grazing. “How can we create higher plant diversity, better plant digestibility, improve the overall...

One of the first responses to change at any level is resistance. When changes are proposed at the federal level, concerns are sure to be heard throughout the country. If public health and safety are in anyway involved, the response is even larger. The USDA is responsible for food safety, with its Fo...

ITHACA, NY – Two experts at Cornell presented a webinar they developed to dairy farm owners and managers, along with other farmers, packed with helpful up-to-date information on the COVID-19 pandemic and what steps they should consider taking to protect their workforce and their businesses. Richard ...