As farmers throughout the Northeast have been waiting less than patiently for rain, some areas have finally gotten some long-overdue moisture. But is late-season rain enough to salvage a corn silage crop? Dr. John Goeser, adjunct professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Animal & Dairy Science, rec...

Even lifelong hunters get sloppy. Comfort turns to complacency and a few small slip-ups can tank your entire season. The truth? Skill isn’t just about what you do, it’s also about what you avoid. Here are four common mistakes even seasoned hunters still make – and what to do instead – to stay at the...

Heather Darby, agronomic and soils specialist for University of Vermont Extension, has a “love/hate relationship with cover crops.” “It’s not always going to work out,” she said in her opening remarks presenting “Modifying Cropping Systems to Maximize Benefits from Cover Crops.” Darby spoke at the r...

In mid-August, Pecos Bill (aka Wild Bill), a fellow Cornell ag graduate, sought my advice for a particular cropping situation on his Chenango County dairy farm. He said they usually harvest two cuttings of sorghum, in mid-July and late August. But this year, starting wet, then turning dry most of su...

National Farm Safety and Health Week (NFSHW) is taking place this year Sept. 21 – 27. NFSHW is a time to increase awareness of the high risk of accidents and injuries in agriculture and to promote the adoption of life-saving health and safety practices. Despite a slight decrease in total fatal occup...

Oechsner Farms of Newfield has been selected for the New York AEM-Leopold Conservation Award. The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in the management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land. Thor Oechsner and his wife Rachel Lodder, who own...

When a barnyard is partially in concrete and the pasture is little more than holes left by the hooves of beef cattle, what’s the answer? In Craig Alleman’s case, the best solution was more concrete. Alleman’s farm was a mess, with mud and pugging throughout the pastures. Pasture vegetation didn’t st...

Improving soil health starts with analyzing the soil, according to Aaron Breimer, owner of Moose Ag, a private consulting firm in Chatham, Ontario, who works with farmers on increasing profitability through soil health initiatives. Breimer, whose background is in cash crops, has worked in sales, agr...

There’s been a lot of discussion around biosecurity, especially around the ever-changing situation with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) around the world. Lisa Pederson, livestock specialist at the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center in Streeter, ND, describes biosecurity as the combination of ...