At age 26, Chris Smith feels very fortunate to have found his niche early in a profession he loves – working the family’s 1,100-acre operation, Charity Hill Farms, just north of Richmond, VA. A 2012 agricultural technology graduate of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Smith rises before dawn to meet the ...

State Representative Martin Causer is visibly upset, the result of Governor Tom Wolf vetoing the Cameron/McKean/Potter County Republican’s bill, House Bill 915. The chair of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee sponsored the bill to exempt milk trucks from weather-related commercial tra...

Cindy Hamrick used to fly so much she practically needed a cape. Working for years in corporate technology and engineering, she calculated she was averaging over 150,000 air miles a year. Yet despite the success she met in this field, Hamrick wasn’t satisfied; she found herself wanting something dee...

Although every cow on the farm is special, certain groups of animals require extra care and attention at various times throughout the year. Special cows, whether they’re transition cows or part of a group separated for pregnancy checks or hoof health, will have to be moved at least once. Dr. Adrian ...

No two farm transfers are the same, but there are some basic considerations that apply to every situation. Dr. Alex White, Department of Dairy Science at Virginia Tech, shares some of the most important points for farm families to think about during transition planning. First, the farm should be a v...

How can your farm better manage drought years? By improving soil health. A recent eOrganics webinar, “Preparing for Drought: The Role of Soil Health in Water Management in Organic Production,” addressed the topic. Marck Schonbeck, Ph.D., with Organic Farming Research Foundation, was joined by Scott ...

By American standards, Virginia is pretty old. Its nickname, the Old Dominion State, was earned by the loyalty Virginia showed to the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Virginia has a lot of history in it, some of which goes back to before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Th...

For most kids, school is out and summer vacation has begun – but that didn’t stop an enthusiastic group of young people from signing up and attending Youth Dairy Day in Shippensburg, PA (one of three sessions held throughout the state). The event provided an opportunity for youth ages 5 – 18 to lear...

Every cow on the dairy farm is special, and each has special needs at least twice during the year. Dairy managers and employees can work together to identify and manage these cows in the most timely and appropriate manner. Dan McFarland, ag engineer educator at Penn State, said cows during the trans...