North Carolina sometimes appears to be one of those Goldilocks states – situated right in the middle of the Atlantic seaboard, offering long growing seasons and fairly temperate winters. It is one of the nation’s most productive producers of both crops and livestock. But what comes next for the Tar ...

At the Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop held recently in Harrisburg, PA, Dr. Jack Britt, Jack Britt Consulting, addressed the topic of what the dairy farm will look like in 50 years. Britt said he looked back 65 years when he was on a farm in Kentucky. The dairy barn was constructed in 1953 and inclu...

Catharine Savage of Dickerson, MD, currently a sophomore at Virginia Tech, has just won fifth place out of 10 finalists in the National Jersey Youth Achievement awards program. To win this award, one must compile a comprehensive document that is both a curriculum vitae (all of the awards and accompl...

Farm animal manure is one of the most valuable and economical sources of nutrients for crops. Knowing the nutrient content of manure, along with soil tests and proper manure spreader calibration, helps make the best use of this resource. Fertilizer products for field application have an exact analys...

Think about the beef cow’s calendar: Over the 12 months in a year (nine of which are dedicated to carrying a calf), there isn’t a lot of time for her to be successfully rebred for the next calf. Establishing a solid breeding schedule for replacement heifers can be challenging, but it’s critical to o...

Today’s dairy farmers are coping with climate changes impacting the normal growing season and milk pricing that doesn’t always cover production costs. Adding small grain forages may be one way to enhance the resilience of the farm, by increasing the forage dry matter harvested from each acre of land...

When German immigrant farmer Isaac Potter turned his first shovelful of earth near Lexington, VA in the 1850s on what would become Buffalo Creek Farm, little did he know that a bloody civil war would soon shred families, pit neighbor against neighbor and rend a young nation apart. He labored mightil...

Suzanne Pish, Extension educator with Michigan State University (MSU), presented the title topic at one of the first breakout sessions at the 68th annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau on Nov. 12. This program was begun in 2016 when there was a notable increase in suicides and attempted sui...

The recurrent heavy rains that have inundated the East Coast and the Mid-Atlantic area in particular have brought yet another unwanted gift with them. The Chincoteague ponies have been one of the first and northernmost recipients of this gift, and it was announced in The Washington Post that a pony ...