Shearing day is exciting — you’ll get to see what your animals look like without a year’s worth of fleece. Planning ahead will make the day (or days) go more smoothly for you, the shearer and the sheep. Once you’ve contacted and confirmed a date with the shearer, it’s up to you to make sure everythi...

extension agricultural engineer Pressure to reduce input costs for farm products has led to an active market of quality used machinery. It is relatively simple to determine the condition of many types of field implements, but tractor and combine evaluation can present more difficulties. Much of the ...

Justin Strickland never intended to become a historian when he and his wife, Jessica, first purchased 83 acres in Rural Hall, NC. Their intention was to raise grass-fed beef and to be good custodians and preservationists of the land. Their tract of land was part of an old farm called Old Holler Farm...

Most farmers who have manure to spread think about some of the measures that can help preserve nutrients and prevent them from entering bodies of water. One long-time field crop measure — tile drains — can help reduce nitrogen loss. “Subsurface, or tile drainage, is an essential part of how we do ag...

Most of the carbon in the atmosphere is in the form of CO2 — carbon dioxide. Much of it is generated by emissions from engines, boilers and other sources where carbon rich materials such as fossil fuels are burned. The problem with CO2 is that once it is released into the air it does not dissipate b...

PA Avian Influenza update “This year so far we have had only four incidents that we’ve had to investigate,” said Dr. Nan Hanshaw, DVM, Pennsylvania Agriculture Department. “Last year we had mostly an H2/N2 [strain] we found with a lot of ducks in a lot of live bird markets.” H2/N2, she said, seems t...

The Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council (PFGC) was formed in 1960 and includes individuals and organizations interested in forage and grassland based agriculture. Each year, PFGC recognizes outstanding members for their achievements. Individuals were recognized at the 2018 Pennsylvania Forage ...

Jim Wiesemeyer returned to Lancaster in mid-February to talk about Washington to a group of pork and poultry producers, a program hosted by Penn-Ag Industries. Wiesemeyer also contributes articles to various farm publications and participates in agri-broadcasts as his time permits. He spends much of...

QUARRYVILLE, PA — When grass farmer, author and the most recognized farmer in America comes to town, it’s more like a revival than a farming conference. Having a passion for the bucolic lifestyle and seemingly endless stories and poignant one-liners, Joel Salatin has made a living at farming and pre...