HARRISBURG, PA — More than 600 junior exhibitors from 34 states across the country spent a week here for the VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE). “I honestly think it’s the best junior national I’ve been too,” said Andy Billing of Greendale, NJ, co-chair New Jersey. representative on the s...

CULPEPER, VA — “We need to upgrade,” said Joe Houck, explaining his family’s plan to build a new dairy parlor with robotic milkers. “Our current parlor was modern decades ago.” Construction hasn’t begun yet, but within a year Houck and his son Craig, who farms full-time with his father, expect work ...

The period just before and after calving can be a very dangerous time for a dairy cow, says Gustavo M. Schuenemann, DVM, MS, PhD, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Ohio State, and OSU Extension veterinarian. “That transition period, especially during ...

A field of bright yellow canola is a pretty sight, although most people don’t know what it is when they see it. The terms canola and rapeseed are often used interchangeably, but they aren’t the same crop. Canola is essentially improved rapeseed. Rapeseed contains high levels of certain compounds tha...

In the agriculture community, it’s not hard to find examples of folks “giving forward” in ways that make America great. One such example was to be found in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley this past winter and spring. The Rockingham Feeder Calf Association organized two cattle drives through the Heifers...

Kevin Diehl has considerable experience in the cattle industry, starting with the steers he raised and showed in 4-H. “I bought my first breeding female in 1982,” said Kevin, who took over his dad’s Fairfield, PA farm in 1991. “When I was out of 4-H, I worked for Frank Darcy, one of the top Hereford...

It should come as no surprise just how fast and widespread the tentacles of social media are spreading. Pervading nearly every aspect of our daily lives, it is doing so with relative suddenness. Yet it is happening with our permission, and isn’t exactly happening under our unsuspecting noses. It is ...

A five-member team of students from Carroll County, named Venturing Crew 202, is the winner of the 24th annual Maryland Envirothon — an outdoor natural resources competition that challenges students to identify and categorize living resources, perform soil surveys and solve other complex natural res...

Poultry are relatively easy to raise and do well with basic food, water and shelter. While it’s fairly simple to raise poultry it is important to be prepared, plan ahead and do some research prior to bringing chicks or older birds to your property. First, you’ll have to decide if you’re raising a la...