Soil and water are among any farm’s most valuable resources, but the two don’t always make the ideal combination. Water in the form of runoff is a powerful force, and can remove significant amounts of soil from agricultural land. To solve the problem of runoff and to protect soil, water can be effec...

DUBLIN, VA — Jason Groseclose spends most of his time tending to his family’s cattle herd, spread across farms in Pulaski, Bland and Smyth Counties in southwest Virginia. But occasionally he travels beyond this corner of the Old Dominion to compete in predator calling competitions. He’s so accomplis...

The Penn State Mastits and Milk Quality Conference featured speakers and researchers from several universities, and emphasized the need for a multi-faceted approach to manage mastitis. Addressing mastitis means focusing on prevention, identifying the organism responsible, taking steps to stop infect...

Part 1: hoof anatomy and how lameness happens Dr. Ernest Hovingh, extension veterinarian, Penn State University, echoes what dairy farmers already know: that lameness in dairy cattle is an important problem in the industry. In addition to affecting reproduction, milk production and overall health, l...

BULL CREEK, NC — Here in the mountains of western North Carolina, near his childhood home, David Freeman raises purebred Angus. He spent some decades away, working in Northern Virginia as an engineer for Norfolk Southern, building the Angus herd he established in 1965. The time away provided Freeman...

The FFA paused from its hectic daily schedule on March 11 to thank legislators for acting, or enacting, on their behalf and on behalf of the citizens of the commonwealth. Bills that range from bounties on coyotes to tractor driving and a host of other agriculture-related legal concerns are matters t...

The Penn State Mastitis and Milk Quality Conference, held March 25 and 26 at the Harrisburg/Hershey Holiday Inn, was part of a larger effort by a USDA-funded project through Michigan State University, to protect milk quality by lowering the use of antimicrobials, while at the same time also lowering...

When Richard McConnell and Tina Williams work cattle, it’s almost eerily silent. There’s no shouting or arm-waving, and no one is in a hurry. Cattle just seem to fall into place, moving quietly and willingly to wherever they’re guided. Richard and Tina say that stress-free handing is a matter of und...

BOWMANSVILLE, PA — Two words describe how passion meets purpose at Creek Place Farms: “Berkshires, naturally.” The road to this 150-sow certified purebred Berkshire farm was years in the making for Donald and Maria (Kawulych) Longenecker. Their preparation, hard work and long hours are paying off in...