ATKINS, VA — Virginia does not have a Gelbvieh association breed sale. Larger breeders can have their own on-farm sales, like Knoll Crest or Little Windy Hills. Smaller breeders can submit cattle to test stations, sell off the farm, or consign to other sales. Charlie Atkins of Flowing Spring Farm ha...

When there’s trouble during a calving, someone on the farm is usually willing and able to don an obstetric sleeve and help that cow safely deliver the calf. But the decision to assist a cow should be a part of careful observation skills and overall good cow sense. Penn State Extension Veterinarian D...

STATESVILLE, NC — There’s something about doubling your herd size that makes you reconsider how to manage and handle inputs. That’s how Jeff Maness decided to take a new approach to reclaiming bedding sand on his dairy. He went from dredging sand from manure pits to using passive settling lanes and ...

DRAKES BRANCH, VA — Kerwin Kunath has kept cattle and grown and managed timber all his life. It was only three years ago, however, that he decided to combine the two endeavors and start practicing silvopasture. Kunath — who raises registered Charolais as well as commercial Charolais-Angus crosses an...

MONETA, VA — The forecast was predicting winter weather — a mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow. Just a few years previously, Keith Tuck would have been girding himself to brave the weather, to go out and spend two hours feeding hay — each and every day until the weather passed, and then continuing...

The University of Maine at Machias recently held a panel discussion on genetically modified foods, as a part of its ongoing “Food and Community” series of events. Panelists for the discussion were: Maine organic farmer Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association; John ...

When Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Carl Shaffer stepped to the podium for his annual press conference at the PFB annual meeting, he did not look like the proverbial happy camper. “One of the hottest items is our state funding of transportation,” he said. “I can’t tell you how disappointed we ar...

ROCKWELL, NC — The Plesses have been farming in what is today north central Cabarrus County for a long, long time — since 1760. That’s when their ancestor Christopher Pless received a land grant from King George IV. The land his descendents farm today — part of the original grant as well as adjoinin...

The production area at Homestead Heritage farm is dominated by an odd-looking contraption, one which happens to be on the cutting edge of value-added products. Visitors may hear a whistle, which forewarns of the oncoming, loud “bang,” signaling completion of the process, and the availability of a ne...