Macy’s first Thanksgiving Day Parade occurred in 1924. It was created to celebrate the expansion of Macy’s flagship store and kick off the Christmas holiday shopping season. It featured floats, bands and live animals borrowed from the nearby Central Park Zoo. More recently, the commercial thrust for...

A manure pit full of liquid slurry is worth a lot. If it’s properly agitated, transferred to a tanker and applied correctly, it’s top dollar. Between agitation and manure leaving in a tanker for field application, Harry Inthout, GEA sales specialist, recommends manure sampling. “Manure can decrease ...

Does my dog need electrolytes on a hot humid day? Is my puppy growing properly? What about carbohydrates vs. proteins? These are common questions Dr. Rene Paschall, DVM, gets asked by owners of farm dogs. Paschall, a small animal internal medicine specialist and small animal veterinary nutrition res...

While some forms of renewable energy are quietly accepted by the public, the mere mention of industrial-scale solar construction on farm acreage is frequently met with protests. In some cases, integrating solar with an agricultural enterprise such as vegetable crops, hay, pollinator habitat or lives...

As mentioned in a previous Horse Tales column , we’ve just returned from a trip to Ireland on an ancestral journey that was anchored by two completely different family roots. On one end was a lengthy visit to my great-great-grandfather Patrick Hand’s farm in Drumiller, County Cavan, where he farmed ...

My first contact with Tom Kilcer was toward the end of my 63-month Cooperative Extension career. I met him at an Extension Conference in the Catskills in autumn 1977. My last year as an agronomy county agent was 1977-78, which was also Kilcer’s first year in that calling. Our contact over the follow...

Wendell Berry argued that “true health is not complicated or exclusive; it comes from recognizing how everyday actions link together.” He poignantly added, “Only by restoring the broken connections can we be healed. Connection is health.” His sentiment inspired the 50 farmers, subject matter mentors...

High cattle prices can create a welcome problem for beef producers: what to do with the extra income? After years when simply keeping the bills paid could feel like a victory, stronger markets can provide room to breathe, invest and prepare. But the central message of the presentation “Making the Mo...

“Visitors are coming to your website with specific questions: ‘Can I trust this place? Is it worth the trip?’ Your website will be their first impression, and it needs to answer those questions. Good user experience means making it easy, clear and inviting,” said Molly McManus, the agritourism and m...