Upon request, I receive the Argus North American Fertilizer e-newsletter. The one hitting my inbox most recently was the Dec. 4, 2023 issue. From that document I selected a few high spots, targeting three very high-volume conventional (non-organic) commodity ingredients. Quotes are for three differe...

According to Lisa Chase, even though agritourism has been important to many states for decades, it didn’t receive much attention at the federal level until recently. Chase is the director of the Vermont Tourism Research Center and the chair of the Global Agritourism Network (GAN). Various stakeholde...

It’s a topic that isn’t fun to think about, but one that everyone should act on: estate planning. Paul Goeringer, attorney and senior faculty and Extension specialist, University of Maryland, stated that in a survey published in 2023, 66% of Americans don’t have an estate plan – and 46% of people ag...

The sun finished setting a couple hours ago on what turned out to be yet another green Christmas for most of the Northeast as I wrote this. Despite this, I’m not writing about global warming or climate change. According to the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) division of the National Weather Service ...

For farms, orchards and those who own wooded acreage, winter is the time for a variety of tasks: logging, land preparation, excavation, brush clearing and pruning. Many tasks require the use of heavy machinery, which predisposes workers to short- and long-term health issues. Abigail Kahrs, program c...

Raising pork – or any other consumer-intended livestock – can become more profitable by creating a value-added product from it. Laura Jensen, a self-described “pig nerd,” recently presented “Adding Value to Your Product Line” as a webinar hosted by Food Animal Concerns Trust. Jensen sells Meishan po...

For years, the idea of purchasing a farm has been to many prospective buyers a daunting prospect. It involved hunting for quality land that was for sale, driving there to see it in person, speaking with other farmers in the area and researching USDA records. An interested party then had to scrape to...

Can our fine feathered friends subjectively evaluate different traits of feed, particularly corn? I asked myself that question more than a dozen years ago while serving as an advisor to the vocational ag program in Milford, NY. This ag program was physically centered in a barn populated by goats, sh...

A young girl with pink rain boots and a blue, floral dress stands on a gate watching cows in the pasture at sunset with chicken houses, hay bales and forestry in the background. This photo was the picturesque agricultural landscape captured by Alyssa Cowan, earning first place in the Delaware Farm B...