It’s getting to be that time again when farmers of a certain mindset gear up for spooky season. Whether it’s your first haunt or your 20th, using this means of expanding your season to visitors takes careful planning and specific considerations. Yes, you can grow crops – but can you also cultivate a...

Improving the diet of dairy cattle often focuses on efficiency: how to get more milk for less input. In recent years, the focus has begun to include reducing the herd’s output of methane. As part of AMTS’s “The Nutritionist” webinar series, Joseph W. McFadden, Ph.D., recently presented “Dietary Solu...

Agritourism is a large sector of industry throughout the Northeast, and it’s a way for farmers to showcase their hard work to the public. While opening up a farm to a large audience can be a great way to promote agriculture, there are important safety considerations to keep in mind. In a recent webi...

At the Animal Ag Alliance Summit this past spring, Hannah Thompson-Weeman, president and CEO of the organization, provided an overview of what the organization has been seeing regarding animal rights extremism. Thompson-Weeman began by reiterating what farmers already know: a slim portion of the pop...

Jen Miller of NOFA-VT and grazing consultant Sarah Flack recently discussed their latest research on production costs on Northeast organic dairy farms. The presentation was part of the UVM Extension Northwest Crops & Soils dairy webinar series. Miller and Flack’s research is part of an ongoing proje...

When analyzing the milk production curve, as seen in Figure 1, a dairy cow’s milk cycle lasts for 305 days and begins once parturition occurs, lasting approximately 10 months. The last two months of the year (after the lactation curve) is known as the dry period, which allows the cow to rest and pre...

Death loss on dairies is always concerning to the producer and management team. There are obvious financial losses as well as public perception of animal welfare challenges. Every cow or calf death on a dairy should tell us something. In order for it to tell a story, it needs to be properly recorded...

As a teen, Mike Maloy raised sheep, growing his flock to 250 commercial ewes and 50 purebred Suffolks. Mike was especially successful selling Suffolk rams and continued raising sheep into his early 20s. He stopped when coyotes arrived in the area. When Mike went to college, the family dissolved the ...

Part 1: A parasite primer Anyone who raises sheep or goats is well aware of the parasite issues that come with those species. Dr. Andrew Weaver, assistant professor and Extension small ruminant specialist at North Carolina State University, provided up to date information on how to best manage small...