I have begun rewatching the TV series “Band of Brothers.” The series’ title comes from William Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” There’s an underlying agricultural theme to the English bard’s play. That theme supports the military overtones of a 15th century battle that occurred Oct. 25, 1415. That military ...

As African swine fever (ASF) inches closer to the U.S., many countries are already dealing with the devastating disease that can shut down both large and small pig producers. For countries like the U.S. that are currently free of ASF, all it will take is a single pig, wild or domestic, to initiate t...

I am Maddy Poitras, an active Junior member in the seven major dairy breeds associations. Every year the event I most look forward to, which starts the show season, is the Massachusetts Blue Ribbon Calf Sale. I’ve been going to the sale every year and working it for the last five years. Working the ...

Stepping out of the dairy business doesn’t mean your barn has to sit idle. In the “From Dairy to Pork: Barn Conversion in Action” video series on YouTube, the New York Pork Producers teamed up with Strategic Planning Specialist Tim Terry of Cornell University’s Pro‑Dairy program to show how former d...

The dams you breed today will influence the herd you own in the future. Daryl Nydam, DVM, Ph.D., and Julie Adamchick, DVM, Ph.D., presented “Breeding Today for the Herd You Want Tomorrow: Tools to Support Semen Choice Tradeoffs” as a webinar in Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s “Boots in th...

Influenza A virus continues to challenge pork production. It mutates. It reassorts. It exploits management gaps and thrives on opportunity. New field data now show that everyday barn level decisions directly influence how genetically diverse and complex this virus becomes inside a herd. The data cit...

Sweet sap seasons are sacred in the sugarbush. Yet a speckled sapsucker is stirring stress among syrup producers. The spotted lanternfly (SLF), first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, has spread swiftly and is now established in at least 19 other states. This invasive Asian planthopper prefers tree-...

Corn was originally a tropical grass from high elevation areas of central Mexico (about 7,400 feet above sea level). Today, corn still prefers conditions typical of that area – warm daytime temperatures and cool nights. Areas that consistently produce high corn yields share some significant characte...

Hello, farm family! Have you noticed extra stress in your on- and off-farm relationships lately? Perhaps you find yourself: • Avoiding “hot topics” with customers (or even family and friends) • Feeling uncomfortable in family get-togethers • Wrestling over how “personal” or “political” to get in soc...