Mary Kraft is the owner, CFO and human resource director for a large western dairy farm, but what she knows about maintaining an effective work force applies to operations of all sizes. Kraft was raised on a 500-cow dairy, and now manages 5,000 cows with her husband Chris. “You have to come up with ...

Better soils lead to better forage, improved animal health, higher milk quality and larger milk yield. “Soil fertility is the foundation to Integrated Livestock Cropping System [and] works to enhance the flow of nutrients within the biological system,” said Cynthia A. Daley, Ph.D., Organic Dairy Pro...

The Eastern Connectocit Resource, Conservation and Development Area, Inc. held its Annual Meeting on Monday, June 24 at the Tolland Agriculture Center located in Vernon, CT. President John Guszkowsky opened the meeting shortly after 11 a.m. citing some of the accomplishments of the past year. The or...

Dr. Darrell Emmick shared his experience with animal foraging behavior and explained how to train livestock to eat weeds. This talk was part of a workshop called ‘From We-Feeders to Weed-Eaters: Controlling Weeds through Animal Grazing’ hosted by Watson Farm in Jamestown, RI. Dr. Emmick also spoke a...

Getting optimal milk production from cows in an organic pasture-based dairy system requires excellent soil health. Amending poor quality soils will result in economic rewards in terms of added milk production. Dr. Cindy Daley, of California State University, recently shared her experience with amend...

Although a group of dairy cattle isn’t typically referred to as a ‘mob,’ that’s what they are when they’re grazing a small section of highly nutritious pasture in a short amount of time. USDA-ARS pasture researcher Dr. Kathy Soder says dairy farmers are asking a lot of questions about mob, or tall g...

At Natural Roots Farm in Conway, MA, David Fisher and Anna Maclay use a five-part fertility program to raise every plant, farm animal and person in optimal health and vitality. They nourish land with animal manure-based compost, mineral amendments, seed inoculants, green-manure crops and rotationall...

Tell your story. Build a community. Send traffic to your website. Social media of all types helps businesses spread the word about the products and services offered. Using social media sites to promote farm products, farmers markets and onsite events can be a cost effective way to increase sales. Fa...

During baling season, time is at a premium and it’s easy for farmers to skip safety measures. But handling large round bales that weigh 700 to 800 pounds can be a dangerous and potentially deadly task. Jim Carrabba, agricultural safety specialist with NYCAMH (New York Center for Agricultural Medicin...