There’s a balance everyone must find between doing too much and not doing enough. Sunnycrest Farm in Londonderry, NH, is a great example of what you can achieve with that balance. When Country Folks Grower pulled into the farm’s parking lot to interview Dan Hicks III, there were dozens of cars parke...

Dr. Kari Peter, Penn State tree fruit pathologist, has seen trees in apple orchards declining over the past 10 years. These declines have resulted in fruit rots, a serious issue for packers. In 2023, Peter and her colleagues saw issues primarily with G 11 and Bud 10 rootstock as well as with pear tr...

Over the past few years, farmers in the Northeast have experienced both ends of the rain spectrum: too much and too little. Much of the time, farmers don’t find out about these extreme weather conditions until right before they occur, when it’s already too late. What can you do so your crops don’t g...

For as long as growers have been seeding, germinating and propagating plants indoors, they’ve been doing their best to give their plants perfect conditions. But what’s better than raising them as closely as possible to what nature intended? Greenhouses are great, up to a point, and that point is oft...

While rapid genetic improvements have been made in livestock and numerous plant species, the most elusive and positive traits of Christmas trees can take decades to improve, and that’s too long for growers to see good economic returns. However, research with problems in other tree species, such as t...

Normally, the process of converting organic waste into organic matter (OM) is a slow and often unseen one. Organisms as large as earthworms and as tiny as bacteria break down dropped leaves, cornstalks and more at an almost glacial pace. However, one particular insect is really, really good at creat...

A study from the Innovation Center for U.S Dairy states 7% of adult Americans (16 million people) believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Research from the past few decades indicates that adults and children alike are becoming further and further removed from food systems, and therefore the fa...

Chances are that if you’re growing pumpkins on your operation, you’re growing them mostly for aesthetic value. Visitors want to visit the pumpkin patch come autumn for family photos and front porch decorations. But there’s more to a pumpkin than just a pretty rind. Researchers from the University of...

Wearable tech in ag can help keep farmworkers safe. According to Dr. Aaron Yoder, wearable devices can help keep people safe, but only if folks listen to the reminders and heed the warnings. Yoder is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska and also works with AgrAbility , a Purdue Unive...