“Workplace culture” seems like a term for boardrooms, not bunk silos and milking parlors. But the right atmosphere in agriculture can make a difference between farm success and failure. Adam Seybolt of Stewart’s Shops , Martha Hilton with Wegmans and Richard Stup with Cornell Agricultural Workforce ...

About a month after the Strait of Hormuz blockade began, a farmer named Ken called me, asking me to formulate fertilizers for his small cropping operation in southern Onondaga County. Ken grows corn for grain, soybeans and mixed mostly grass hay. He sent me soil test results for each of the three fi...

“We want to identify what are the top management practices that explain the best milk quality in organic dairy farms,” said Carlos Nino de Guzman, a doctoral student at the University of Florida. This is Nino de Guzman’s goal as a researcher with a multi-university grant funded by the National Insti...

Commercial dairy herds are increasing both in profitable milk components and in overall yields. Does this mean cows should be challenged with more nutrient-rich diets to determine their productivity per unit of energy? Mike Van Amburgh with the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University expl...

“The famous quote about food hubs is when you’ve seen one food hub, you’ve seen one food hub. They’re like snowflakes,” said Katelyn Porter of the New England Food Hub & Processors Network at a meeting hosted by Healthy Communities of the Capital Area in Hallowell, Maine. According to USDA, a food h...

Mary, Javier and Lorrie handle moving cows and milking at Cool Beans Dairy. Mary attaches milking units immediately after wiping udders dry while Javier waits a few extra minutes. Lorrie whistles to move cows but Javier uses a rattle paddle. Although the herd has outstanding genetics and performance...

Among Pennsylvania farmland, Shady Lane Curtains has built a business around a surprisingly simple idea: healthier livestock starts with better light, stronger ventilation and sturdier shelter. From its headquarters in Bird-in-Hand, the company has spent more than 15 years crafting custom agricultur...

According to John Idowu, Ph.D., plant science Extension agronomist at New Mexico State University, soil compaction can greatly challenge cropland performance and reduce yields, depending on the type of crop grown. However, there are many strategies that producers can use to minimize soil compaction ...

By the time this appears in Country Folks , the numbers will have changed. Stories about New World screwworm (NWS) are hitting nearly every news outlet. Once endemic in the U.S., efforts to push the NWS southward began in the 1950s and resulted in eradication in the U.S. by 1966. Now it’s back, and ...