Country Folks
Posted on March 11, 2026
University of Wisconsin Biological Systems Engineer Dr. Joseph Sanford recently discussed the types and benefits of manure separation during the university’s Separator Week. Manure separation efficiency can be improved with storage, added treatments such as sand and/or solid removal, digestion and o...
Country Folks
by Sally Colby 
Posted on March 11, 2026
With all eyes still on avian influenza, it’s easy to forget about another disease that’s inching closer to the U.S. Nearly everyone who raises pigs should be familiar with the possibility of African swine fever (ASF) eventually arriving in the U.S. With approved biosecurity measures in place, produc...
Country Folks, Crop Comments
Crop Comments
Crop Comments A12 
Posted on March 11, 2026
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 ...
Country Folks
by Sally Colby 
Posted on March 4, 2026
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...
Country Folks
ning of different colors. Go out every by Karl H. Kazaks 
Posted on March 4, 2026
Over 650 people attended the 2026 North Carolina Commodities Conference. One of the highlight speakers was Alex Harrell, farmer from southwest Georgia and current soybean world record holder (218.2 bu./acre in 2024). “The number one limiting factor I’ve seen on corn and soybeans is the planter,” Har...
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Courtney Llewellyn 
Posted on March 4, 2026
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...
Country Folks
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant 
Posted on March 4, 2026
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...
Country Folks
by Enrico Villamaino 
Posted on March 4, 2026
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...
Country Folks
by Enrico Villamaino 
Posted on March 4, 2026
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-...
News
by Karl H. Kazaks 
March 2, 2026
When Rusty Mangrum recently built a new house, he wanted to plant shade trees in the yard – magnolia, serviceberry, 'Autumn Blaze' red maple. To find ...
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by Enrico Villamaino 
March 2, 2026
Water is waning and landscapes are feeling the squeeze. Lawns and landscapes are increasingly left to languish under water use limits. In response to ...
News
by Sally Colby 
March 2, 2026
A recent shift toward more restrictive weed control measures along with new, mandatory pesticide application rules has been mandated by the EPA. Wesle...
News
by Enrico Villamaino 
March 2, 2026
At the Cultivate Conference in Columbus, one presentation invited landscape professionals to loosen their grip and embrace a little chaos – with purpo...