Country Folks
Posted on April 22, 2026
According to Alyssa Dietrich Warner, it’s commonly recommended to feed a newborn calf a minimum of four liters of colostrum at the first feeding. Some dairy farmers choose to feed more than this. This is a way to achieve excellent transfer of passive immunity (TPI), regardless of colostrum quality. ...
Country Folks
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant 
Posted on April 22, 2026
As a matter of economy, Francisco Leal Yepes, DVM, Ph.D., and assistant professor of ambulatory and production medicine in Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, believes more farmers need to raise their own replacements and pay more attention to their herd’s health. “Heifer supplies are at their...
Country Folks
by Sally Colby 
Posted on April 22, 2026
Any time between giving birth through weaning or dry-off is the ideal time for ewes or does to develop mastitis. The cost of mastitis is significant due to veterinary costs, milk replacer for lambs or kids that aren’t getting enough milk, culling of relatively young females, increased lamb or kid mo...
Country Folks
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant 
Posted on April 22, 2026
What can we learn about high-yield wheat from the UK? Plenty, according to panelists at the recent Soybean & Small Grains Congress hosted by New York Corn & Soybean Growers Association. The panelists were Dwight Bartle from Brown City, MI; Allan Thompson from Caledon, ON, Canada; and Brandon Blain f...
Country Folks
by Andy Haman 
Posted on April 22, 2026
“We embrace our diversity; it makes us a stronger organization at every level.” This message anchored a Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Summit session this year, led by three different people in different facets of the industry. Presenter Kate Turcotte is an artisan cheesemaker of more than 20 y...
Country Folks
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant 
Posted on April 22, 2026
Using robots for milking focuses on reducing labor costs; however, it can also increase precision in herd management, according to Trevor DeVries, University of Guelph. He presented “Harnessing Individual Cow Traits & Responses in Automated Milking Systems” at the recent Herd Health & Nutrition Conf...
Country Folks
Crop
Posted on April 22, 2026
The dynamics of fertilizer economics is not boring. Four years ago, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine seriously impacted the world’s natural gas (methane) playing field. Russia controls most of Europe’s natural gas resources. In 2022, Russia shut off Ukraine’s natural gas supply, trying to fre...
Country Folks
by Sonja Heyck-Merlin 
Posted on April 15, 2026
"There are horror stories from people about leases going bad. Often, when you dig deeper, it was a verbal agreement or it was a lease agreement that wasn’t written very clearly or didn’t have a lot of protections built into it,” said Jae Silverman. Silverman is the Massachusetts field agent for Land...
Country Folks
Part 1: Cyberthreats are real
by Sally Colby 
Posted on April 15, 2026
Part 1: Cyberthreats are real The reality of cybercrime for livestock farms is almost too easy. Most farms have internet access, which means they are tied to international supply chains, making them vulnerable. Andrew Rose, of the nonprofit Bioeconomy Information Sharing & Analysis Center (BIO-ISAC)...
News
by Enrico Villamaino 
April 1, 2026
A century of soil, sweat and stewardship thrives in Grand Rapids. At Ed Dunneback & Girls Farm Market the rows run long, the roots run deep and the fa...
News
by Sonja Heyck-Merlin 
April 1, 2026
It’s been a few years since Will Glazik concluded his North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) grant titled “Exploring Flavor...
News
by Sally Colby 
April 1, 2026
A never-ending propagation challenge is weeds. In a presentation hosted by the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), research associate professor An...
News
April 1, 2026
A recent study titled “Healthier Soils, Lower Emissions & Carbon Credits in ‘Carbon-Smart’ Apple Orchards” sets a sharp and stirring stage for researc...