July 8, 2026

A complicated relationship

Farmers have a love/hate relationship with phosphorus (P). It’s a dietary requirement for livestock but signicant P is excreted in manure and urine. Depending on on-farm conservation practices, P accumulates in runoff and soil erosion and is carried to important watersheds, resulting in eutrophication, algae blooms and sh kills.

Country Folks

Rye revival

by Sonja Heyck-Merlin

July 8, 2026

Using winter rye in his crop rotation has freed farmer Sandy Syburg from a chore he never much enjoyed: spreading poultry litter. His biologically act...

Country Folks

Dirty bums need prompt attention

by Sally Colby

July 8, 2026

Small ruminants come up with a variety of reasons to have diarrhea. A change in feed, weather, stress or disease can result in a miserable animal with...

Country Folks

Horse Tales: ‘But Mom, why are you waiting?’

Horse Tales A7 Horse Tales A9

July 8, 2026

Recently I learned a friend named Wendy had purchased her very first horse, and with it came a surprise that I needed to see. Her story was interestin...

Crop Comments

Crop Comments: Selecting the right C-4 summer annual

Courtney Llewellyn

July 8, 2026

As I’m writing this column early on June 30, the weather forecast for the Utica area spotlighted this headline: “Dangerous heat to hit parts of U.S. a...