Country Folks, Events
Posted on June 24, 2026
News outlets jump at a chance to film mysterious, celestial, crop circles and wax paranormal about their meaning. I wish they showed the same enthusiasm for “pasture circles” and their real benefit to feeding our biological systems. Maybe we can get cows to strategically poop as a cool art form inst...
Country Folks
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant 
Posted on June 24, 2026
“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 ...
Country Folks, Crop Comments
Crop Comments
Crop Comments A13 
Posted on June 24, 2026
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...
Country Folks, Dairy
by Sonja Heyck-Merlin 
Posted on June 17, 2026
“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...
Country Folks, Dairy
by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant ommercial dairy herds are increasing both 
Posted on June 17, 2026
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...
Country Folks
by Sonja Heyck-Merlin 
Posted on June 17, 2026
“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...
Country Folks, Dairy
by Sally Colby 
Posted on June 17, 2026
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...
Country Folks
by Enrico Villamaino 
Posted on June 17, 2026
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...
Country Folks, Crop Comments
Crop
tecnavia 
Posted on June 17, 2026
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 ...
Country Folks
tecnavia 
October 21, 2026
Many farmers who tell the story of their dairy farm have similar condensed versions about the operation’s origin: their grandparents purchased a farm,...
Country Folks
by Sally Colby 
October 21, 2026
In the past, many dairy and beef producers had nothing nice to say about dairy progeny, which were usually purebred Holsteins, entering the beef suppl...
Country Folks
by Enrico Villamaino 
October 21, 2026
A good bull can make a cow/calf operation more profitable for years. A poor one can deliver a costly collection of calving complications, disappointin...
Country Folks
by Edith Tucker 
October 21, 2026
HGTV recently reported that Shelburne Farms, 20 minutes south of its home city, is Vermont’s top free attraction. An “About the Farm” sign, posted at ...