Maine has emerged as a national leader in researching and responding to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in agricultural land. While PFAS contamination has impacted dozens of Maine farms, even causing some to permanently cease operations, Duncan Pfaehler, a senior planner wit...

Pamela Rickenbach is owner, founder and director of Anam Cara Farm in Canaan, Maine, a sanctuary for retired, disabled and homeless workhorses. She is also founder and director of Stardust Organics, offering organic soil treatments that regenerate overworked, distressed soil. For seven years, she ha...

There’s a lot to learn from looking at what comes out of the back end of poultry after digestion is complete. University of Maryland Eastern Shore Poultry Specialist Jennifer Timmons, Ph.D., shared insight to guide poultry owners on what to look for in droppings to maintain good flock health. Chicke...

Hello, farm family! Have you ever walked by a weedy bench and thought, “I’ll just pull a few weeds,” only to realize you then worked for over an hour? Me too. The positive side of that is that I got lots of weeds pulled rather than just a few. The drawback is I now have less time to do the other thi...

According to the American Meteorological Society’s Glossary, “Spring snow, also called corn snow or granular snow, is a coarse granular, wet snow, resembling finely chopped melted ice.” Wet snow falling on tall, sturdy trees can break branches; the problem is even worse on immature trees. With lanky...

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) isn’t the primary news story today, but the virus is here to stay. Veterinarian Eric Gingerich, technical services specialist, Diamond V/Cargill, promotes biosecurity, but he’s hoping for vaccine approval. Gingerich recently provided an HPAI review and an upd...

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, stand aside. There’s a new behemoth in town – Tommy the Ox, who has become a legend through the power of social media. Tommy is a 15-year-old purebred Brown Swiss steer owned by Fred Balawender of Winterpast Farm in Cheshire, MA. “He’s a pretty old boy,” said Balawe...

Can AI help your farm’s workforce development? Wolfgang Heuweiser, DVM, Ph.D., professor and director of Quality Milk Production Services in the Department of Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences in Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, presented on the topic as part of Cornell’s “Boots in ...

In a presentation hosted by Bal Chem, Andrew Rose of the nonprofit organization Bioeconomy Information Sharing & Analysis Center (BIO-ISAC), discussed a critical and timely question: Could your operation survive a cyberattack? Rose refers to himself as an “accidental expert” in cybersecurity. He was...