Farmers First
Posted on August 13, 2025
Hello, farm family! Since you’re reading this, you already know that “farmer” is really a hyphenated word. It stands for farmer-carpenter, farmer-mechanic, farmer-veterinarian, farmer-sales manager, farmer-marketing director – you get the idea! Farmers take great pride in that hyphenated identity, a...
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jkarkwren 
Posted on August 13, 2025
From 1985 to 1992, ABC aired a detective show, “MacGyver,” which followed the adventures of Angus MacGyver, a secret agent armed with remarkable scientific skills, solving problems in the field using any materials at hand. The episode I liked best featured MacGyver hunkered down in a swamp, trying t...
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Sally Colby 
Posted on August 6, 2025
Dr. Troy Rowan, assistant professor, beef cattle genomics, University of Tennessee, realizes cattlemen may not see the value of genomic testing for commercial heifers, but he offers solid information on why it’s worthwhile. “Traditional heifer selection strategy has been to buy good bulls, use commo...
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jkarkwren 
Posted on August 6, 2025
4-H’er Mallory VanCaeseele may not have placed as well at the Ontario County Fair in Canandaigua, NY, as she would have liked with her beef cattle; however, the $8,500 – top money – garnered at the fair’s 4-H auction removed some of the sting. Mallory could feel proud knowing that Hemdale Farms in S...
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jkarkwren 
Posted on August 6, 2025
As an undergraduate at Cornell during the mid-1960s, I took a course titled “Marketing of Agricultural Products.” The textbook for the course bore the same name, co-authored by Max Brunk and Lawrence Darrah. When I took the course, Darrah was the instructing professor, and I paid $4.50 for a used co...
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Sally Colby 
Posted on July 30, 2025
Summer and autumn bring livestock shows and fairs, a higher risk of disease transmission and more need for solid biosecurity. “Biosecurity is the set of steps to take to prevent or reduce the spread of disease,” said Abby Schuft, Ph.D., poultry Extension educator, University of Minnesota. “With fair...
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Courtney Llewellyn 
Posted on July 30, 2025
Once upon a time, the phrase “shameless self-promotion” was seen only in a negative light. These days, talking about yourself – through the lens of your farming operation – may be the best way to promote your business and your way of life. Speaking candidly about their advocacy in action at the most...
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Sally Colby 
Posted on July 30, 2025
A recent call among veterinarians and entomologists regarding the New World screwworm (NWS) delved deep into this potential agricultural threat. After a May shutdown of cattle movement, USDA announced a risk-based port reopening plan for July. It was short-lived when authorities discovered NWS was m...
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jkarkwren 
Posted on July 30, 2025
The record wildfires of 2023 (compliments of our neighbor to the North) started gaining momentum in March of that year. Their intensity increased, starting in June, but Canada had been affected by an ongoing, record-setting series of wildfires. As the worst wildfire season in recorded Canadian and N...
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Rebecca Long Chaney 
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While many Maryland farmers continue to battle aggravating regulations, increased input costs and fluctuating market prices, other Old Line State farm...
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Karl H. Kazaks 
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LOWESVILLE, VA – Deer Creek Farm is a registered Simmental and SimAngus operation owned by Mark and Dana Campbell. Located in western Nelson County wi...
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jkarkwren 
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Grayhouse Farms is the recipient of the 2025 Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award®. The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and be...
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Enrico Villamaino 
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