January 1 not only marks a new year but another season of real Christmas trees put to the curbs of suburbia for pickup by town and village maintenance crews. For an ol’ farmer, with granddaughter goats, there’s opportunity among the snowbanks like picking fruit off the vine. Yes, it’s a bit weird to...

Farmers need to handle their laborers unionizing in a way that’s both respectful and legal. Timothy Connick, chair of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board, led “Farm Laborers’ Fair Labor Practices Act Development,” a session at Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development’s recent Labo...

Awhile ago, my friend Tom Kilcer (a certified crop advisor, whose wisdom I seek frequently) was giving a lecture at a Midwest crop growers’ conference. He explained how corn populations can be reduced without hurting yields – in fact, possibly increasing yields, if plant crowding had been an issue. ...

Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky, DVM, recalls learning as a 4-H’er that young heifers should be developed to as much as 80% of their mature body weight at breeding. The result was heifers that looked good, but the program was too aggressive and not financially worthwhile. “Research out of the U.S. and Canad...

Organic livestock production presents challenges, primarily in higher production costs, and pigs are no exception. Dr. Yuzhi Li, professor of animal science, West Central Research & Outreach Center in Morris, MN, reviewed research findings on the costs of organic pig production. Research was conduct...

An assortment of specialized tendons, ligaments and bones in the arms and hands allows humans to perform amazing work. Farmers’ daily tasks often lead to pain and weakness that can result in dangerous work conditions and accidents. Dr. Patricia Siegel, certified hand therapist and associate professo...

Human resources may seem like a department or set of duties for a business far different from your farm; however, it’s important to perform these tasks legally and consistently, both to protect your farm and to train new people correctly. Jess Skellie works for a small group of dairy farms. She rece...

Happy New Year, farm family! As I type these words, I find myself straddling the space-time continuum in a way that I don’t often do. The change from one year to another has heightened my awareness of both the nature and passage of time. What is the Nature of Time? In my writing present, it is still...

Four basic inputs are required for successful crop production: solar radiation, moisture, warmth (soil and air) and soil nutrients. All equally important, if any one factor is seriously limiting, crop production is greatly undermined. The input category threatened most by wildfire smoke is solar rad...