The American Dairy Coalition , which focuses on federal dairy policy, met virtually this December to wrap up 2025 and look ahead to 2026. GT Thompson, chair of the House Ag Committee, opened the session. “It’s an exciting time for dairy,” said Thompson. “A lot of good things are happening. We will b...

"About 25% of a dairy’s production costs are going to be in raising heifer replacements. So, they are not actually paying the bills right now, but they are costing a fair amount of money,” said Gail Carpenter. Carpenter is an assistant professor of Extension and outreach in the Department of Animal ...

“Coming down and kicking the tires” on something is a colloquial invitation for someone to come and inspect or test a product or service before buying it. For farmers and the folks who help them, this premise extends to the practice of bale grazing on the land. Whether in a checkerboard pattern, rol...

The Dec. 10, 2025 issue of Country Folks listed 11 advertisements for hay crops, one of which was for organic hay. This is relevant, because one year ago our paper posted approximately 30 hay crop ads, roughly 10 of which were for organic forages. I believe that these numbers provide a report card o...

This year’s Keystone Farm Show is one of the largest in its 28-year history. Started in 1998, the Keystone Farm Show carved out an important marketing niche for the agri-businesses in Pennsylvania. While the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg is a great show to educate the people about the importa...

"More than 70% of cyber attacks are aimed at businesses with less than 100 employees. "They’re not going for the big guys because the big guys can afford the big cybersecurity firms,” said IRS employee Sheba Gonzalez. At an event hosted by USDA, Gonzalez and her colleagues, all IRS specialists in ta...

When Dr. Jennie Ivey was doing graduate work at West Virginia University in 2008, she saw many emaciated horses and became interested in what happens in horses’ bodies during reduced nutrient intake. Today, Ivey, associate professor of animal science at the University Tennessee, helps teach horse ow...

Occasionally the bottom drops out, temperature-wise, in Central New York during the last week of November. Three or four years ago, Thanksgiving Day in our area saw the mercury drop to -25º F. Fortunately, most places had already been blessed with at least a half-foot of protective snow, but it turn...

Benjamin Barnett’s grandfather started a dairy farm in Pennsylvania in 1952 with $1,200 and 14 cows. Today the farm is 700 acres and 200 cows. “It still wasn’t big enough for me to stay when I graduated college,” said Barnett, who operates the farm today with his wife Kelsey. “I went to work as a ma...