Troy Bishopp
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Wetland Restoration: "What Do You Want to Do That For?"
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Enhancing wetland areas on your farm can bring a whole new community of wildlife to your land. The title in layman’s terms is really pronounced, “Whatta ya wanna do that for”, driving my spellcheck into utter meltdown. It’s a common phrase used by folks who don’t understand a decision, idea or action. It’s exactly what farmers (and…
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A Four Dollar Grazing Chart
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My farm teetered between a D1 and D2 (Moderate to severe) on the U. S. drought monitor scale most of last summer which tested my 26 years of grazing experience and thinking skills. Although I must admit to being up for the challenge, at times it was a highly stressful endeavor to manage a…
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Grazing Management in the New Normal
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As a veteran grazier, I’m concerned about the phrases, “The 300 year flood, Peak Soil, Peal Oil, Climate Change and The New Normal” frequently heard in the news. Should I discount them as just an anomaly or should I be planning on how this will affect my grazing operation? For me, it boils down to…
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A Yarn about Mittens
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Several years ago I had the very good fortune of being a grazing mentor for the Regional Farm and Food Project. In that capacity, I worked with an incredibly passionate grass farmer from East Meredith, N.Y. named Catharina Kessler. This descendant of Swedish royalty carefully nurtured her Black Angus cattle, multi-colored sheep and pastured poultry…
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I’m Sorry I Made You Cry
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French writer, Antoine Rivarol said, “Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.” I have seen plenty of this human rain in the most telling and unexpected places. I’m also not ashamed to have contributed to the water table. Frankly, I don’t know how you…
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Harvesting Water is a Breeze
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When Jonathan Barter and his family arrived from Pennsylvania in 2006 to take over a fallowed, 210 acre farm in Yates County overlooking Kueka Lake, little did they know how lucky it was to live on a breezy knoll in wine country. “We had a vision of turning the goldenrod into lush green pastures with…
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True Capital is Biological Capital
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3 Days of Inspiration from a South African Rancher When a farmer whose family lineage on the same land dates back to 1863 speaks about taking back our own destiny from the very people who keep us in fossil fuel/ low price farming bondage and advocates for spending more time watching your kids, animals and…
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A Truck Transition
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‘A Truck Transition’ first appeared in Lancaster Farming on May 22nd, 2010 and is reprinted with permission. A tear fell from my eye onto the window sill below as I watched my youngest daughter travel down the driveway on her first solo run. As she drove away in my old battered, slightly rusted, bumper stickered…
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