Livestock & Dairy
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The climate of the Northeast is favorable for growing lush vegetation, but sometimes too many of the wrong plants grow in the wrong place. Ignoring the situation will often lead to greater costs and problems further down the road. Goats are an increasingly popular option for managing vegetation in other regions of the United States,…
Read MoreIt is difficult to be objective when you’re in love. And I confess to have fallen in love with the Tunis sheep breed nearly twenty-five years ago. A time when few people could identify those beautiful copper red-faced, red legged, creamy wool creatures with pendulous ears in our barn who gave new meaning to good…
Read MoreIt occurred on a spring morning in the mid 90s in New Jersey. I had lambing season. I drove out to my flock to the pasture I rented from the state. When I arrived I discovered a devastating scene. The flock was clearly disturbed. The field was littered with dead lambs. A couple of sheep…
Read MoreA New Trend in Dairying More and more dairy farmers are raising heifers on cows for a variety of reasons—a trend we at Dharma Lea Farm are glad to see. As an effective method of improving shipped milk quality, many farmers use cows with high somatic cell counts (SCC) as nurse cows. The recent quota…
Read MoreAfter being in the business of raising wool sheep of various kinds for two decades, I decided in 2005 to start with hair sheep. It was a fairly bold move at the time since it meant giving up on the customers who bought breeding stock from me, and since I also didn’t know how well…
Read MoreIf passion on the part of a few dedicated champions is the key ingredient to saving a “critically endangered” heritage cattle breed then the Randall Lineback (aka Randall) has a future. This venerable landrace breed, once common in New England, dates back to the 1600s when it likely originated from an amalgam of English,…
Read MoreI recently completed a comparison of raising pregnant dairy replacement heifers in Confinement vs. Management Intensive Grazing (MIG). This study showed the animals raised in MIG had far fewer post partum problems than their counterparts. It was set up to compliment prior studies completed by the University of Minnesota from 2000 through 2002. Those…
Read MoreFor a sustainable grazing system, one should have legumes in the pasture. Legumes have the capability of fixating nitrogen from the air and thus reduce or even eliminate the need for nitrogen fertilizer. To accomplish this, the pasture must contain at least 30 percent of legumes. I prefer 50 and up to 70 percent…
Read MoreLessons from a “Reading the Farm” Workshop in Chambersburg, PA In mid-August I had the opportunity to attend a two-day workshop in Chambersburg, PA on reading the farm, hosted by Penn state with support from a SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) Grant. Reading the Farm is an on-farm training workshop on whole farm system…
Read MoreBy Debra Welch and Nancy Glazier Kevetta Farms, in the hills of Dansville NY, is owned and operated by Kevin and Annetta Herrington with children Jessica and Tyler. Their high-producing registered herd consists of predominantly Holsteins and Jerseysthat are grazed on 65 acres. Youngstock are grazed on 15 acres of dedicated pasture. Kevin has worked closely…
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