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Save Money with DIY Hay Feeders
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Sharing the design of hay feeders for round bales and logistics of feeding hay to sheep in the winter. Various companies offer round bale hay feeders for sheep. They all have one characteristic in common: they cost a lot of money. I have been using self-made hay feeders made from livestock panels for two decades.…
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New Report Focuses on the Future of the NY Livestock Industry
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Although most livestock in New York is raised on small farms, this industry contributes $893 million in sales to the rural New York economy. Demand far outstrips supply for NY meat and livestock, so there is room for growth, but there are a number of hurdles to livestock farmers’ success. In March 2017, the Cornell…
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Interested in Raising Deer on Your Farm?
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Cervids, such as deer, elk, and moose, are a $3 billion industry in the United States. There are many opportunities for farms to raise deer, but proper care and health management is critical. Recently the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) hosted Dr. Douglas Wagner of Newport Labs to discuss the topic…
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The Law of Diminishing Returns – How Farms Know When They’ve Reached It
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By Betsy Hicks, South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops Today’s economy has every producer struggling to find ways to increase cash flow. We fill stalls, add a few more cows, keep plentiful heifers in the pipeline, and estimate our projected inventory of first calf heifers due to calve and add it to the…
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Animal Welfare: Perception and Reality
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By Kimberley Morrill, phD Do you think cows have emotions? Do you think cows feel pain? Do animals exhibit empathy, sympathy and compassion? These were the questions asked to the attendees of the 2018 Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium. Speakers, farmers and industry representatives from around the globe gathered in Scottsdale, AZ May 31st – June…
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Milking Cleanliness
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Improve hand milking cleanliness for small ruminants with these few simple techniques By Miriah Reynolds The morning sun sneaks up and over the tall peak of the mountains as I open up the barn door. I am greeted by squinting eyes and eager faces. Pepper, my Saanen doe stretches and curls her upper lip, grunting in…
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Rotational Grazing: How Often Should I Rotate?
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By Ulf Kintzel Failure in grass-fed sheep enterprises is still very common. I hear about it often since I am the one being asked why it failed. Among the many reasons why grass-fed sheep operation failed is the misconception of the frequency of pasture rotation. When breeding stock I have sold is picked up from…
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More Than a Matter of Taste
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By Fred Provenza This excerpt is from Fred Provenza’s book Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us About Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom (Chelsea Green Publishing, November 2018) and is reprinted with permission from the publisher. Liking for foods is typically thought to be influenced by palatability. Webster’s dictionary defines palatable as pleasant or acceptable to the…
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Working with Local Livestock Processors
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By Jason Detzel It is true that there are fewer processors today than there used to be. And on top of that, there are a lot more regulations that cost money to implement. The processors themselves are reporting to us that there is barely enough business to keep them afloat because there are very few…
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Kids, Cows and Conservation at Vermont’s Chapman Family Farm
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By Rebecca Harris In 1914, Sylvestor Howe packed up his horses, left behind his family and small brick house in Tunbridge, Vermont, to travel 90 miles to the big city of Brattleboro. He would return weeks later with the town’s first registered Holstein cows to start Holstein Stock Farm. Nine of the Howe children would…
Livestock & Dairy
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