By Jean English If the grain or feed that you buy for your animals is green or blue/green and stinky, it’s not good. That was the bottom line of LeBelle Hicks’ talk at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta in January – and it was what people in the audience, who had inadvertently purchased
Joann Grohman and her Jersey cow, Jasmine. and Should not Worry about Their Carbon Footprint or Methane Contribution By Joann Grohman The cow, that enduring nursery icon, has been losing fans lately due to misinformation being spoken in the highest places. Some of this character damage may be deliberate; much is due to city dwellers
by Diane Schivera, M.A.T. The 2008 Farmer-to-Farmer Conference, sponsored by MOFGA and Maine Cooperative Extension, had lots to offer livestock farmers. The livestock sessions were some of the best attended, and enthusiasm for livestock is high. Here are some highlights from those sessions. Integrating Livestock Into Vegetable Operations University of Maine Extension Educator Rick Kersbergen
Illustration by Toki Oshima. Improving the Health of the Farm By Diane Schivera Note that some 2004 contact information may be obsolete. The most important point to remember when transitioning a dairy herd or any livestock or farm to organic production is that learning new things takes time. You need to have patience with yourself,
By Diane Schivera Beneficial bacteria, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, are called probiotics. Probiotics, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, are live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a beneficial health effect on the host. The concept of maintaining or restoring the balance of bowel bacteria
These foxes are residents at Becky Weed’s Thirteen Mile Ranch in Belgrade, Montana. Photo courtesy of Becky Weed. By Tim King Coyotes, fox, raccoons, hawks, owls and, in some places, wolves, cougars and bear can make strong farmers weep. Coons in the chicken coop or coyotes in the new lamb crop can bring tears to
by Jean English “I’m a visual thinker and somebody who really notices details,” said Dr. Temple Grandin at the annual meeting of the Maine Grass Farmers Network in August. “I think totally in pictures,” she added. The packed room at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity had come to hear how this autistic person’s
COOPP: Get Your Poultry Processed Here COOPP, the poultry processing cooperative operating in Monmouth, is open for business. It gives you a state-inspected poultry product that you can sell anywhere, including farmers’ markets, retail stores and restaurants. This is the only plant in Maine where you can get a state-inspected product to be able to
By Diane Schivera Copyright 2006 Following are highlights from the New England Sustainable Livestock Conference in Vermont and MOFGA’s Livestock Health workshop featuring Hue Karreman, a holistic veterinarian from Pennsylvania, and Jim and Nancy Gardiner, dairy farmers from Otselic, New York. For complete notes and handouts, contact me. Comments about bovine usually apply to all
by Diane SchiveraMOFGA’s Livestock Specialist Record keeping serves many functions for livestock farmers (and for all farmers), and it’s a requirement for organic farmers. We all say, “I’ll remember that …,” but then we often forget. The MOFGA Certification Services Practice Manual says the following regarding animal-related record keeping: Individual animals, and in the case
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