Heather, Tyler and Atom Omand resting a few feet away from happy cows at a Cornell agroforestry training at Angus Glenn Farm in Watkins Glen, New York. Black angus cattle eagerly grazing after being released into a fresh paddock in a black locust/black walnut silvopasture system at Angus Glen Farm, Watkins Glen, New York. Photo
Toki Oshima drawing By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. This is my annual wrap-up of meetings I attended in 2015, beginning with the Northeast Pasture Consortium meeting in Morgantown, W. Virginia. Using a conservation planning computer tool created in response to concerns expressed last year at the Northeast Pasture Consortium, Peter Kleinman demonstrated effects of grazing
Beware the Imported Pig! A reminder for those purchasing piglets: Take all precautions to avoid animals with porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Signs of PED include severe diarrhea in pigs of all ages, vomiting, and death all pre-weaned piglets. Importing pigs into Maine requires an import permit a health certificate with this mandatory statement: “… Swine
Toki Oshima illustration By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Important Update on External Use of Zinc Sulfate The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) recently sent letters of non-compliance to certifiers that allowed external use of zinc sulfate, ZnSO4, to treat hoof infections of sheep, goats and cows. MOFGA Certification Services was one of those certifiers. The NOP
By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Want to save money and feed your animals well at the same time? On most farms the biggest cost for keeping livestock is feed. The quality of the feed can seriously impact the health and production of livestock. For ruminant animals, most if not all of their feed will come from
By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA) Field Days, held in Mansfield, Penn., in September, featured talks on innovative ideas, current research and practical strategies for enhancing the health, productivity and profitability of organic dairy farms. Here are some tips from that event. Fodder from Sprouted Grain John Stoltzfus of Be-A-Blessing
