While some forms of renewable energy are quietly accepted by the public, the mere mention of industrial-scale solar construction on farm acreage is frequently met with protests. In some cases, integrating solar with an agricultural enterprise such as vegetable crops, hay, pollinator habitat or lives...

As mentioned in a previous Horse Tales column , we’ve just returned from a trip to Ireland on an ancestral journey that was anchored by two completely different family roots. On one end was a lengthy visit to my great-great-grandfather Patrick Hand’s farm in Drumiller, County Cavan, where he farmed ...

My first contact with Tom Kilcer was toward the end of my 63-month Cooperative Extension career. I met him at an Extension Conference in the Catskills in autumn 1977. My last year as an agronomy county agent was 1977-78, which was also Kilcer’s first year in that calling. Our contact over the follow...

Wendell Berry argued that “true health is not complicated or exclusive; it comes from recognizing how everyday actions link together.” He poignantly added, “Only by restoring the broken connections can we be healed. Connection is health.” His sentiment inspired the 50 farmers, subject matter mentors...

High cattle prices can create a welcome problem for beef producers: what to do with the extra income? After years when simply keeping the bills paid could feel like a victory, stronger markets can provide room to breathe, invest and prepare. But the central message of the presentation “Making the Mo...

For Sodus, NY, resident William Douglass, 17, showing at the local Wayne County Fair in Palmyra has helped him feel close to his agricultural roots. His parents, Keith and Lisa Douglass, operate Deep River Gardens in Sodus , where they also raise beef and meat chickens and previously raised meat and...

“Visitors are coming to your website with specific questions: ‘Can I trust this place? Is it worth the trip?’ Your website will be their first impression, and it needs to answer those questions. Good user experience means making it easy, clear and inviting,” said Molly McManus, the agritourism and m...

Generally, most Northeast haymakers were satisfied with their 2026 first cuttings’ quality. At most locations, first-cut perennial forage tonnages were adequate to exceptional, except for much of Central New York: Utica’s TV weather reports showed June through August rainfall tallies ran about one-t...

Located on Belcher Road in Bloomfield, NY, Pardon Ewe Farm raised some excellent sheep this year. Owned by Courtney Owens, an EMT, and Alyssa Boyea, a special education teacher, the farm produced a Grand Champion Market Lamb and Grand Champion Market Ewe shown by their son Wyatt Boyea, 10, at the Wa...