The January issue of Consumers Report featured an article summarizing the findings of a group of investigators from the magazine who conducted a representative sampling of pork products from several sources to determine their level of bacterial contamination. It is recognized that while the animal i...

Several recognized dairy nutritionists and producers recently shared feeding information at on-farm meetings held at Central NY farms. Andrew Kross of Indian Camp Farm, Earlville, was one of those producers. The farm’s current statistics average about 86 pounds per cow per day, with 4.1 percent fat ...

Growing up in a non-farming suburb of Boston, Matt Cannon, owner of Cannon Cattle Ranch in Pittstown, NY, admits, “I was supposed to go to Yale and become a lawyer.” Summer jobs as a teenager, first at a chicken farm, and second at a dairy farm in Lowville, NY, sparked a passion for the farming life...

A legend of sorts has passed away. On April 14, Leonard Heath, 67, of Waterville, NY went to the big tractor pull in the sky. Tractor pull fans will remember Leonard as the big guy with the whistling, flying 1086 who won almost every pull he entered. Leonard was born Jan. 9, 1946 in Utica, NY, a son...

Silvopasture is the managed integration of trees and livestock, utilizing the land both to produce a tree crop and to graze livestock. This multi-tasking can result in diverse income streams, with money from timber, nuts, syrup or other tree by-product, plus income from livestock production. Silvopa...

AMSTERDAM, NY — State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk held an informational meeting and press conference on April 18 to discuss a package of economic development bills that she believes will help small businesses and farms grow, create new jobs and spur the local economy. “Our rural communities and small Up...

Farm families from eight central New York counties recently attended a seminar hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Herkimer County to learn about legal aspects of farm transfer and estate planning. Speakers included Lorraine Lewandrowski, Esq., Agricultural and Food Law Attorney; Certified El...

Montgomery County Dairy Princess Ashley Oeser and Montgomery County Maple Princess Jillian Palmer, of Fort Plain, NY, were on hand to advocate healthy living and healthy choices at a community health fair in Montgomery County on April 20. “I am so glad that I can reach out to people to teach them mo...

If farmers could adopt new, beneficial practices without oversight by the government, would they? Dr. Sjoerd Duiker, Penn State agronomist, believes they will. The ‘Without Carrot or Stick’ project was designed to evaluate and promote the use of cover crops after corn silage with an emphasis on smal...