Virtual fencing is a relatively new farming option in the Northeast, but it’s very effective and reduces labor when moving animals between pastures. Virtual fencing is a way to create boundaries in a pasture without putting up a physical fence. This technology allows farmers to create digital bounda...

The fertilizer market, both nationally and internationally, has been anything but boring since the new administration took over Washington 10 months ago. I keep my eyes on the seesaw economic behavior of fertilizer ingredients more than most people do. Expecting that change might be brewing in the c...

EAST GREENWICH, RI – When it comes to dressing up the Thanksgiving centerpiece, many families are choosing pasture-based, local farms for their main protein-powered entree. One of the farms delivering the gobble life, one paddock at a time, is Pat’s Pastured Farm, based on 150 acres of leased land o...

Diane and Rob Rollins have been selling turkeys for Thanksgiving at their D&R Farm in Hampden, MA, since 2009. They also raise and sell chickens, eggs, seasonal produce, jams, pies and baked goods from their farm store and at farmers markets. Rob was born and raised on Sunny Acres Farm in bordering ...

After being in practice for more than 40 years, Dr. Pam Ruegg, DVM, Michigan State University, has seen many changes not only in how mastitis is detected, but how it’s treated. “What I’m seeing around the U.S. is a lapse in people using DHIA individual cow data, fewer people doing foremilking and re...

A paper published in May 2025 in “Microbiology Spectrum” examined the practice of applying beneficial biofilms to calf hutches. To the authors’ knowledge, it was the first study to evaluate the use of beneficial biofilms in individual pre-weaned calf housing. One of the authors, Sarah Morrison, a re...

In a recent presentation, Brook Duer, staff attorney, Penn State Center for Agricultural & Shale Law , shared information on H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). The legislation enacted on July 4, 2025 created a reconciliation bill that made appropriations to select agencies and programs. Title ...

We are now seeing the end of autumn’s beautiful foliage, with the chill of winter winds reminding us of the cold weather to come. And we’re all getting ready to mark off that checklist of “to-dos” before winter sets in. Safety – Here in the Catskill Mountains of New York, we are at the end of the ea...

An article titled “Attack of the Superweeds” was written by H. Claire Brown in the New York Times four years ago. The sub-heading read “Herbicides are losing the war…and agriculture might never be the same again.” Brown began by explaining the concept of superweeds: “Weeds that have evolved characte...