Every farm, regardless of size, that handles animal waste must be prepared to manage a manure-handling emergency. While prevention is the best strategy to reduce the risk of this type of emergency, not all manure spills can be prevented; therefore, a written emergency action plan should be developed for every farm. This article highlights the components in an emergency action plan and their importance.

Garbage feeding is the term for the practice of feeding food scraps, food waste, or food industry byproducts to livestock. While feeding meat scraps is highly regulated, feeding vegetable, bakery, and other food industry waste is not.

As you're planning your turkey harvest and sales, keep safe handling, proper labeling, and regulations on sale in mind to enjoy a stress-free and food safety-forward holiday season.

Two competitive state grants are available to fund start-up, improvement, or expansion of farm operations; support for marketing, training, construction, and more! Applications open October 25th and December 30th, closing January 24th, 2025 and December 30, 2024, respectively.

Starting November 5, 2024, RFID "840" tags will be required for cattle that need official identification. There is no change to the cattle classes that require official ID, just a change to the tag requirements.

Selling eggs can bring in some extra farm income, alleviate the stress of a full egg fridge (admit it, we all have one in the spring and summer!), and help you feed your community. Small flock owners can sell eggs to individuals, at a farm market, or wholesale to NYS stores for retail sale. As eggs are produced and prepared for sale, there are some safety considerations and state regulations that need to be kept in mind.

Have you heard of the "seven percent" rule of thumb for cattle weight gain? That means that an animal will need to either gain or lose 7% of their BCS (body condition score) 5 weight to enter the next BCS category. So, if you have a cow with an ideal BCS 5 score that weighs 1,200 pounds, that means that she'll need to gain 84 pounds to get to a BCS of 6 or lose 84 pounds to get to a BCS of 4.

At a recent talk by a pig producer with over 20 years' experience as part of the Carolina Meat Conference highlights major considerations for raising pigs on pasture.

With the recent flood damage, crops were unfortunately damaged. This article highlights how to manage crops that were damaged by floods. 

While there's an art and science to producing highly nutritional forage, similar principles influence how low sugar forages are produced. Species, harvest timing, and harvesting technique play a larger role than time of day.

This weekly price reporting information shows the range and average prices that farmers across the state receive for vegetables, fruit, meats, and dairy products using Square Point of Sale software. This article shares more about the project as well as opportunities to get involved and contribute to the price reporting.

Tetanus is affecting quite a few lambs and kids this year. This article reviews how to prevent tetanus and overeating disease (pulpy kidney disease) through vaccination.