As I’m writing this column early on June 30, the weather forecast for the Utica area spotlighted this headline: “Dangerous heat to hit parts of U.S. ahead of July 4” – with worst hit areas being the Northeast. According to David Robinson, climatologist at Rutgers University, “A heat dome (hitting th...

The American Milking Shorthorn Society brought its 2026 national breed convention to Cortland, NY. Four days of livestock showing, networking, recognition and a little bit of fun concluded with the National Sale at the Cortland County Fairgrounds on June 25. The National Junior Heifer Show took plac...

Full-time Pennsylvania Army National Guardsman CJ Lafferty had some downtime on his last deployment in Kuwait, so he decided to write a livestock-based business plan. He was ready to move out of his suburban cul-de-sac where he’d been dabbling with raising animals – a flock of hens and a few pet goa...

Nearly everyone has heard of a Rhode Island Red chicken, but what about the Rhode Island White? While some non-ag people are familiar with the Araucana, or Easter egg chicken, do they know about the Spitzhauben? Delaware, Dominique and Dorking chickens may share the first letter of their names, but ...

Will farmers, nonprofits, ag service providers and other rural organizations across America be kissing their federal funding goodbye before 2027? The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) published a new rule in the Federal Register on May 29 to allow them to change the terms of a loan agreement after...

Many communities and individuals are concerned about data center development, but Jenna Ruddock, instructor at Washington College of Law, says there’s positive momentum in organizing to fight data centers. “Individual moratoriums have bought time when time was at a premium,” Ruddock said. “Moratoriu...

“Enough is enough!” When I was young, those three little words – usually bellowed by one of the Dame patriarchs – always made me freeze. Nothing else needed to be said. The message came through loud and clear: No more talking. No more jumping. No more running. Close your mouth. Sit still. Stop. Who ...

Most who own forested land have never dealt with trespassers who willingly go onto private property and cut trees, but it happens often enough that states have strict laws to handle the problem. Ross Pifer, professor of law and director of Penn State’s Center for Ag & Shale Law , recently presented ...

“’There’s money in the account’ is not an effective business strategy,” Penn State Extension’s Carla Snyder joked during a recent “Lunch & Learn.” As a farm business owner, it’s important to know the status of every cent of cold, hard cash, not just your assets or investments. Effective planning can...