By WILLIAM EDWARDS
AMES, Iowa — After several years of high grain prices and generous margins, crop producers are facing a 2009 that looks less than rosy.
Higher inputs costs and selling prices well below the peaks of 2008 will result in fewer dollars left over to pay landlords and put into savings.
Livestock producers have […]

With spitting accuracy like a sniper, alpacas and llamas use their mouths for more than chewing.
But unfortunately, “tooth abscesses are very common,” said Varsha Ramoutar, a resident in the Farm Animal Reproductive Medicine and Surgery section at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.
Depending on the sex, llamas and alpacas have 30 […]

Find out who topped the livestock competitions at this year’s Tuscarawas County Fair.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — More pork is being produced in the U.S. but less is available for U.S. consumers, said a Purdue University Extension marketing specialist.

“What does more pork production but less available for U.S. consumers mean?” said Chris Hurt.

“Pork exports grew by 68 percent in the first half of the year and imports fell […]

Find out who topped the livestock competitions at this year’s Mercer County, Pa., 4-H Roundup.

(Editor’s note: Weston Boose, a 4-H’er from rural Norwalk, Ohio, and son of Terry and Mary Lisa Boose, is starting college life at the U.S. Military Academy. This is the second in an occasional series by contributing writer Judy Kocab on Boose’s first year in the academy, where the battlecry of “Duty. Honor. Country.” still […]

(Editor’s note: Skipping class is not an option for Weston Boose, a college freshman. Neither is not making his bed before he leaves the dorm. That’s because Boose, a 4-H’er from rural Norwalk, Ohio, and son of Terry and Mary Lisa Boose, is starting college life at the U.S. Military Academy. This is the first […]

Editor:

Now that summer has arrived, many horse owners are preparing to buy and install box fans in their barns. Before they buy a box fan, though, they must make absolutely sure it’s designed for agricultural use.

The motor must be sealed to prevent dirt and dust from getting into the motor housing and starting a fire. […]

The post-frame building business at 64 Metals, a family-owned business in St. Louisville, Ohio, has gone through the roof… literally.

By ARTHUR BOLDUC

What do draft horse teamsters do when they get caught up on their work? They find somebody who hasn’t, and you might say they have a draft horse-plowing frolic.

They all show up bright and early, usually on a Saturday, and make short work of what otherwise could be a week’s work.

When Joe Reed, […]