Farm Help

If weeds have taken over your pasture, your best bet is to use a weedkiller.

If you are a farmer, rancher or heavy equipment operator, a diesel engine, whether it is in a truck, tractor or ATV, can be your most valuable piece of equipment. Diesel engines differ from gasoline engines in that they don’t require a spark plug to start – instead, diesel engines fire up by compressing air, and using the heat of the compressed air to light the fuel. This characteristic of diesel engines has also lent them the name compression-ignition engines. There are many advantages to owning a piece of equipment with a diesel engine; for example, diesel engines can use less fuel, last twice as long, produce less carbon monoxide in exhaust and generate less waste heat than a gasoline engine. Of course, the longevity and efficiency of a diesel engine (or any other engine) is directly correlated to the degree of maintenance that it receives. By servicing your diesel engine regularly, you can ensure that it will be on the road or in the field for many years to come.

Timing is everything when it comes to getting the most out of pastures. According to Dr. John Jennings, University of Arkansas Extension forage specialist, after grasses emerge from dormancy they pass through three growth phases: early greenup in the spring or the summer, depending on the type of forage it is; the early, leafy vegetative growth phase; and maturity, as the grass moves into the reproductive phase where stems and seed heads are produced.

A proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rewrite rules governing livestock production contracts has produced a divided response from farm groups and requests that implementation be delayed until they can study it more thoroughly.

Going to the regional stockyards or even to your local livestock auction can be very intimidating for a first timer. We all have fears of buying high and selling low, and when you couple that with the worry of saying or doing the wrong thing in a tight spot, the market might seem like a scary place.

The start of the new year in the Ozarks certainly did not lack in excitement.