Farm Help

The definition of advocacy is the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal according to the Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary.

When it comes to providing a quality and safe milk product, a farmer who has 40 years of experience in the dairy industry can offer plenty of ways that this is done. Ryan Anglin, owner of Triple A Farms in Bentonville, Ark., practices what his mother taught him, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

As any livestock farmer knows, having water available for a herd is one of the paramount factors to a successful farming operation. Farmers across the country have discovered that a versatile and cost effective watering tank is a large, recycled tire.

Where would a person go who is new to farming and wants to learn about types of state and federal programs available to them? One place to look is the USDA Service Center in your county. Karen Stillings the Polk County Executive Director for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) explained the functions of the Service Center and what it has to offer for producers.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor recently participated in the 2012 Regional Hay School hosted by the Greene County University of Missouri Extension.

Studies conducted at the University of Missouri Southwest Center in Mt. Vernon, Mo., showed that beef cows allowed access to shade gained 0.72 pounds more/day than those not allowed access to shade, and the pregnancy rate was 87.5 percent for the shaded group compared to about 50 percent for the non-shaded group.

According to Scott E. Poock, DVM and clinical assistant professor for the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, milk quality is a factor of three main areas, the cows, the milking equipment and the farmer.

"Insects are very fecund, and they would take over the world if it wasn't for things that eat them,” Dr. Chris Barnhart, professor of Biology at Missouri State University told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. “Spiders are the primary invertebrate predators, apart from other insects.”

Producers who want to cut hay on state highway right-of-ways need to check in with the appropriate agency first.

According to David McCreery, project and farm manager for the University of Arkansas Applied Broiler Research Farm, decaking is a process necessary to remove the product caused when water, feces and bedding combine to form a ‘cake’ on top of the bedding, typically rice hulls or wood shavings, in a poultry house.