Farm Help

Spotted knapweed has become a significant weed issue in the Ozarks during recent years, according to Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist, University of Missouri Extension.

Not everyone can tour a dairy farm. But through social media, they can certainly get to know one.

Daren Redfearn, a Forage and Pasture Management Specialist for the University of Oklahoma in Stillwater, Okla., appreciates the wisdom in old sayings. When talking about baling hay, “waste not, want not” and “make hay while the sun shines” both come to mind, and both are closely related.

According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, the industry of agriculture has the second highest fatality rate among youth workers at 21.3 per 100,000 and an estimated 3,600 youth are injured each year while performing farm work.

Though most ranchers no longer rely on horses to do their chores with, the old saying “rode hard and put away wet” often still applies. Producers often use their ATVs for all sorts of jobs, regardless of the weather. The 4-wheeler does the jobs that a pickup can’t. It crosses rocky ravines, muddy ditches and takes you anywhere you need to go. The problem comes when we don’t take our trusted steed where it needs to go – the repair shop.

In the years since many state laws have mandated blending ethanol with gasoline, the debate has raged in coffee shops around the Ozarks. Many farmers are happy for the blend requirements as the higher demand for their crops helps their bottomline, but ranchers fear higher feed prices. Once that argument fades, then the efficiency debate begins. The debate is strongest when small engines are discussed.

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and their big brothers, utility-type vehicles (UTVs), are fun and practical. But if misused they can be dangerous, and even deadly. The Consumer Products Safety Commission said in 2006, the last full year of verified reporting, there were an estimated 903 deaths in the U.S. related to ATV use, and 146,600 emergency-room treated injuries. The CPSC said as of 2008 the risk of death every year was a startling 70 for every 100,000 four-wheelers in use.

Arguably, one of the least enjoyable aspects of raising livestock is caring for them in inclement weather. In the Ozarks, it seems like we are constantly battling mud, snow, or rain, or else, it is 100 degrees and dusty.

According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, the industry of agriculture has the second highest fatality rate among youth workers at 21.3 per 100,000 and an estimated 3,600 youth are injured each year while performing farm work.

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and their big brothers, utility-type vehicles (UTVs), are fun and practical. But if misused they can be dangerous, and even deadly. The Consumer Products Safety Commission said in 2006, the last full year of verified reporting, there were an estimated 903 deaths in the U.S. related to ATV use, and 146,600 emergency-room treated injuries. The CPSC said as of 2008 the risk of death every year was a startling 70 for every 100,000 four-wheelers in use.