Farm Help

Alarmed about reported cases of Potomac Fever you’ve read about in horses in the St. Louis area?

MFA Incorporated boasts its Health Track is "the nation's leading Source, Age, and Wean VAC 45 process verification program that identifies and properly conditions calves so they meet the demands of today's beef industry." In the program's seven-year history, nearly 300,000 calves have been tagged and managed in the HT database; Health Track's Daniel Schafer said those calves have, on average, brought a $35/head premium over similar calves sold immediately after weaning.

Buying a new tractor is sort of like picking a wife:  You need to find one you can stay with for the long haul. Understanding this, it's important to make direct comparisons among all the brands of tractors, getting as close to "apples to apples" and "oranges to oranges" as possible. We visited with several major dealers in our area to make some of these direct comparisons to get you started on what could be a daunting task of choosing a new tractor.

Reducing input costs can be overwhelming, but one valid option can be found in legumes to replace some nitrogen. Tim Schnakenberg, forage specialist with the University of Missouri, gave some insight on legumes and their value.

Ranchers' decisions on whether to cut or band calves often depend on how they run their operations; each can have its advantages. But regardless of your preferred method, according to Brett Barham, the dollars received at the sale barn make castration worth the time and expense.

Electric fencing is rapidly replacing barbed wire and other forms of traditional fences found in and around Ozarks farms. It has many benefits over the traditional fence such as it is more cost efficient and versatile. Typically, traditional fencing is still the best when it comes to the perimeter of the farm but for areas set aside for grazing purposes, electrical is the best option for area farmers.

Solid sidewall poultry housing has created a situation where lighting is now a major cost center. Loss of natural daylight means any light birds receive is now provided artificially with bulbs, which have an energy cost associated with them. Currently, incandescent, fluorescent, high pressure sodium, cold cathode and other lighting options are available to poultry producers but choosing the correct one can be difficult.  Since April 2006, the Applied Broiler Research Farm (ABRF) at the University of Arkansas has evaluated the energy usage associated with different light sources.  

Passage of the new Federal farm bill last summer marked several “firsts."  For the first time, neither “agriculture” nor “farm” is featured in the name. The legislation’s title, The Food, Conservation and Energy Act, is fitting considering well over 80 cents of each farm bill dollar spent over the next five years is directed to food assistance and programs not tied directly to production agriculture. 

Ranchers' decisions on whether to cut or band calves often depend on how they run their operations; each can have its advantages. But regardless of your preferred method, according to Brett Barham, the dollars received at the sale barn make castration worth the time and expense.

Just a glance at the application form for the Missouri Department of Agriculture's "AgriMissouri" marketing program reveals the wide selection of Missouri-grown and processed products; categories range from fresh fruits and vegetables to sauces, jellies and honey, meat and dairy products, agritourism ventures and even non-food items like cleaning supplies.