Farm Help

“You cannot prevent fatigue; we can only delay it.”

If you have spent time in and around the agriculture business, chances are that you have heard the phrase “biosecurity” used before.

If your farm is more than just a hobby, you’ve probably been educated on the importance of record keeping. To prepare your income tax return, your tax professional will need a summary of income and expense; to evaluate the growth of your operation over a period of years, you will need accurate financial reports; and to plan for the transition of your farm to the next generation, you need reliable information to show your heirs what’s at stake.

Now is the time to think about establishing fall forages. That’s according to Tim Schnakenberg, University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist for the Southwest Region, who says many pastures and hay fields in the region have not recovered from the droughts of 2011 and ’12. “In many cases we have plant material there, but it’s not necessarily productive plant material,” Schnakenberg told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor.

Organic crop farmers have traditionally relied on cover crops to address a number of resource concerns.

“I wish I would have done this years ago,” was one of the many positive comments overheard recently at the Regional Intensive Grazing School hosted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the University of Missouri Extension Office, and the Webster County Soil and Water Conservation District in Marshfield, Mo.