Ozarks Farm & Neighbor Newspaper – written for, by & about farmers

Michelle Wilson's passion for horses began at age 13. Until then, she had been a city girl before her mother bought her riding lessons for her birthday. Michelle recalled, “I spent every day riding,” after her first ride.

There continues to be several fescue hay fields harvested for hay this summer.  Late-cut hay can lead to low quality forage for feeding this winter and most likely will require supplementation to meet the nutritional needs of livestock. Tim Schnakenberg, Agronomy Specialist with the University of Missouri Extension noted that the ideal time for balancing maximum quality of hay with production yield is when grass hay is in the boot to early heading stage. “We are well past this stage at this point,” Schnakenberg said.

If switchgrass has piqued your interest of late as a crop to grow on your farm for grazing, hay and fuel, you'll also find interest in the recent announcement from the National Biomass Producers Association (NBPA), a Missouri-based organization of farmers and investors interested in producing fuel from cellulosic feedstocks, such as switchgrass.

Disposing of deceased farm animals presents many options to the farmer. Composting the deceased animal is likely the best choice for increased animal, environmental and farm fiscal health, and is considered a best management practice (BMP).

It has been stated that: “If you grew as fast as a chicken, you’d weigh 349 pounds at age two.”  While this statement may have been originally intended to be a humorous way of emphasizing the rapid growth of commercial broiler chicken strains, it is highly misleading and has been misused.

About 100 farmers and landowners got a firsthand look at warm-season grasses (WSGs) at the Christian County Warm-season Grass Field Day July 2 at Bohmont Ranch near Bruner, Mo. Here's some of the highlights.