Manure Management Systems

Left to their own grubby biological imperative, fly populations expand exponentially until every creature on the farm is rubbing its eyes and stamping its feet. Fly paper hanging above your head with thousands of victims stuck to it is unsightly and eventually...

Wildlife Corridors Wildlife corridors need to be maintained on wild farms. Pastureland Wilderness farms that contain pastureland and intend to graze animals upon it must ensure that they do not overburden the pasture by allowing too many animals to feed...

Green Tips For Your Christmas Tree Steven Depolo/Flickr As you invite customers to come onto your farm to select the centerpiece for their homes during the holidays, it's up to you to educate them on how to find environmentally friendly Christmas trees...

Why Join A Farm Co-op? In our version, the members provide a list of farm implements or machinery they own that they are willing to allow other members to borrow. It is also a way mitigate or share risk when large investments are necessary.

They use lighter-weight equipment and avoid working the fields when too much moisture is present. Not only do they not hold water very well, organic matter decomposes quicker in sandy loam.

“Find out as much as you can through existing information about the soil in your area first,” advises Jean Eells, Hamilton Soil and Water District Commissioner in Webster City, Iowa.

They store well when flat ends are butted end-to-end in long rows. It's also a potential source of fire, putting your barn in jeopardy should it ignite. When you harvest quality hay , it's dollar-wise to preserve it so it lasts.

If you have gnarly old maple or walnut trees, you could explore woodturning; Toby Fulwiler learned to use an old lathe after moving to 92 wooded acres in Fairfield, Vt., and now produces wooden bowls as gifts for family and friends and to sell at craft...

A huge issue with wild catch is the “catch”. TILAPIA In addition to freshwater shrimp some small producers are having success with the adaptable Tilapia. There are different categories: tropical, warm, cool and cold water and climate dictates the...

Use this visual diagram of an aquaculture pond to consider the best way to build your operation. If done the right way, freshwater fish farming can be a great value-added opportunity for your hobby farm.

But pigs will gorge themselves on any acorn they can find, so it makes sense to know where the oaks are and make sure the pigs are there in autumn, too. Sure, hog farming is a distinct undertaking marked by a set of unique challenges—chasing and corralling...

Pig manure (feces and urine) contains all 13 of the nutrients required by plants , so a stand of alfalfa should grow well, thereby improving soil health in a hog-spent area. A mix of alfalfa, rye, clover and/or whatever else strikes you as having potential...

I have personally had mixed results with this practice. Usually, this is well-thought-out and in our garden plan, but sometimes these intercrops are admittedly a bit of an on-the-fly decision when the season calls for it or when we see opportunity.

According to de Haro-Marti, you should keep at least 100 feet away from water sources when spreading on flat ground. Proper manure management results in happier soil, water and neighbors, and ultimately makes your farm more productive.

We work in collaboration with nature, making it easier for seeds to grow and filling our harvest baskets as a reward for enabling nature's habits. Seed Saving There are good reasons for letting some plants bolt and go to seed, not the least of which is...

You'll see reduced pest pressure because the Colorado potato beetles that ate your potato plants last year will probably come back to the same place looking for potatoes again. “Practice crop rotation,” you're told time and again by fellow farmers,...

Each strand affects the others by serving as support and balance, yet each element is also crucially dependant on the others for the same. The nine preparations—numbered 500 to 508—used in Biodynamic agriculture are derived from herbal and mineral...

In each of these situations, you need an area to “sacrifice,” knowing you will never have productive forage here, for the greater good of your land. Common sacrifice-area footing types include wood chips, sand, gravel and geotextile fabric.

“There are also millions of additional open pasturelands that could be enhanced as silvopastures by feasibly incorporating trees.” Although relatively new to the North­east, silvopasturing has long been used in the Pacific Northwest, from Oregon...

Today, the family's diversified organic operation encompasses crops such as wheat, rye, barley, corn, clover, flax and oats. He thinks certification is worth it, however: It shows you've made the commitment and provides security as part of your marketing.

Plant Native, Warm-Season Grasses The initial cost of planting warm-season grasses, such as Indian grass, switchgrass and big bluestem, is higher than that of their cool-season counterparts, but converting a portion of a cool-season field or pasture—the...

After the trough is sprayed down, pour in a small amount of dish soap. If the trough starts out clean and you keep it that way, it's much less prone to growing algae. If your livestock's water doesn't look clean enough for you to dip a cup in and take...

Download the excellent “ Draft Horse Handbook ” from WSU Extension. Draft animals generally get work done more slowly than a tractor, and without access or relation to other farmers who use draft animals, it may just seem entirely out of reach—too...

Dave Benjamin, vice president of business development at EasyKeeper, says his company's program can ultimately add value to livestock because of the time saved and the accuracy of record-keeping.

Pointy nail plates or barbed wire wrapped around the roller can work, but make sure the points don't protrude beyond the belt face. It does a surprisingly good job, though I haven't tried it for sunchokes yet—that will be the real test of its efficacy.

My uncle raises cattle, and it's a family joke that, when he can't be found, he's probably out talking to the cows. Here's a quick primer on what grasses go where in your cool- and warm-weather pasture arrangement.

Some of the horse-farm-management software available today includes: Stable Secretary The Jockey Club Information Systems' Horse Farm ManagementSystem Paddock Pro Equine Genie There are many more, too, each with its own layout and features, so talk to...