What Is Drip System

And though some do use tractors, the Amish still predominantly farm, or at least travel, with horses. Some estimates say nearly 5 million tractors are in use in the U.S. That said, actual sales of large tractors and combines over the last few years have...

The key to having winter grazing is stockpiling or saving forage for winter, picking hearty cool-season forage to plant, and practicing rotational grazing . Page 1 | 2 Tags Fertilizer , forage , grass , hay , pastures , rotational grazing

You never know when a piece of rock might chip off and fly toward you. If you want to get fancy, you can consider installing permanent drainage pipes in places where mud puddles are an annual occurrence.

The housing with the battery-run timer plus 30-day replacement canisters of insecticide are relatively inexpensive and sold in farm-supply stores. Clear the Manure Obviously, manure piles are prime breeding grounds, but you should also clear areas of...

Other Other natural features that may be a part of a wild farm include waterfalls, dense forest and rocky areas. Non-edible crops can also be considered for wetland areas. By hosting a wide variety of plant species, beneficial insects are attracted, diseases...

There's something to be said about the attention that's paid to planting and caring for neat rows of pine trees, spruce trees and fir trees. While a Christmas tree farm does require year-round work, on a small scale, they can be managed with part-time...

Cooperative Principles As mentioned above, cooperatives must be member-owned and democratically run to meet the goals of its member farms. Farmers are, in general, a pretty independent lot.

Taproots of some cover crops penetrate through compacted layers to facilitate moisture absorption and make pore space for crop roots to tap into and help break up compaction. Consider going no-till.

Sunlight bleaches hay, causing it to lose nutritional value, especially protein and vitamin A. They're designed to be fed whole, in the field, with or without a hay ring (a cage designed to prevent livestock from lying in or pulling down hay and wasting...

Branching Out Your property has boundaries, but your woodland projects don't have to. Some people use birch bark to make baskets. Perhaps your woodlot supports edible or medicinal plants, such as blueberries, black cohosh, bloodroot or goldenseal—find...

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. Applying hog rings to the animals' noses can help subdue rooting behaviors, but...

It's hard when problems arise to find others with the expertise to help. Facing the Challenges of Aquaculture Compared to other more traditional crops, the investment returns can be much higher on a per acre basis.

If done the right way, freshwater fish farming can be a great value-added opportunity for your hobby farm. To wrap your head around the construction of an aquaculture pond, use the diagram below to jog the pond-construction thought process.

“Supplemental” is the key word regarding acorns because oaks yield wildly inconsistent fruitings from year to year, making over-reliance on an abundance of acorns unwise. And while you may be more familiar with the big, fleshy fruit of an Asian species,...

Personally, I like sowing them with slow brassicas and tomatoes. As for cut lettuce, this is a crop that we've found does well with long-season onions, leeks and green onions. Planting a drying bush bean between (or within) your corn rows can be an excellent...

You'll use succession cropping—planting one crop family after another in the same space—to use your plot throughout the year. Next to each season, fill in what you'll plant there.

Really, careful observation is the basis; it's about using all of your senses to farm.” Biodynamic Preparations: How it Compares to Organic Since Biodynamic agriculture views the farm as a self-contained living organism, an essential component of this...

Maintain The Area Sacrifice areas are designed to help keep your pastures healthy, yet they still require some attention themselves. The Snohomish (Wash.) Conservation District suggests: “Pick a location adjacent to the barn, manure storage and feeding...

“Integrating silvopastures into our farm has improved the profitability of the land while also providing long-lasting environmental benefits,” Owens says. Then the livestock are removed so the pastures can rest and recover.

Today, the family's diversified organic operation encompasses crops such as wheat, rye, barley, corn, clover, flax and oats. And that's why you won't see me shopping for organic produce at Wal-Mart.

“Without a manure-management plan—even a simple, basic one—a farm with livestock, no matter what the size, is open to liabilities: complaining neighbors due to odors, concerns over water contamination; potential water contamination from run-off...

For the soil, it's more protective to have that dry brittle fern left. In general, spring is the natural time to clear out plant debris to make way for new growth. With the use of cover crops, this hands-off approach allows autumn-sown seeds to help you...

Grassland birds contribute to biodiversity, and their habitat aids in improving water quality and watershed health, so promoting habitat on your farm can benefit both birds and farmers, both in the short term and the long run.

I haven't tried this myself but have heard it works very well when managed correctly. If your livestock's water doesn't look clean enough for you to dip a cup in and take a sip, it's past time to clean the trough.

Here's a quick primer on what grasses go where in your cool- and warm-weather pasture arrangement. When our county agent, a kind and deeply well-informed man on whom we soon grew to rely, stepped out of the truck, he scanned the two pastures and said,...

Get Educated The training needed depends on the exact job angle you're going for. There are also performance-horse facilities that have indoor riding arenas to be cared for, clients paying thousands of dollars each month for their horses' care and multiple...

Though you can buy premade structures at most garden centers, you can easily make some using materials you may already have lying around. Trellises A common choice, trellises can be made of wood, metal, plastic or various fabrics, including cotton and...