Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Seth Todd Direct-to-consumer is a hot topic in the livestock industry as of late, and ChopLocal, a platform designed to facilitate sales from meat producers to consumers, has a wealth of resources for farmers selling in that market. The website now hosts over five dozen sellers on their platform offering products from beef and […]

By: Dave Mowitz Rewiring a tractor isn’t the place to scrimp on restoration costs. Compared to the cost of engine parts or a paint job, the expense of rewiring is nominal. Although it may look sound on the surface, old cloth or plastic-covered wiring may be long past its prime for transferring electricity efficiently. The […]

By: Natalina Sents Bausch USDA’s Crop Progress State Stories published January 3, 2024 shows many Colorado farmers are beginning the year with less soil moisture than they did in January 2023. Productive snowstorms during the second half of December 2023 improved moisture across the state, but moisture levels are still significantly behind the previous year. […]

By: Successful Farming Staff We’re going to be talking more about weeds and how weeds are affecting farmers. And how they need to look at it in a different view going forward because what we’ve been working with right now isn’t working. Rob Hinton in Virginia, has been actually experimenting with cover crops for a […]

By: Mark Moore Good help is hard to find. That’s been a continual mantra of dairy herd managers looking to find employees to fill critical roles on the farm. In today’s job market, it has become even more challenging because of a variety of converging factors. Employers need to look more closely at how they […]

By: Gil Gullickson Pull up a chair. Pour yourself an iced tea in the cool of the evening. And listen to what Lin Warfel has learned over a lifetime of farming and community involvement. The Tolono, Illinois, farmer and land-owner will tell you how a tragedy helped form a special relationship with his grandfather. He’ll […]

By: Mark McLaughlin q When my parents died, they put their land in a trust until I’m age 65. They wanted to prevent my siblings from selling the land until I reached a “good retirement age.” They meant well, but it’s always a battle to negotiate rent with my brother, and my sister’s upset because […]

By: Successful Farming Staff q Why is it important to test hay? a It’s important to know the nutrient content of the hay. That way you can feed it properly to the different animals, know whether you need to add any supplementation & know how much you can feed. It’s kind of like having a […]

By: Chelsea Dinterman Stuart Mager is no stranger to agriculture. He’s been passionate about farm-ing since childhood. “I would have rather driven a tractor than go to school,” he says. Inspired by their grandfathers, Stuart and his brother, Drew, are now the fourth generation to operate the family farm near Rockville, Indiana. “Stuart and his […]

By: Successful Farming Staff q What’s going on in the weed world right now, why are farmers having to look at these more creative weed management tactics? a Yeah so the weed side world & the weed control spectrum as far as growers are concerned is always evolving, probably due to the evolvement of resistance […]