Kevin Brown, Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
Yes, I am one in the large masses of people who hate spiders.  I saw a movie as a youngster, called Tarantulas (I believe), and ever since then I have hated them with a passion.  They are ugly, creepy, and are always looking to bite you, right?  Wrong.  Well, they may be ugly (in the eye of the beholder), but they aren’t out just willy-nilly looking to lay one into you.  Like most animals, they don’t want to be any closer to you than you want to be to them.  Actually, if you do a bit of reading, spiders are very beneficial creatures.  In leading up to this article, I did some quick research and with the exception of the black widow, brown recluse and the yellow sac spider (phys.org article on “Spiders Are the Most Effective Predators”), all the rest are quite harmless.

Kevin Brown. Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
I have probably written about this before, but I just see too much of it going on right now to not write about it again.  As I drive around the county and try to pay attention to what is going on out there on the landscape, I notice that there are a TON of people that have cattle that have them out there grazing their lands already.  Most, from what I can tell, have almost their entire pasture opened up to them.  If you don’t really understand pasture and hay growth, this may make sense to you.  It is growing slowly at this point, and there is so little of it, that you need to give them as much room to roam as you can for them to find enough to eat.  While that may seem to be common sense, it is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing.

Miranda Neville, Ag. Resource Specialist, BCCD
Breanna Ameigh, West Nile Virus Coordinator, BCCD
Last week, on April 4th, we hosted our second Women in Agriculture event at Alparon Park in Troy, PA. We had 60 fellow women in agriculture, along with some sweet, little future Women in Ag. We wanted to provide an opportunity for women in surrounding counties to come together, hear insightful speakers, network with other related businesses, and enjoy a day filled with knowledge, laughter and camaraderie. 

Cathy Yeakel, BCCD, District manager
​Spring is Right Around the Corner
Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, as an environmental awareness day to educate people about pollution and its effects on the environment. Founded by a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day became a global movement to protect our environment. Since 1970, celebrations have changed from awareness lectures to outdoor events offering education on our natural resource issues and demonstrations.