By: Kevin Brown, Agricultural Resource Specialist, Bradford County Conservation District
If you have, or intend to, plant cover crops, please read this column.  We all hear the benefits touted about cover crops- less erosion, having a living plant in the ground at all times, alleviating compaction, retaining nutrients for the next crop, giving food and shelter to microbes in the soil, and so on.  It is a great list and will do some miraculous things to the soil.  Try it on a limited basis, if you haven’t already.  Then get a shovel out and really look at what happened.  There are some benefits that definitely go with cover crops.  However, there are some things you should know beforehand that really can affect how those cover crops grow.  We have two years under our belt now with our highboy planter.  It has been a couple really wet years, so they haven’t been the best, but we have learned some interesting things that I think need to be shared.  They are things that I have NOT heard in any other cover crop presentation.  It’s like, “plant them and life will be good”.  Well, not here.  We have really struggled to get some good crops growing, but with the lessons learned, I think that will change.

​By: Kevin Brown, Agricultural Resource Specialist, Bradford County Conservation District
There was a joke in school back in my day that went like, “Do you know how to keep a person in suspense?  I will tell you later”.  Well, I told you I would help you pay for some of these conservation practices, most notably fencing out streams, in the next column and yet I didn’t.  I was keeping you in suspense.  Miranda had such a good article that I just had to let her go first.
I would like to remind you that even though we here at the District may be doing it for other reasons (clean water, and who wants that?), the real reason to do any of this is for the animals themselves.  The happier they are, the faster they grow (for production), and the more they will love us back.  

By: Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Specialist
Every spring all of the farmers I know start to get super antsy and excited to get planting done, only to roll right in to hay season (or whatever crops they grow), then followed immediately by corn harvest in the fall. There is no time for breaks, just a lot of racing to beat the next rainstorm and praying for good summer sun. When they’re planting those seeds, they are planting hope; hope for the future, but it’s important not to forget to take some time every now and then to admire the present moments.

By: Kevin Brown, Agricultural Resource Specialist, Bradford County Conservation District
Most animal owners that I know of have animals for one reason.  “They enjoy them”.  Plain and simple.  No matter the species, people love their animals and caring for them brings great comfort.  Had a bad day at work, go visit your animals.  Been cooped in for 6 months because of COVID (Yep, I just did that.  Can’t have a conversation without anymore), go visit your animals.  They just make you feel better.  It is relaxing and uncomplicated.  We hear about “comfort pets” all the time on TV.  They just have that effect.  Now, because they make us feel so much better, and we love them so much, doesn’t it make sense to do what is right for them?  Shouldn’t we show them a little gratitude?  How do I propose you do that?  I am sure there are the common ways that you are thinking (petting, treats/grain, riding them, etc.). Let me bring up an area that one probably never thinks of - their surroundings.  Their day-to-day life.  Bear with me and let me explain.

By: Guest Columnist, Troy Bishopp, Grazing Specialist, Upper Susquehanna Coalition
It’s amazing how ignorant I have been in following the tradition of feeding hay to my animals.  Once you’re in this agricultural paradigm for so long it’s hard to break the cycle of thinking.  It wasn’t until I actually looked at my farm’s displaced fertility levels from a nutrient management plan that I started to question my hay feeding practices and the labor it took.  

 ​By: Nathan Dewing, Agricultural Team Leader
     The abundant grass crop in Bradford County leaves growers considering their options for managing it.  Harvest for storage as livestock feed is the most common decision, but it’s not the only one.   Many acres are used for wildlife food and cover.  And many acres are harvested another way – by grazing livestock.
     Grazing is often considered an efficient means of harvesting grass because it can be done with little or no power equipment.  Many grazers say that livestock have four legs for a reason – so they can go harvest their own food!  At a minimum, the infrastructure needed to make this happen is a fence and some water.  The last article explored decisions involved with supplying water.  Now let’s consider the fence.
     A producer first ought to ask the question “Could this be done without a fence?”  There might be a way and innovators should keep exploring possibilities.  For now however, the answer overwhelmingly is “You will need a fence.”

​By: Nathan Dewing, Agricultural Team Leader

​Bradford County farm fields are made for grass.  Our grass covered hill fields can develop highly productive soil while contributing virtually no sediment to waterways; two reasons it is the primary crop for our food producers.  Bradford county grass has been used to produce milk and meats for generations, and grazing can be one of the most efficient means of harvest.
Water supply in grazing systems can make or break production efficiency, so let’s examine some of the key factors involved.

By: Jonathan VanNoy, Natural Resource Specialist
     If I were to tell you to close your eyes and describe what comes to mind when you hear the word “wetland”, what would you describe?  A stagnant, slimy waterbody?  A grassy, soupy area with cattails?  Maybe that lower field that you can only make hay on every few years?  How about that special place that you love to hunt ducks, or trap muskrats?  You may have an archery stand on the edge of a swamp that comes to mind.  You might describe that spot in your woods that pools water each spring, and for one or two warm nights a year is just crawling with toads or salamanders as they congregate to lay masses of eggs.  (Go to a local vernal pool, pond, swamp or wetland on a warm, spring evening and pull up a chair and just listen and watch.  There is NOTHING that can compare to the sound you will hear if the frogs or toads have congregated!)

By: Nathan Dewing, Agricultural Team Leader, Bradford County Conservation District
     Grazing season has arrived which means farmers and animals alike kick their heels in glee!  Supplemental feeding in the pasture, barn, or barnyard is expensive, labor intensive and stressful, so all are relieved to see the animals get out onto green pastures again.
     Grazers, what is one step you can take this year to make your operation more efficient or productive?  This is a good way to think about it.  When you think about all the things you want to do, you may get overwhelmed and stuck.  Selecting ONE allows progress.  Let me suggest one to get you thinking.

By: Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Specialist, BCCD
     As temperatures are getting warmer and summer is rapidly approaching, farmers are gearing up for hay season and farm kids are preparing for cow shows. Like a kid going off to summer camp with butterflies of excitement to meet up with friends, have new experiences and make hundreds of memories, so many farm kids (and adults) are getting those butterflies thinking about packing up the cattle trailers and heading out to the county fairs. In the farming world, the cow show circuit is not only a place for cattle breeders to show off their top genetic cows- it’s also a place where they can connect with each other and have an opportunity to educate the public, but most importantly to have fun!