Back in the day, when I woke up to the quiet sounds of birds chirping in the trees and the warm serene light of morning streaming through my curtains, and the warm secure feeling of family wrapped around me like a blanket, I knew the absence of fear.

My dad had a lot of home-grown wisdom. He came from a time when common sense was a lot more common than it is now. I was very fortunate to grow up and later partner as an adult under his guidance and advice. One thing Dad really believed in was a keeping a farm in good shape – curb appeal is how some would term it. We were never wealthy monetarily, but like many of you and your families, we were dang resourceful.

I walk the Corrib often. I’ll stroll its banks if it’s a nice day, or sometimes at night, if I happen to be feeling contemplative. The River Corrib is supposed to be the shortest and fastest river in Europe. The water crashes out of the spillway in the heart of Galway, Ireland, and rushes along the stone walls for several hundred yards before emptying into the bay.

I remember the call like it was yesterday. I was on a business trip to Pennsylvania and took a quick jingle from my husband as I waited for my lunch to arrive. “I’ve got some bad news,” he started. “Roofus is down; she was in heat, got rode wrong, and we think she’s split.”

How much impact does heifer stocking density have on their conditioning? Many herd managers seek to prevent freshening heifers from being overconditioned by dietary dilution with low-energy forages.

Molasses is a common ingredient in texturized calf starters. It is added for palatability and reduction of dust. Unfortunately, molasses brings some challenges to the manufacturing process because of its viscosity and at the farm because it attracts flies and increases the possibility for mold growth on starter.

To most people a dog is the family pet. A dog on a farm is a working dog. That’s why you never see a poodle or a dachshund on a farm. And if you do you see one, it’s not for long. Small dogs tend to “run for their lives” back to town after meeting the barn cats.

A team of Iowa State University (ISU) researchers recently reviewed 265 academic papers published through the end of 2014 and found that a surprising amount of odor and gas emission mitigation practices for livestock and poultry production never make it to field trials.

“Feeding cows is part science and part art; the trick is finding the sweet spot,” says Mike Hutjens, extension dairy specialist for the University of Illinois.

Our staff saw the #bovinechallenge posts making their way across social media, and we decided to get in on the fun with our spin.