As I sit here writing, Winter Storm Helena has just brought much-needed moisture to the drought-stricken southern Appalachian region. While these rains are a welcome sight for our pastures, wet conditions lead to horn fly propagation as well.

We recently finished up the first round of pre-calving shots to the bred cows here on Withington Creek, and Mother Nature has provided less- than-ideal cow-working conditions.

Marbling is the intramuscular fat that accounts for juiciness and flavor in cooked beef. This beef quality variable has received long-standing attention from the beef cattle industry and the animal science community. Consequently, much has been written about factors that influence marbling score.

I’m sure you’ve read about the VFD. It’s kind of like BVD, bovine viral diarrhea, only VFD is a disease of the bureaucracy. In my opinion, it’s just another in a long line of regulations to fix something that wasn’t broke.

Well, I’ve got another mess on my hands. It’s not life-threatening, but it’s going to be a real joy to clean up. On top of the responsibility to clean up this mess, I have the extra burden of guilt that so often accompanies the scourge of procrastination.

I like a pickup that looks like a truckAnd not like a tropical fish.Or a two-ton poodle with running lightsOr a mutant frog on a leash.

Persistence is the key to a successful long-term pasture weed control program. Land managers are constantly seeking a magic bullet weed control strategy that will allow them to check weed control off the to-do list and never think about it again.

Planting cover crops as a rotational crop to improve soil health has gained a great deal of momentum across the country. Farmers in the upper Midwest have been the leaders in adopting this practice.