“Put it on your Christmas list” may be one of the directives least liked by kids, followed closely by “Put it on your birthday list.” Too often, both birthdays and Christmas degrade into comparisons of who got the most loot. This is never good.

When you hear the word “matchmaker,” your first thought probably is not about farm equipment; however, over the years I have seen firsthand the issues that can arise when one does not pay heed to the fact farm equipment has to match up.

We finally had most of the calves weaned. As a matter of fact, on the late October day when we gathered the bulk of the cows to pull the calves, you couldn’t have asked for better weather. After a two-week stretch where we’d seen the temperatures dip into the teens, we were experiencing some unusually nice weather.

Monthly alfalfa hay exports dipped below 200,000 metric tons (MT) in September, just the third time that’s happened in the past 17 months. Despite the slight downturn, year-to-date 2017 alfalfa hay export sales topped 2 million MT and remain well on their way to a new record annual high.

The new Temporary Agricultural Workers Visa Program (H-2C bill) passed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee review Oct. 25. H-2C is described in the Ag Worker Act (HR-4092). H-2C is a proposed update to the current H-2A program. Hopefully the new program will simplify hiring temporary workers for farm work.

Farmers in New Mexico, Texas, Ohio and Michigan want to know more about a crop pest solution developed on farms in Northern New York and in the Shields Lab at Cornell University.

I have chickens on the living room wall. My husband is disgusted by chickens. “It’s a quilt,” I say, “Get over it. Why do you hate chickens so much?” I think his objection is “We are blessed” embroidered on the quilt next to the chicken fabric seems like an oxymoron.