What would you think if I told you that the era of near‑unlimited flexibility in pesticide applications is coming to a close? The days of jumping into the sprayer as soon as fields are dry or calling the crop duster the moment conditions turn favorable for pests or pathogens are quickly fading. Change is coming – but why?

Whatever the combination of market, forage and cow health conditions emerge as the year wears on, says Brackenbury, “That’s the beauty of livestock – you always have to be prepared and have a willingness to adapt. You never know what kind of event will come.”

The latest issue of Ag Proud – Idaho magazine is available. To view, make sure you're logged into your agproud.com account. If you do not have access, click "Subscribe" in the top-right corner of agproud.com to add permission to view.

Now, I realize it’s a pretty big ask to make me appear presentable, if not handsome, in public, but you’d be surprised how badly someone with a barber pole outside the door and a rudimentary knowledge of how scissors work can truly mess up a haircut.

Hamer Farms grows about 1,500 acres of potatoes, along with alfalfa, corn, wheat and mustard. The farm and packing operation together employ almost 60 people.

Reducing the exposure of hay to the rain, snow and hot sun certainly aids in protecting the visual integrity of the baled forage. However, what does the weather, elements and time do to the nutritional integrity of these same bales?

The long battle with quagga mussels in the middle portion of the Snake River has been filled with countless casualties, which is precisely the point of its success, say officials from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.