The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection recently released the 2018-19 Meat Establishment Directory. A subset of this directory is facilities that are licensed to perform poultry slaughter. The sheet below is color-coordinated to help you quickly see which facilities are inspected. The green lines are inspected facilities and the yellow lines are […]
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As we start to enter the harvest season, it is also a good time to think about completing soil testing for the upcoming growing season. The publication A4034 Soil Fertility Guidelines for Pastures in Wisconsin provides some context about where to test in pastures, where NOT to test, and some general guidelines about liming and […]
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Are you getting short on pasture? Take a look at publication A3902, Extending grazing and reducing stored feed needs.
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Alpaca pasture management can be a challenge due to the grazing pattern behavior. Learn more about how to get the most out of your pasture with the “Alpaca Pastures in Wisconsin” factsheet.
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Are you looking at raising rabbits for meat, breeding stock, or another use? Check out the information on raising rabbits at Penn State Extension.
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Quality feed is very important for production of milk on a farm. Cows are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) that is balanced according to the nutritional needs of the animal. Energy in the diet is especially important for dairy cattle for daily production of milk, support of digestive health, and for effective utilization of […]
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There are several points in the year that are a good time to re-evaluate beef cattle body condition scores. Ideally, body condition is evaluated on a monthly basis as it is a road map to ensuring your cattle have the nutrition they need. Beef cattle are generally evaluated on a nine point scoring system. The major areas of evaluation for fat cover include the spine, ribs, hook & pin bones, brisket fill, and presence of tailhead fat.
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This is the time of year that many farmers dread: the culmination of a year of receipts, tax season! You painstakingly keep track of purchases, livestock sold, crop sold, depreciation on equipment, etc. All of this hard work and effort cumulates into the famed schedule F (and other forms) to complete your taxes. Whew! Another season under the belt. Wait, don’t stop there.
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This is the time of year that many people start getting excited about raising poultry. You get a shiny catalog in the mail with all kinds of cool looking birds. What do chicks need to survive and thrive? For those that are not old hats at raising poultry, caring for young birds isn’t hard, but does require some attention to detail.
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At some point in the course of raising animals, whether that is poultry, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, or some other critter, you will inevitably be moving them around your property. One of the easy mistakes to make as an animal owner is in how you approach animal handling. Mistakes in animal handling can lead to cuts, scrapes, bruises, broken bones, or worse. When working with animals, “slow is fast”.
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