Martha Hoffman Kerestes

Long-term profitability, preparing for the next generation and fostering human, plant and animal health all hinge on managing the farm for soil health improvement. Everything revolves around healthy soil for Burton Heatwole.

He is seeing the fruit of this focus, and he is in it for the long haul

Miles and Caleb von Stein grew up making hay on a small scale for family and neighbors in northwestern Ohio, and they thought expanding might be a way to get into farming as young people where most land is in corn and soybeans.

“We always wanted to farm for sure, and the baling came as a way to start farming without taking acres from our dad and uncle,” Miles says.

Corse family using grazing to maintain 152-year legacy

Whitingham, Vermont — For the past 152 years the Corse family has milked cows in south central Vermont.
Today, Leon Corse, his wife, Linda, and their adult daughter, Abbie, are doing their best to continue that legacy with organic-certified management tailored to their farm. And they’re helping others begin their own legacies through participation in the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, a program aiming to bring new dairy farmers into the in...

In the evening darkness, I walk across the grassy yard to the barn. By the light of the lamp, I open the barn door and say hello to the cows and calves. Ushering Peggy Sue into the milking stall, I give her a slice of the very tastiest hay, which she happily accepts.
I sit down on the milking stool and get her washed and ready to milk.

About forty years ago, the Dutch Belted breed was perilously close to extinction. This was when my father, Kenneth Hoffman, discovered Dorothy O’Neill Hornback and her herd of purebred Dutch Belts that he ascertained were the oldest continuously registered purebred belted cattle in the world.

“I’ll never forget the first time I went to look at the O’Neill herd,” Kenneth said.

Cover crops can provide many benefits to producers, from forage value to soil health improvements and beyond. With many species to choose from, it can sometimes be a challenge to know where to start.

This is where cover crop calculators can be a valuable tool to help producers learn about and pick species that will meet goals and be successful in their environment.

Keeseville, New York — Small-scale dairy processing and marketing usually requires access to nearby urban markets.
However, in northeastern New York, far from large cities, North Country Creamery is finding success selling dairy products throughout the rural region.
Founded by Ashlee Kleinhammer and partner Steven Googin, the creamery produces creamline yogurt, cheese, raw milk and beef from their grass-only herd.
Products are sold in the on-far...

Fairbury, Illinois. As the next generation looked to join the operation, the Kilgus family faced a choice.

With 120 cows, the long-term future didn’t look bright for selling to a commercial milk market. So the family explored expanding to 1,000 cows.

But room for such an expansion was limited, and the Kilguses had no desire to spend the entire day in a milking parlor. They started looking at other options.

“We felt like we had to do something pretty different if we were going to maintain a small family farm atmosphere,” says Paul Kilgus.

Custom grazing takes a unique set of skills and brings new challenges, but it’s the way Dr. Jason Salchow with his wife, Sharon, and their family have built a successful business grazing stockers and seedstock bulls in southwestern Missouri.

Awakened rudely by an alarm in the wee hours, I rolled out of bed to finish packing and drive to the airport in the chilly January air. As the sun kissed the horizon with a rosy hue, I settled into my airplane seat. As we picked up speed, lifted off Illinois soil, and turned our course toward the Southwest, I saw the Midwest farmland below in carefully drawn rectangles. As the hours passed, the scenery gave way to slightly greener fields and distinctly red soil as we flew over the warmer Sout...

Management decisions such as spanning soil fertility economics, market risk management and selecting adapted breeding stock and forages can have wide-reaching impact on the resilience of a farm business.

The 2020 Fall Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council Grazing Conference addressed the topic of how to design resilient forage-livestock grazing systems, particularly in the transition zone of the U.S.

John Deere gave their first gift to FFA in the middle of World War II. Seventy-five years and more than $13 million later, the organizations are celebrating their partnership.

The milestone is being commemorated at the 91st National FFA Convention and Expo with a time capsule to be opened in 75 years, as well as a $75,000 donation from John Deere to the National FFA Organization’s Living to Serve Grants that provide funding for community service projects.

“This is is a low-stress job, and sometimes I ask myself why I’m leaving, but you can’t work forever,” said retiring IVCC accounting professor Mike Sankovich.
He began teaching accounting part time at IVCC in 1981, and has been full time since 1987.
Reflecting on his years teaching at community college, he sees it as the best of both worlds: getting to teach adult students and being able to focus on teaching instead of research.
“It’s been a great career,” Sankovich said.

Maynard, Iowa — Moving from confinement dairy to grazing and then to organic, Scott Wedemeier and his family have developed a unique grass dairy system that works well for their farm.

Scott and Gary, his father and farming partner, milk 164 organic cows in northeastern Iowa. Scott’s wife, Catherine, and young children, Mae, Evan, Will, and Jed, are also part of the operation. In addition to Gary and Scott, one full-time and three part-time employees work in the dairy and the accompanying cropping operation.