LAKE CITY — There’s nothing like a new crop of lambs to make a farm come alive. When Dwight Dial walks out to his barn this time of year, a lively chorus of high-pitched bleats — mixed with the occasional lower-pitched baa — greets him. “I’ve always enjoyed raising sheep,” ...
JEFFERSON — Take a guess — how many artificial intelligence (AI) tools are available commercially? While it’s hard to pin down a definitive, official count, the number exceeds 30,000, by some estimates. “This number just keeps growing,” said Alexis Stevens, a farm management ...
Soil sampling will be the name of the game following historic flooding in June of 2024 that ravaged areas all around northwest Iowa, and moved river sand into fields, and topsoil into and out of fields, according to Iowa State University Extension agronomists. Flooding last summer was the ...
ISU Extension has issued a link with some guidelines for incorporating river sand into field soil, which states: • Soil testing separately from areas with different amounts of sand incorporation may be appropriate to account for nutrient levels of the sand, and adding organic matter may be ...
AMES — With winter ending and the arrival of spring, farmers are making their final plans for the new crop year. These decisions involve seed, fertilizer, herbicides, machinery readiness, and more. Crop insurance coverage decisions have been made and, after the March 17 deadline, those ...
AMES — Spring at Iowa State University’s sheep farm means adorable little lambs scampering about, kicking up the dirt as they gain control of their wobbly little legs. Spring at the sheep farm also means students are gaining valuable hands-on experience in spring lambing. Caitlin ...
There’s a saying that life isn’t about having the right opportunities; it’s about handling the opportunities right. Perhaps no one at Farm News knows this better than Dana Lantz. “Some people say newspapers are dead, but it’s quite the contrary with Farm News,” said Lantz, the ...
It has become fashionable to embrace things and activities that are from a former era. In other words, “old” is now the new “new.” This is great news for people like me, who never threw out those bellbottoms that young hipsters are currently wearing in order to appear hip. They might ...
Honestly — the things that guys can think of. Many are the meals that farmers have eaten in the field, especially during harvest. Sometimes it’s sandwiches on the go, and sometimes it’s a standing buffet of roast and all the trimmings, depending on what kind of time the person bringing ...
Why did you start writing for Farm News? If I remember right, Farm News’ first editor, Bill Rentsch, reached out to his alma mater (Iowa State University) and contacted the journalism department. He was looking for stringers (freelancers). I was a senior majoring in journalism/mass ...
