Sheep

The race to keep up with grass growth is about to start here. The sheep and cattle are now content with the rye and volunteer wheat, saving on the hay supply.

I’m glad to be done feeding hay and am now grazing cereal rye and red clover. Some of the rye is in the flag leaf stage already. I have rye that is 10 inches tall right next to 30-inch tall rye, so I need to get it grazed.

Sheep producers can reduce the amount of labor needed to work with their animals with a Te Pari handling system.

Visitors learned about farm animals and other ag-centered topics at the 2024 St. Joseph County Ag Days.

The Noble Research Institute is focused on land stewardship for improved soil health for grazing animal production with lasting profitability.

Fifteen Indiana farm families will share their stories at the Indiana State Fair this summer, showcasing the diversity of agriculture in Indiana.

If an important part of your business is flying between the United States and New Zealand — like it is for Air New Zealand — you get pretty skilled at making the tedious, 13-hour flight go smoothly.

This is the time of year that I become a little impatient waiting for spring. The warmer weather makes me think the grass and pasture should be getting green faster than they are. The sheep are also looking impatient.

It looks so far like spring has arrived early this year. Even if we get a last blast of winter, spring has a pretty good head start — so much so that I missed my best opportunity to frost seed some clover.

At the Illinois Lamb and Wool meeting a guy told me that he didn’t know about the wool loan deficiency payments program until he read about it in my article last year. He was able to get more than the 40 cents per pound minimum by having his wool graded.

Cattlemen learned about options for their operations at the Illinois Beef Expo trade show.

This year, February has seemed more like late March. The temperature here in northern Illinois is warmer than in past years, quite a difference from when I was writing the January column. I know the warm temperatures are not going to last.

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. Well, it seems Elton and I missed our deadline last month. I don’t know his excuse, but mine was forgetfulness. I wasn’t really idle, though.

I was just having so much fun with the minus-15 temperatures and 20 mph winds last month that I just forgot to write an article. Well, the last part is true. Things have been mundane around here — unroll hay, break ice and fill water tanks.

For 2024 Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Natalie Evans, being onstage at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield wasn’t that much different from being in a livestock show ring.