Livestock

Northeast pollinator conservation planning short courses

Because native bees are significant contributors to crop pollination, their integration into farm systems—through conservation or restoration of natural and semi-natural areas, as well as the protection of nest sites and prudent insecticide use—is essential to agricultural production over the long-term. Led by pollinator program co-director Eric Mader, the national environmental non-profit, The Xerces Society, […]

Penn State student studies poultry bedding alternatives

In the Northeast, wood shavings are the predominant bedding material on which commercial broiler chickens are raised. Because their availability and cost fluctuates and new concerns have emerged around biosecurity risks of transporting bedding to and from farms, Pennsylvania State University Master of Science student Amy Barkley used her Northeast SARE Graduate Student grant to […]

Sustainable year-round sheep milking management

The U.S. sheep dairy industry is currently a seasonal business as traditional dairy sheep breeds tend to follow an annual 180-day lactation. With her Northeast SARE Graduate Student grant, Nikola “Niko” Kochendoerfer of Cornell University, explored the possibility of year-round sheep milking management using meat breed ewes (Finn and Dorset crossbreeds). These breeds are capable […]

Geese on Pasture

Wesley Bascom of Gozzard City LLC conducted a Northeast SARE Farmer Grant project to look at pastured goose production in northern Vermont. Wesley wanted to track the impact of different levels of grain supplementation for geese on pasture. He divided the goose flock into three groups of approximately 60 each and supplemented one group with […]

Pollinator buffers improve poultry farm sustainability & neighbor relations

Like many farms across the region, Hill Farms, Inc. in Houston, Delaware has seen in increase in residential development surrounding their farm. Because maintaining positive neighbor relations is important to this poultry operation, owner Tina Hill conducted a Northeast SARE Farmer Grant project to install a mixed vegetative buffer adjacent their poultry houses. Tina was […]

Maine leads project using winter ecology to manage small ruminant parasites

For many small ruminant operations, grazing is central to farm profitability. However, grazing livestock increases risks of losses due to parasite-infested pastures. Haemonchus contortus, Barber pole worm, is a particular threat to sheep and goat farms throughout the Northeast region. Although H. contortus (as a subtropical parasite) has adapted to northern climates, Jim Weber of […]

2017 Northeast SARE Annual Report

A look back at the past 30 years of SARE and a look to the future. This edition includes a listing of 2017 project awards by state and includes a snapshot of program results.

Developing a criteria to select colostrum samples of poor quality

Good colostrum management is essential to the health of newborn replacements and life-long profit.

Minimizing the risks of Vibrio bacteria in farm-raised oysters grown in intertidal elements of the Delaware Bay

New Jersey’s oyster farms are concentrated on the extensive intertidal sand flats of the lower Delaware Bay where they are exposed twice daily during low tide. Previous studies from the Pacific Northwest indicate that intertidal exposure accelerates the proliferation of Vibrios, increasing the risk to human health.

Native bees and flowering cover crops

While managed colonies of European honey bees are most frequently used for crop pollination, wild or native bees commonly provide the same pollination services for ‘free’ without the costs of renting or maintaining honey bee hives.