Agriculture

With spring just around the corner, with my brain a little mushy from a long cold winter, I thought it was time to brush up on some garden nomenclature.

I have long been convinced of the value of understanding more about plants then the mere fact that they need sun, soil and water. The more we learn about what it is that plants need and how to determine if they are getting it, the more we will enjoy the act of gardening.

Yes, the age-old question about which came first springs to mind this time of the year as the stores start to stock the shelves with chicken-raising paraphernalia.

We have a total of 130 chicks in brooders in the basement and garage. There are two sets: 3-week-old Brown Leghorns and Araucanas intended to join our laying hens, once they have fully feathered, and 100 Freedom Rangers, intended for the pasture of the nut grove, where they will range and grow to broiler weight for a May 7 appointment at the processors.

The chill factor may be near zero this morning, the ground frozen hard and animals gathered up in an effort to feed off each other’s heat, but that doesn’t mean work stands still on Shelby County’s farms.

The type of work being done by farmers on frigid winter days may depend on the type of farm being operated, but there is still more than enough to keep everyone busy.

The first part of Phase 1 of the annual statewide equine survey is out, and the results are of particular importance to the horse industry, officials say, as the study found that the total of all equine-related sales and income for equine operations in 2011 was about $1.1 billion.

That total came from sales of all equines, estimated to be $521.1 million, and $491 million in income from services provided, including both breeding and non-breeding services such as training, lessons, boarding, farrier, transportation, purses, incentives, etc.