Agriculture

In a time when we all seek advice from experts, it is not only important to know what plants you have but also to understand the nomenclature of symptoms caused by insect and disease problems.

“I’ve got this thing on my whatcha-ma-call-it” won’t get you very far with a Google search or in person. We need to know how to describe the “things” that we find on our plant material so a proper diagnosis and treatment can follow.

This time of the year subtle warnings come from professionals reminding the consumer to be skeptical of mail order catalogues or advertisements that claim “new horticultural breakthroughs,” otherwise outrages claims or mass quantities of things for bargain basement prices. There are legitimate “horticultural breakthroughs,” but usually different terminology is used, and you’ll find them at your local stores.

We had our Scag mower serviced a few weeks back. She had suffered from some sort of oil leak all summer and looked a little weary and unkempt, so I felt a bit negligent when I dropped her off.

Taking care of your lawn-and-garden equipment was something that was pounded into my world view of farm responsibilities when I was growing up. Plus, I am well aware that if you don’t take care of your stuff- it means it doesn’t work when you need it!

A potential hefty price rise for milk will is not on the horizon, at least not anytime soon, dairy officials say.

“I don’t see much change; prices may even go down a little bit,” said Maury Cox, executive director of the Kentucky Dairy Development Council. 

The average gallon of milk costs about $3, according to the USDA. But there had been a fear of prices as high as $7 per gallon because of issues related to farm bill that was tied into the “Fiscal Cliff” in Washington.