News

The Farmers Exchange Community has kept us busy the past week with common tomato issues here in north Georgia this time of year.  Here are a couple of the most common issues we have been seeing this past week.   Issue #1 ... Tomato Hornworm  Hornworms are the some of the largest caterpillars and measure up to 4" long.  While tomatoes are their favorite host, they may also be found on potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and some weeds including horsenettle and nightshade.  Hornworms start to feed on the leaves on the upper part of the plant and can destroy several leaves as...

Colic can be a tricky condition in horses, difficult to diagnose and effectively treat. With care, however, most horses do recover completely, and knowing how to deal with colic in horses can help you stay alert to your equine friend’s health. The better you understand colic, the more comfortable you can keep your horse during a painful bout and the better you can minimize the animal’s risk of another incident. What Is Colic? Colic is a relatively general term used to refer to abdominal pain. In horses, this pain may originate from various sources, including the stomach, intestines, or liver,...

Forages.  Forages are the edible parts of plants that provide feed for grazing animals or can be harvested for feeding.  This fibrous plant material helps produce the many meat and dairy products we consume making it essential to our lives.  Forage also plays a role in conservation by limiting soil erosion, providing food and habitat for wildlife, and protecting surface waters.   Examples Include:  *Forages cover about 55% of the land area in the US.   *Well-managed forage systems help keep our waterways clean and free of unwanted chemicals.   *There are about 14,000 species of grasses in the United States.   *Forages are...

Summer Forages Bermudagrass is a great warm season perennial used for grazing and hay.  If you have bermuda, make sure you are providing it with adequate levels of nitrogen and potash this summer to get optimal performance.  Bermuda is a heavy feeder.   There are also several warm season annual options producers can plant for grazing and baleage.  Summer annual grasses are high-yielding and have rapid growth during the hot, humid Georgia summers.  Once established, most are extremely drought tolerant.  Annuals are generally higher quality than their perennial counterparts.  Summer annuals work best in a rotational grazing situation.  Some of the...

FLY CONTROL INCLUDES A MULTI-STEP PLAN I love the growing season, but one thing I really dislike about late spring and summer are FLIES!  Flies are annoying because they invade your personal space and will even bite you.  There is no one practice or a magic wand to make them go away, but there are some practices we can implement to help minimize their adverse affect on our cattle herds.   Biting flies are carriers of such diseases as anaplasmois and bovine leukosis virus.  Face flies can spread Moraxella Bovis which causes pinkeye.  The economic loss from each horn fly biting...