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Canning Tomato-Vegetable Mixtures

Tomatoes are unique when it comes to home canning recipes. Some tomato and vegetable recipes recommend using a boiling water bath canner, some recipes recommend a pressure canner, and some recipes offer both options.

Multi-Peril Crop Insurance: Delayed and Prevent Plant Choices

Crop insurance late plant dates are fast approaching for planting crops in South Dakota. The weather and soil conditions this spring will likely lead to some prevent plant situations for farm producers.

Wet Feet in Wheat

Given the widespread wet conditions present this spring, there are many areas in winter wheat fields with both ponding and saturated (or waterlogged) soils. Producers may want to consider soil conditions and evaluate extended weather forecasts when deciding whether or not to retain a winter wheat this spring.

Founding a Farmers Market: Form a Planning Team

The first step to forming a new farmers market is to form a planning team. Keep the team small enough so that it is simple, small and manageable.

Limited Forage: What Are Some Alternatives?

Research has shown that a variety of feedstuffs can be utilized to meet the cows’ nutrient requirements with similar performance to hay or hay plus supplement ration.

Sheep Breeds

Everyone has heard the fairytale “Baa Baa Black Sheep Have You Any Wool?” but what about the double-coated California Red, the multi-colored Katahdin sheep with hair, or the East Friesian dairy ewe that produces over 1,100 pounds of milk a year? Sheep come in different shapes, sizes, and colors and all of them provide different functions and uses for producers. These can range from meat, wool, and milk production or a combination of characteristics.

Making Use of “Ugly” Feeds

Feed does not have to be perfect to be useful. The key to making smart feeding decisions is knowing what the imperfections are and adjusting accordingly.

Herd Management: Keep or Cull During a Drought?

Drought forces unexpected changes so it’s critical to have a strategy to keep only the “right” females that will benefit the operation.

Community Gardens: Budget & Fees

In order to have a sustainable project, it is very important to identify all of the expenses that are involved in the operation of your community garden. Are there costs associated with utilizing the site, site preparation (tilling, plowing, soil testing, or soil amendments), on-site resources (hose, fencing, or shared tools), marketing the garden, water usage, or insurance?