It’s been a year to remember here at Farm and Dairy. We’ve ran the numbers and these are our top 10 web stories from 2015:
We’ve ran the numbers and these are our top 10 web stories from 2015:
One small thing can change your world in an instant. It’s a lesson that Judy Ligo learned in June 2015 as she climbed over the fence into the pasture to complete routine chores. All of a sudden, the Highland bull in the pasture with her began to snort and paw the ground. She didn’t make it out of the pasture in time.
Ty Phillips, a Wilmington Area High School student, took it upon himself earlier this year to raffle off a John Deere 520 pedal tractor that he restored in order to help a teacher, Joanna McKelvey, and her baby, who was born with a hole in his heart. Phillips’ intent with the raffle was to raise as much money as possible for the McKelveys.
What was described as a “three-ring circus” at the North American International Exposition after Kentucky state officials changed leadership. Longtime leaders were removed, causing employees and supporters to speak up about the exposition’s future.
After changes were made by Penn State University Extension, the Beaver County Stockman’s Club renounced its 4-H affiliation and didn’t show their animals at the Hookstown Fair this August. Club advisers felt that the changes didn’t benefit the youth. The Stockman’s Club is now an independent youth organization.
In October, the news of three sisters from Alberta, Canada, and their tragic death on the family farm shook those who heard it. Farm and Dairy columnist Judith Sutherland relates the story to all farming families and communities, as “Such tragedies unite us, no matter how much land separates us.”
May is Beef Month, and this year with our launch of Around the Table, we kicked off the e-newsletter by sharing with readers everything they need to know about cooking beef.
A calf born with its heart in its throat is very rare. Farmer Tom Leech’s calf is only the third confirmed case, as far as he’s researched. The Washington, Pennsylvania, farmer was concerned last March when he noticed a pumping heart in the throat of a newborn Shorthorn bull calf, named “Cardio Brisket.” The calf was more susceptible to the cold and to disease, so he became a barn calf.
Reese Burdette has been a resilient fighter after suffering from burns and lung damage after a small electric fan caught fire in her grandparents’ home in May 2014. She’s been recovering at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where she has received visits from professional football players and even her cow, Pantene.
The ban on all poultry shows and auctions due to the risky of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that was announced June 2 meant that 4-H and FFA youth were unable to show their birds at fairs this year, but it helped to protect Ohio’s many poultry farming families. Avian influenza was not detected in Ohio this year. The ban was lifted Dec. 17.
On Aug. 1, 15-year-old Sarah Stanley tragically lost her life in a farm accident involving a John Deere Gator and a truck. At the Stark County Fair auction on Sept. 5, her family and friends brought her pig, which they had finished, to the auction. The proceeds of the sale were to go to a scholarship in her name and would be awarded to someone who wanted to become a veterinarian, like Sarah had. Sarah’s hog ended up selling for $70 a pound the first time by several buyers, then $15 a pound the second time and $6 a pound the third time.
