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Today is National Agriculture Day

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Today is National Agriculture Day. 🐮 🚜 🐷

Here is a list of the 20 towns that have most land used for agriculture in the state (based on the 2016 NLCD).

County Town Acres Hay/Pasture Acres Cultivated Total Farmland
St. Lawrence Lisbon town 17,160 11,300 28,460
Seneca Fayette town 2,157 25,908 28,065
Schuyler Hector town 20,397 7,392 27,788
Niagara Royalton town 11,225 15,678 26,903
Ontario Phelps town 3,879 22,075 25,954
Jefferson Clayton town 23,908 1,989 25,898
Jefferson Ellisburg town 7,276 18,052 25,328
Orleans Seneca town 1,337 22,786 24,123
Livingston York town 2,833 20,881 23,714
Jefferson Cape Vincent town 17,207 5,512 22,719
Jefferson Lyme town 19,945 2,251 22,197
Ontario Gorham town 3,210 18,652 21,862
Jefferson Brownville town 20,654 989 21,642
Tompkins Lansing town 9,908 11,549 21,457
St. Lawrence Canton town 17,080 4,322 21,402
Jefferson Orleans town 20,435 870 21,305
Montgomery Minden town 14,737 6,303 21,040
Orleans Barre town 2,097 18,744 20,841
Ontario Canandaigua town 8,514 12,297 20,810
Niagara Wilson town 3,947 16,724 20,671

Thematic Map: Speed Limit on Interstates and State Touring Routes in Capital Region
Terrain Map: Lower Switzkill Valley

Pygmy Goats Angling to Take Dog’s Place as ‘Man’s Best Friend’ | HowStuffWorks

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Pygmy Goats Angling to Take Dog’s Place as ‘Man’s Best Friend’ | HowStuffWorks

Pygmy goats left Africa for the West around the mid-20th century, making a new home at Swedish zoos. From Sweden, they spread to England and Canada, according to the Oklahoma State University Department of Animal Sciences. By 1959, the first pygmy goats arrived in the United States at the behest of the Rhue family in California and the Catskill Game Farm in New York. They have since been typically used at zoos, for medical research and as pets. Of course, now they can also be found helping adventurous yogis with their asanas.

I had no idea that the Catskill Game Farm was the original source of Pygmy goats in America. 

Characteristics, Origin, Uses & Full Breed Information

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Oberhasli Goat: Characteristics, Origin, Uses & Full Breed Information

The Oberhasli goat is domestic breed of goat developed in the mountains of Switzerland. It is also known as Oberhasli Brienzer or Swiss Alpine and mainly used for milk production.

Oberhasli goat derives from the sub-type of Chamois Colored goat from the Oberhasli district of the Bernese Oberland in central Switzerland. Oberhasli goats were first imported to the United States in the early 1900s. But those goats were not bred pure and the bloodlines were lost.

Goats and Soda : NPR

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Why Did COVID-19 Cases Dramatically Decline In India? : Goats and Soda : NPR

Last September, India was confirming nearly 100,000 new coronavirus cases a day. It was on track to overtake the United States to become the country with the highest reported COVID-19 caseload in the world. Hospitals were full. The Indian economy nosedived into an unprecedented recession.

But four months later, India's coronavirus numbers have plummeted. Late last month, on Jan. 26, the country's Health Ministry confirmed a record low of about 9,100 new daily cases — in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people. It was India's lowest daily tally in eight months. On Monday, India confirmed about 11,000 cases.