Dairy farmers received good news when it comes to marketing their products. A crucial agreement has been reached that provides support for protection for the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Protected Designation of Origin in the United States and around the world, while explicitly establishing the free use of the generic term “mozzarella” to indicate a type of cheese.
The agreement, between the Consorzio Tutela Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the Consortium for Common Food Names is of critical importance as it secures the use of common terms on U.S. cheese products, while recognizing the territory of production.
Fecal samples from the subjects showed the children raised on a farm had a much healthier, more diverse gut microbiome than urban dwelling ones. The urban samples were found to dominantly have Atinobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla, whereas the Amish ones were primarily Firmicutes. The differences in these two biomes could potentially mean development of stronger, more robust and healthy immune systems, especially concerning the respiratory tract.
Researchers credit much of these findings to livestock exposure and living in an overall less sanitary environment. This is in line with other studies from multiple countries suggesting the same thing — babies and children living in rural, not-too-sanitized environments tend to have more vigorous immune systems. Studies have also shown a link between rural environments with a decrease in asthma and allergies among residents because of this.
This information is certainly intriguing and quite relevant to urbanites and rural citizens. But the study didn’t stop there — researchers went a step further to test their findings. This was conducted using piglets as a model for humans.
Forget the days of perfectly white shiplap walls. They sailed years ago when dusting became less of a priority compared to caring for the family, land, and stock. As farmers, we aren’t home much; maybe to sleep, catch up on the news, or change clothes, so a change in the weather may not justify you decorating for fall, but what you [accidentally] drag in the house may say otherwise.
The term “farmhouse” is being used in a more broader term than ever. Known for its white siding, wrap-around porch and simplicity, it seems as though we have all been sitting on a retail goldmine in the interior/exterior decorating world.
We weren’t aware that dirty boots piled up with oil-stained Wranglers, and smelly shirts were a sign of a well-put-together home. We weren’t aware that recently born animals brought in from the cold laying by the fireplace still covered in less-than-pleasant afterbirth were the style. We weren’t aware that hay and grain strew out among the house gave us charm. All we know is our way of life.
Consider the goat. Known for its wide-set eyes and head-butting tendencies, it’s a hard-working, low-maintenance, plant-eating, fertilizing machine. So when a property owner is looking to clear large or unruly swaths of land without costly labor, potentially harmful chemicals, and outside environmental impact, they may consider goatscaping, a method that, while not so new, is growing more popular by the day.
Using a herd of goats to clear a property through browsing, foraging, and fertilizing is a centuries-old tradition. Goatscaping takes advantage of the herd’s most natural talents: eating nearly anything and everything in its path. For those concerned about the risk of toxins seeping into the ground from chemical weed killers, as well as accessing steep, narrow, or rough terrain that modern machinery cannot handle, the agile and hardy goat may be a top-choice solution.
Additionally, goatscaping isn’t a natural fix for just weeds and overgrown brush. Dangerous plants like poison ivy, poison sumac, and invasive species like kudzu, which grow rapidly and can smother native plants, are no match for a goat’s appetite.
Agricultural producers reported they were not able to plant crops on roughly 19.4 million acres in 2019, according to a new reportreleased by the USDA. This marks the most prevented plant acres reported since USDA’s Farm Service Agency began releasing the report in 2007 and 17.49 million acres more than reported at this time last year.
Of those prevented plant acres, more than 73 percent were in 12 Midwestern states, where heavy rainfall and flooding this year has prevented many producers from planting mostly corn, soybeans and wheat.