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Agricultural Easements In NYS

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Yesterday I posted a map of conservation easements in the Adirondacks. Most of them are timber easements which by definition are quite large. Agricultural easements, which focus on preventing farm land development are much smaller typically as individual farm patcels are much smaller in New York State. Many of the easements are in high development, high tax areas like the Hudson Valley, especially the Taconics but also development rights have been purchased for areas with particularly high quality soils like the Genesee Valley.

Data Source:USGS Protected Areas Database. https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/science-analytics-and-synthesis/gap/science/pad-us-data-overview?qt-science_center_objects=4#

Why Adopting a Rescue Dog Is So Hard Right Now

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Why Adopting a Rescue Dog Is So Hard Right Now

There is something odd about rescue dogs, or a market that values used and often damaged products over new products in form of bred dogs. Some of it has to be marketing -- the idea of your rescuing a cute dog from certain death at a kill shelter. As if dogs had emotions beyond what their natural biology tells them to do to meet their needs like food and shelter.

You have to wonder how much of the rescue business is a fraud -- if the value of rescue dog, especially boutique breeds, continues to rise, there is going to be unscrupulous breeders that are going to be selling dogs to rescue businesses as "rescued" even if the only place the dog was rescued from was on paper.

Round gobies, an invasive fish species, found in Hudson River south of Albany – newyorkupstate.com

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DEC: Round gobies, an invasive fish species, found in Hudson River south of Albany – newyorkupstate.com

The Hudson River has a new invasive species – round gobies.

State Department of Environmental Conservation fisheries staff members captured four at two locations in the Hudson River approximately 12 and 25 miles downstream of the Troy dam during routine fish sampling on July 13 and 14. This marks the the first documented occurrence of this invasive fish in the river.

The small, bait-size fish is native to the Black and Caspian seas and was likely introduced by ballast water to the Great Lakes in the 1990s. It has the potential to cause ecological and recreational impacts.

Wildfire smoke from Bootleg Fire stretches all the way to the East Coast – CNN

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Wildfire smoke from Bootleg Fire stretches all the way to the East Coast – CNN

(CNN)The massive Bootleg Fire in Oregon has scorched an area larger than Los Angeles, and it's only 30% contained. The fire is so large and is burning so hot that it's creating its own weather.

It's just one of the many blazes raging in the West; the National Interagency Fire Center is watching 80 large fires across 13 states this week -- a testament to just how destructive the US wildfire season has become.

And the effects of the fires stretch all the way to the East Coast.

Why We Separate Baby Calves from their Mother — Derrick Josi | TDF Honest Farming

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Why We Separate Baby Calves from their Mother — Derrick Josi | TDF Honest Farming

Taking calves away from their mama cow is a common practice on dairy farms. Why do we do this? Here’s why:

First of all, let me remind you that cows and people are very different. Cows don’t exist in a family unit like most people do. Cows are herd animals which means they are most comfortable with other cows their size and age. Being without their herd-mates can cause a lot of anxiety for the cows, which is part of why they aren’t very naturally maternal.

Next up, calf safety.

After a calf is born, the mama cow will lick off the calf to clean it up and to help stimulate the calf to get up. However, this can be a safety issue. Sometimes cows will step on, lay on or crush their calf. Dairy cows generally aren’t very maternal. So if the cow abandons the calf, we step in and dry it off ourselves.

We also separate the calf to ensure its health.