Abigail’s Fodder for Thought – Wait, what WINTER?!

It seems like fall is flying by me this year. Last I recall, it was September and I was gearing up for a month of trade shows and traveling through the glorious autumn weather to enjoy what other folks experience (outside of New England). Growing up in Maine and living in Connecticut now, fall has always been a favorite of mine. The leaves are changing, I can order hot coffee instead of iced, scarves and coats come out of the closet and I can enjoy an afternoon outside without feeling like I’m melting. It’s that homey time of year when you move from the outdoor fire pit and BBQ to the inside fire place with warm apple cider—yum!

Cow Tales from the Dairy Farm: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year

As some of our avid readers already know, it is my favorite time of year—FALL!  This means finishing up hay crops, chopping corn and traveling to livestock shows. In the dairy industry, the Super Bowl of dairy shows is World Dairy Expo. Expo is a place where the industry comes together to celebrate its finest members, as well as look to the future, by displaying the best of the best in newest innovations and products.

Tales from the Fodder Trails – Kat Takes on the Hebron Harvest Fair

If there is one thing all year that I get excited about, it’s the county fair. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of representing FarmTek’s Fodder Trailer at the Hebron Harvest Fair. There are so many things that I love about the fair—the rides, games, fried dough, tractor pulls and horse shows. So naturally, when I was asked to go and exhibit our fodder trailer, I jumped at the chance! Saturday and Sunday where perfect days for the fair— a bit cool in the morning and in the afternoon it warmed up and was very sunny.

Spotlight on Pereira Pastures Dairy – Less Pasture? More Fodder!

Like many farmers across the nation, Albert Pereira of Pereira Pastures Dairy knows what it’s like to deal with drought and dwindling pastureland for his dairy herd. As the only “Licensed Raw for Retail” dairy farm in West Texas, Pereira raises Jersey cows, which are known for their high-protein and high-quality milk yield. However, when drought conditions were destroying Pereira’s grazing pastures, he knew it was time to start looking for new feed solutions.

2013 Photo Contest Honorable Mentions

After receiving hundreds of submissions to our photo contest, we wanted to share with you some of our favorites. These photos may not have won a prize, but they still stood out and we felt that we needed to recognize them. We smiled, we laughed and we were awed by some of these great pictures and the stories we received with some of them. There are seven superlative categories and we selected a winner for each. These customers will each receive a dozen pair of our FarmTek Dot Grip Gloves! We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we did!

And The Winners Are….Announcing Our 2013 Fall Photo Contest Winners!

It’s that time of year again! The photos came pouring in for our 2013 Fall Photo Contest and we’re here to announce the winners! As always, the quality and quantity of photos we received was large, but we were finally able to narrow it down to a top winner and runners-up. We loved seeing the submissions from our customers—from chickens and cows, to high tunnels and greenhouses, you all sent us some great photos and we love seeing our products in action. If you didn’t submit photos this time around, be sure to do so during our next photo contest. We’d love to see what you have to share! But for now, read on and see how our top finishers are using our products!

Abigail’s Fodder for Thought – Fall for Fodder!

It was warm last night—muggy with that thick summer haze hanging in the air. This morning, I awoke to a chill about my kitchen, forcing me to close the windows as I made my coffee. It’s certainly that time of year and, while we all hate to admit it, summer is winding down and fall is simply a sunset away.

With summer pastures dwindling and first frosts fast approaching, this is the perfect time of year to start exploring a means of maintaining that green aspect in your animals’ diets. Being browsers and grazers by nature, domesticated livestock flourish on a fresh diet and thus, can maintain production levels throughout the winter if they still get the greens they need. With the lack of pasture in winter months, animals are essentially eating to survive and whatever energy is left can go to production and quality of life. Imagine taking that maintenance period out of the equation and allowing your animals to thrive year round. It’s no wonder our customers consider adding fodder to their operation to achieve a significant competitive advantage.

There is still time to get a system on order before the last of the green grass is gone, in most of the country. If you give us a call today or shoot us a quick email, we will be able to help you choose the system that best fits your needs and get it shipped before winter hits. Go ahead and contact me directly at atobey@FarmTek.com. Your animals will truly thank you for providing them with fresh, green grass when they are used to boring old hay and grain. Still not sold? Keep reading!

FarmTek is hitting the road!

While they say a picture is worth a thousand words (and our catalogs and websites are jammed full of them), we are FarmTek fully recognize that seeing is believing. This especially holds true when something is such a drastic change from the norm. As fodder has been deemed the new generation of farming here in the US, we want to make you a believer, too. Are you curious to learn more about fodder and the Fodder-Pro Feed Systems by FarmTek? Come find us in the next few weeks at any of the following trade shows!

Ohio Farm Science Review

September 17-19, 2013 in London, OH

The Farm Science Review attracts upwards of 140,000 visitors from all over the United States and Canada. Attendees come for three days to peruse 4,000 product lines from 600 commercial exhibitors, and learn the latest in agricultural production. The educational programs feature Ohio State and Purdue specialists and are second to none in the agricultural exhibition world. Make sure to stop by FarmTek’s booth #22 in tent 8 to see our mini hydroponic fodder system in action. Fodder production is tailored to decreasing feed costs, while improving animal health. You’ll have the opportunity to speak with one of our highly trained fodder specialists in person!

World Beef Expo

September 27-29, 2013 in West Allis, WI

Our Mobile Fodder Trailer will be there!

 World Beef Expo is excited to announce the Ag Products Pavilion will be the new venue for their trade show, education seminars and appreciation dinner. With over 31,000 square feet available, this building will accommodate future trade show growth. The pavilion will also provide attendees an opportunity to visit and learn from livestock enthusiasts throughout the country. Make sure to stop by FarmTek’s booth to see our hydroponic fodder trailer in action. Fodder production is tailored to decreasing feed costs, while improving animal health. You’ll have the opportunity to speak with one of our highly trained fodder specialists in person!

World Dairy Expo

October 1-5, 2013 in Madison, WI

Our Mobile Fodder Trailer will be there!

World Dairy Expo is the international dairy meeting place, a five-day event showcasing the finest in dairy genetics and the newest technologies available to the dairy industry. For the first time, FarmTek will have two presences at the show! We will be located in the Arena Building at booth #486 where you can be sure to talk to us about our dairy products, custom curtain systems and dairy housing. But the main event is in our outdoor Trade Mall lot #709 where we’ll be showing off our brand-new mobile marketing unit that grows live hydroponic livestock feed! We plan on featuring our state-of-the-art Fodder-Pro Feed Systems and you can learn how to provide your herd with nutrient-rich, fresh fodder daily! World Dairy Expo is an event you won’t want to miss.

Where do you want to see us exhibit in the future? We are always open to new trade show ideas!

4-H Fair Weekend Re-Cap

You may not be able to believe it, but in many spots around the country, summer vacation is winding down and kids are thinking about going back to school in a few weeks. Despite the bittersweet end to summer, however, there’s lots to look forward to in the coming months, including one of my favorite times of the year—fair season! In fact, many towns and counties around the country have already started hosting their annual 4-H county fairs and here in Connecticut, this past weekend brought the Tolland County 4-H Fair to town, a hit with families and locals every year! I serve as an advisor to the 4-H kids who organize this fair. I help to coordinate and run the goat show for this fair and have been involved for over 12 years (wow…I feel old typing that!), and this year was one of the best fairs I can remember.

Tales From the Fodder Trails…Sam Takes on Wisconsin!

Here at FarmTek, we pride ourselves on our knowledge of controlled environmental agriculture. But, the million-dollar question remained: can we control the environment of a trailer while DRIVING over 1,200 miles? The answer: a resounding yes! That’s not to say we recommend it! We now know it can be done. Three days before departing, I soaked the seeds. Two days before leaving I put the seeds into the channels right in the trailer. Practicing what we preach, we kept the air moving and cool—usually around 68 degrees with a relative humidity around 60%. We had a timer that watered the channels two minutes every two hours. The day had come to finally get on the road. Bright and early, we left our corporate office in South Windsor, CT. All was going according to plan…until we got to Ohio!

Spotlight on the Hurleys and Their Small-Farm Fodder System

Mary Hurley lives on the farm she grew up on with her husband, Wayne.  She is the third generation to live on the farm, and moved back to help her dad and brother. Mary and Wayne recently bought their first milk cow and soon realized that feed costs were rising out of control.