Reports of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus have been increasing over the last two weeks and this shouldn’t be a huge surprise to most producers.  Wisconsin had their first reported case in dairy cattle the first week of January.  West Virginia has had two reported cases in backyard poultry flocks.  One was in the southern end of the state and the other was in the north.  One flock in Morrow County tested positive and there have been confirmed cases in Canadian Geese found deceased in the State.

The Ohio Organic Farmer Researcher Network has organized a series of Fall Farmer Exchanges

It is important to get hay stored properly so that you can get the most pounds of dry matter into your livestock when it comes time to start feeding it out

Those of you that raise backyard poultry, can take advantage of many of the same recommendations to ensure that your birds withstand the cold temperatures we are experiencing this winter

We may luck out and get one of our intended cuttings “made right”, but it is rare to have the perfect hay season