In this issue

Feeding Layers
A healthy flock begins with the right food.
by Lesa Wilke

Midsummer Garden
Keep vegetables growing late into the year.
by Daniel Johnson

Metabolic Disorders in Cattle
Diagnosis, treat and prevent issues in your herd.
by Tammy Cupp

Meet Holly Callahan-Kasmala & Chrisie DiCarlo

In Maryland, best friends of 40-plus years share a passion for good food, laughter and, most of all, poultry.

2 mins

HISTORIC Hogs

The Hereford breed has a bright future.

6 mins

ON TRACK

Animal activity trackers, also known as pet location trackers, let you keep an eye on your pets or livestock from your phone or computer.

7 mins

ELECTRIC BORDERS

Here's what you need to know before you buy a portable electric fence.

7 mins

beyond TRADITION

Raise these alternative animals on your hobby farm.

7 mins

Sheep HOOF CARE

The key to good sheep hoof care is keeping an eye out for problems and moving to prevent serious issues.

2 mins

Santa Carota BEEF

For 35 years, the Pettit family has been upcycling waste carrots for cattle feed, challenging traditional ranching practices while producing exquisite beef.

7 mins

Metabolic Disorders in Cattle

Manage these body conditions in your herd with diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

7 mins

Midsummer Garden

Keep those vegetables growing late into the year with these planting options and advice.

6 mins

Microclimate Trouble Spots

Spend enough time gardening in one place and you can get to know it well.

6 mins

Recognizing & Treating Bloat

Growing up on my father's dairy farm, bloat was a condition that I gained a familiarity with early on.

6 mins

Feeding Layers

What to feed laying hens should be top priority as egg-laying hens must be fed correctly to achieve their potential.

1 min

Acorns = Better Pork

By feeding your hogs acorns, you can reduce your feeding costs and get better pork. Pigs can safely consume acorns as part of their diet, unlike other livestock. Pigs were historically pastured in woodlands in the fall to consume the falling nuts, chestnuts and acorns. This provided much benefit to the forest and was great for the hogs.

3 mins

Kohlrabi

You probably plant lots of brassicas in your garden each year; after all, brassicas include garden staples such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale. But there's a good chance you aren't growing one of the most interesting members of the Brassica oleracea family: kohlrabi.

3 mins

Spot & Treat

Parasites happen, but proper management keeps things under control.

3 mins

Parasite PATROL

Keep your worm treatments effective with these three valuable tools.

3 mins

HEALTHY GOAT, Happy FARMER

Goats may be hearty, but they still need their keeper's care in order to live long and be healthy.

8 mins

Notes ON NUTRITION

Dairy and meat goats have specific feed needs, and they're not the same.

3 mins

milking how to

Goat milk is liquid gold, but you have to get milking right to get it.

2 mins

BREEDING BASICS

The traditional goat breeding season in the U.S. is between late August and the early part of January, according to Angela McKenzie-Jakes, extension animal science specialist at Florida A&M University.

2 mins

GIVE ME Shelter

When Kathryn Spann started raising dairy goats in 2008, she thought wooden sheds built on skids would be the ideal housing for her herd. The shelters could be attached to a tractor and moved, ensuring the herd had a safe space to escape the elements and allowing Spann to practice pasture rotation without building individual shelters in each pasture.

6 mins

Natural FIBERS

When visitors drive up to our Northern California foothill farm, they immediately notice the fluffy, long-horned beasties dotted all over our pastures. If they have never met us before, these visitors will always tell us how they love seeing our beautiful \"sheep\" and ask what we do with their wool.

7 mins

Choosing a DAIRY GOAT

A number of considerations will determine your ideal dairy goat breed.

3 mins

CHOOSING A Meat Goat

Once you've mastered the basics, keeping goats for meat is pretty easy.

4 mins

WHY KEEP Goats?

My love affair with goats began because of one simple thing: goat cheese. It was love at first bite when I first tried the creamy, tangy spread in college. For almost two decades, it was an infrequent treat because of the high  price tag of a dollar an ounce. (That was back in the 1990s!) When my family decided to move to the country to grow our own food organically in 2002, I knew I had to have a couple of goats so that goat cheese could become part of my regular diet.

8 mins

Meet Li Schmidt

At Cultural Roots Nursery, in Winters, California, Li Schmidt grows more than 100 Asian-heritage vegetables, herbs, fruit and trees on 1⁄4 acre.

2 mins

A DUCK FOR ALL Seasons

Care for ducks throughout the year with this seasonal guide.

7 mins

Turkeys for the Home Table

Raise your own birds for a tastier and healthier holiday meal.

6 mins

FLERD is the Word

Explore the benefits and barriers of multispecies pasturing.

7 mins

raise STRONGER CHICKENS

Look around your kitchen, and you'll likely find some natural poultry supplements.

7 mins

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Hobby Farms Magazine Description:

Whether for sustainability or profitability, Hobby Farms celebrates the challenges and accomplishments of creating and maintaining a successful low-acreage farm, garden or orchard.
Hobby Farms magazine helps readers realize their farming goals with expert articles on subjects such as livestock husbandry, sustainable agriculture, equipment purchasing, irrigation, pest control, new technologies, and more. Hobby Farms also addresses core information for newcomers and advanced how-to information for seasoned farmers.
With well-executed articles and photos, Hobby Farms embraces the growing population segment returning to farm life in search of self-sustainability.