| MAY 1, 2024 -- April 8, 2024 was the day of the great Solar Eclipse, seen from Texas to Maine, four days before a 4.7 earthquake hit New Jersey and was felt in Connecticut. Many people stated it was a sign from above to change our ways. The Eclipse showed that we can all get along when we want to. No violence brought out, no shootings, no rage, even with the traffic jams when people were trying to get home. We did find greed about with increased room rates, food prices, etc. Yet the sight of the Eclipse proves once again we are all good and look out for one another. Next one is 29 years away.
We have heard talks about funding cuts to the College of Agriculture at the University of Connecticut. In the past, 14,000 Grangers petitioned State Legislators requesting the Storrs Agricultural School to become CT’s Land Grant College, rather than Yale, we won. During World War II the College brought city kids to the farms to learn farming skills to help Connecticut farms to keep farming while men went to war. Eleanor Roosevelt came to the Dairy Barn to see the activities and help build a Victory Garden in the peat bog field behind the Yellow Dairy Barn. 1947 the Dairy Barn did research with DeLaval Dairy Equipment with the installation of the first Pipeline Milking System. After the program was over the automation was removed... and back to pail milkers. UConn was the first United States college to clone a dairy cow, Aspen the Holstein had four cloned calves, out of 100 implants, Amy, Betty, Cathy and Daisy. They proved that it could be done, but USDA wouldn’t allow the milk or meat to be used. But the cloning showed that taking an animal tissue you can reproduce it into exact DNA, could it possibly be a cancer cure? Take the DNA, exchange the damaged chromosome and implant the modified DNA. The Horse Farm has the oldest Morgan Horse Pedigree in the U.S. UConn also has the best ice cream in the
U.S. This is a gem and needs to be funded.
I read that John Deere is teaming up with Starlink for internet for farm equipment, auto steering, field mapping, planting yields, harvest yields, GPS. A red flag rose in my mind, many farmer’s deep secret yields, populations, locations close to the vest. Mr. Musk has a record of selling off information to outsiders. In my last article I spoke about farm groups using data to fine tune pricing agains U.S. farmers. Remember, Starlink was given to Ukrainian troops for drones and communications, only to be shut down and then Russia had access to Starlink... Hmmm.
As summer is approaching, it is time to think about resolutions, many topics are around and now is the time to start writing for October. This spring will be a challenge to our farmers. Corn is usually planted starting Apr. 15, manure is just getting on the fields. Hay season starts around Memorial Day, let’s hope we are not in the rainy season like last year. Say a prayer for our farmers.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers out there.
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