There is so much information on the Web that good sites can get lost in the midst of it all. To find what you really want may take a lot longer than you have time, so we’ve found a few hard-to-reach sites for you. Stop by www.auri.org on your way to the latest in ag innovation.
Hay on the ’net
www.hayexchange.com
Need hay? Here are 76 locations to choose from. Enter your own location and receive a list of sellers, prices and availability for locations near you. Check for equipment, seed or livestock for sale, or use the hay price calculator.
Goats goats goats
www.ics.uci.edu/~pazzani/4H/GoatsHome.html
Composed by a 4-H club in Irvine, Calif., this site has plenty of things to read — and hear. “Why raising goats is fun,” the costs of raising goats, sources for goats, even recordings of goat sounds round out this site.
Swine buys
www.pigsale.com
Ready to cast your money after swine? PigSale.com lets you buy, sell and even cosign pigs listed on their site. “No hidden commissions or middlemen,” just hundreds of buyers and sellers with access to thousands of pigs. Register with PigSale.com and enjoy Internet marketing at its finest.
Local grain prices
www.grainmarkets.com
This site by Rural Solutions Inc. was created to show local grain prices. Madison, Minn. grain farmer John Witte has made this site a customer-friendly tool equipped with both local and national grain prices and links to help browsers find other information, such as weather radar screens, world market information, Minneapolis Grain Exchange quotes and much more. Web surfers are invited to add to the lists as they wish, so check back as the site grows.
Home for farm producers
www.prairiefare.com
Home Page Farm Producers is a showcase for western Minnesota farmers who provide natural produce. The site is jointly sponsored by the North Central Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, Western Minnesota Sustainable Farming Association and the Land Stewardship Project. It is a small, easy-to-maneuver site complete with a list of producers, their contact information and products neatly laid out on one page, with a browser-friendly location map on another. Or visit the Java River Sustainable Community Cafe page and read about the PrairieFare.com kiosk that the Cafe plans to install.
Ag guide
www.agguide.com
Agri-Guide, a bimonthly publication, also has its own Web place. Browse through dealer specials, do an equipment search or read up on the latest market info, news and weather. See the latest monthly “feature farm” story, join the mailing list, then hop over to the classifieds. There’s plenty to see and do here.
New farm options
www.uwex.edu/ces/agmarkets.
Information on alternative crops and new farm-food ventures can be found at this University of Wisconsin Extension Web page for emerging ag markets.
Changing countryside
www-agecon.ag.ohio-state.edu/Faculty/Programs/Swank/index.html.
Increasing populations in rural areas create more opportunities for farmers to sell ag products directly to consumers. Demand for landscaping and horticultural products such as trees, shrubs and flowers also increases. Visit this site to see a full report titled “Agricultural Change by Metropolitan Character in Ohio: 1978 to 1997.”
The White Pine Society
www.whitepines.org
Minnesota’s white pine population has dwindled so much over the years that only two percent, or 67,000 acres, of the once 3.6 million acres now exist. This site is dedicated to informing the public of the majestic white pines’ plight and the fight to keep them from vanishing completely. Learn more about white pines, what has caused the shortage, and what you can do to help.