Time continues to march on. It's hard to believe it will be June in two days. I check our flooded soybean field every day or so. There are some sprouts but in general it looks pretty bleak. I'll have to decide this coming week if it needs to be replanted. We planted at the rate of 150,000 plants to the acre. If we have at least 100,000 plants we will be marginally okay. My wife is an accountant by profession.I explained the problem and told her I needed a bean counter and that would get her back to the roots of her profession. She demurred but I have another plan, find a hula hoop and randomly throw it into the field and count the plants it encircles. After several tosses you can reasonably estimate the plant population.
All of our other fields were planted after the deluge and have sprouted and look promising.
We now have had eighteen of this years twenty calves born including one this morning. There is one cow that should freshen soon and the other not until September. Eight mother cows and their calves are in our woods pasture. This is a transition area to get the calves fence trained.
We are about ready to move them to their summer pasture. This was a new seeding last year and has lots of volunteer clover. We're a little concerned with bloat so we have to get the cattle acclimated carefully.
Our hay equipment is ready to go but the weather is not cooperating. The forecast through at least mid next week isn't favorable. The crop looks great but is continuing to grow and mature. The secret to good nutrient value is to get it in the bud stage before it heads out. It can also get so heavy that it falls over into a tangled mat,
My friend who winters in Florida says he isn't coming back here until the long range forecast predicts ten seventy plus days in a row. He is a good friend and I enjoy his company but it might be quite a while before I see him him at this rate.
At least the weather has been good for rhubarb. Lots of pies and sauce are available. We started a community garden for some of the folks on the lane. We made a big raised bed which we filled with a secret blend of cow manure and topsoil. I am confident things will grow. Looking at the number of tomato plants already in the ground, it looks like a lot of spaghetti sauce will be made.
I've also assembled two upside down tomato growing contraptions like you see on late night television. They should be a curiosity piece if nothing else.
Today Jim participated in his last ever high school sporting event. The meet was about an hour and a half east of here. We stopped en route at a farmer's market. There was a farm that we know selling beef from their Belted Galloway herd. We visited for a while and traded information.
Jim placed fifth in two events at the regional level. He did well. Track meets are pretty much an all day event with a few bursts of activity. I took advantage of the down time to visit a fence supplier that I had heard about. They had a really nice store with about anything you'd ever need for cattle fencing. It was a pleasure dealing with them. Mary had to work but she made it in time for the Jim's last race. On the way home we stopped at a restaurant that we know that serves grass fed beef hamburgers. They were excellent.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
It seems like the interval when I get to put a few observations down on paper gets longer. Actually, I am not putting anything on paper just a computer screen. It certainly isn't for lack of topics.
Saturday morning, Jim and I went to the slaughter house to pick up our beef. We are fussy about how we raise it and fussy about how we harvest it. The slaughter house is seventy five miles one way but he operation is inspected by the USDA and they flash freeze the meat and wrap it in vacuum sealed plastic. We use a bunch of coolers and bring it straight home. We will be trying something new this year. We are advertising word of mouth to the summer residents that we can be of assistance with their bar b ques. Grass fed beef is excellent for a cook out.
Last Thursday we finished planting a twenty nine acre soybean field on the next road down to the lake. It's kind of a loamy, silty soil and was dry and powdery. All that changed on Saturday afternoon when we had a rain of biblical proportions; over two and a quarter inches in less than twin hours. When the rain stopped, we went out to check our land and buildings and cattle. I had just turned two cows with their calves out into the pasture that morning. I was concerned about the calves. They were fine. We had water running through the barnyard like we've never seen before.
I went down to the bean field and knew we had trouble when I saw a fellow and his girl friend riding a half submerged ATV up the lane. Water was running off and through the fields up to a foot deep. The ATV folks told us the road was washed out. I knew there were summer residents on the far side of the washout. We own the land that the road runs on so we felt we better take some action to get it reopened. I called a friend and he brought a big dump truck load of bank run gravel. I dumped it into the abyss and got the road opened. There was nothing to do about the bean field at the moment so I went back to checking other fields. Everything else was a little ragged but otherwise okay.
After church on Sunday, I looked at the bean field. I remember learning in grammar school how the Nile River would flood and deposit silt over every thing. We now have a microcosm of the Nile River valley. As of today there are no signs of germination so we need to wait and see what happens. We can replant if necessary but that will destroy any hopes of a profit from that field.
Monday evening we had a calf out of the fence. She is sold and we have been waiting to wean her. I got her in the barn and locked her in a pen and went to get some supper. When I got back she somehow had gotten herself into a different pen. I decided this was a sign that it was time to wean her. When first separated the cow and calf bawl loud and long for each other. It is good they got this out of their system before all the summer residents arrived for Memorial Day. I would have had to do a lot of explaining about the self weaning calf.
We had another bull calf on Thursday. At seventy pounds he is the largest Lowline calf we've ever had. He is an excellent calf and is doing well. He is calf number fifteen of the year although we have only had fourteen calves. I'm not superstitious but skip number thirteen.
By Tuesday it had dried out enough to resume planting our other fields. As of writing this tonight all our beans and corn are planted. We'll still have to wait and see about the flooded field.
As Mary was driving down the lane Wednesday, a summer resident from the next road stopped her to tell her that there were three horses in one of our alfalfa fields. This can be a big problem. The alfalfa can cause the horses to founder if they eat two much. Fortunately one of the horses had a halter. We were able to walk up to it and grab the halter and walk to the neighbors barn. The other two followed nicely along. Our neighbor was away and very relieved that we were able to get them in when she returned. All in all getting the horses in had much fewer rodeo elements than gathering wandering cattle.
Now we are focusing on haying. We went this morning and picked up our bale wrapping supplies. We will probably be haying by this time next week if we have hay weather. The hay itself looks excellent both in quality and quantity.
We have gathered a huge pile of rocks from our fields. I am going to put a sign out advising that our Lake Breeze Farms organic rocks are free for the taking. We will transport them if necessary.
We had a nice email and phone conversation from a woman in Pennsylvania today. She is interested in starting a Lowline herd and had heard about us. We are looking forward to her visit.
Saturday morning, Jim and I went to the slaughter house to pick up our beef. We are fussy about how we raise it and fussy about how we harvest it. The slaughter house is seventy five miles one way but he operation is inspected by the USDA and they flash freeze the meat and wrap it in vacuum sealed plastic. We use a bunch of coolers and bring it straight home. We will be trying something new this year. We are advertising word of mouth to the summer residents that we can be of assistance with their bar b ques. Grass fed beef is excellent for a cook out.
Last Thursday we finished planting a twenty nine acre soybean field on the next road down to the lake. It's kind of a loamy, silty soil and was dry and powdery. All that changed on Saturday afternoon when we had a rain of biblical proportions; over two and a quarter inches in less than twin hours. When the rain stopped, we went out to check our land and buildings and cattle. I had just turned two cows with their calves out into the pasture that morning. I was concerned about the calves. They were fine. We had water running through the barnyard like we've never seen before.
I went down to the bean field and knew we had trouble when I saw a fellow and his girl friend riding a half submerged ATV up the lane. Water was running off and through the fields up to a foot deep. The ATV folks told us the road was washed out. I knew there were summer residents on the far side of the washout. We own the land that the road runs on so we felt we better take some action to get it reopened. I called a friend and he brought a big dump truck load of bank run gravel. I dumped it into the abyss and got the road opened. There was nothing to do about the bean field at the moment so I went back to checking other fields. Everything else was a little ragged but otherwise okay.
After church on Sunday, I looked at the bean field. I remember learning in grammar school how the Nile River would flood and deposit silt over every thing. We now have a microcosm of the Nile River valley. As of today there are no signs of germination so we need to wait and see what happens. We can replant if necessary but that will destroy any hopes of a profit from that field.
Monday evening we had a calf out of the fence. She is sold and we have been waiting to wean her. I got her in the barn and locked her in a pen and went to get some supper. When I got back she somehow had gotten herself into a different pen. I decided this was a sign that it was time to wean her. When first separated the cow and calf bawl loud and long for each other. It is good they got this out of their system before all the summer residents arrived for Memorial Day. I would have had to do a lot of explaining about the self weaning calf.
We had another bull calf on Thursday. At seventy pounds he is the largest Lowline calf we've ever had. He is an excellent calf and is doing well. He is calf number fifteen of the year although we have only had fourteen calves. I'm not superstitious but skip number thirteen.
By Tuesday it had dried out enough to resume planting our other fields. As of writing this tonight all our beans and corn are planted. We'll still have to wait and see about the flooded field.
As Mary was driving down the lane Wednesday, a summer resident from the next road stopped her to tell her that there were three horses in one of our alfalfa fields. This can be a big problem. The alfalfa can cause the horses to founder if they eat two much. Fortunately one of the horses had a halter. We were able to walk up to it and grab the halter and walk to the neighbors barn. The other two followed nicely along. Our neighbor was away and very relieved that we were able to get them in when she returned. All in all getting the horses in had much fewer rodeo elements than gathering wandering cattle.
Now we are focusing on haying. We went this morning and picked up our bale wrapping supplies. We will probably be haying by this time next week if we have hay weather. The hay itself looks excellent both in quality and quantity.
We have gathered a huge pile of rocks from our fields. I am going to put a sign out advising that our Lake Breeze Farms organic rocks are free for the taking. We will transport them if necessary.
We had a nice email and phone conversation from a woman in Pennsylvania today. She is interested in starting a Lowline herd and had heard about us. We are looking forward to her visit.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
We have several cow calf pairs that have been living in the barn. As Spring progresses and the pastures regrow, it is be time to get them out into the fields. This is always somewhat of a problem as the calves are not familiar with fences. Typically, you have to stay nearby and have sort of a rodeo event catching calves and putting them back in until they catch on.
Saturday, we moved two cows and calves into a small pasture next to the barn where they could be by themselves. The cows naturally started eating the grass and the calves made no moves toward the fence. That made for a pleasant day.
We went over to Verne's and brought his herd bull over to our place so he could let his cattle out to pasture. Verne is an AI technician. He breeds both his and my cattle with AI. As a result our calves have superior genetics since we have purchased semen from a variety of top line bulls. Our bulls are only used for cleanup work. The rest of the time they stay in the bullpen sort of like being a relief pitcher in baseball.
He told me a story while I was there. After visiting one of his customer's barns, he had to walk up to the house. He followed the path through the lawn. The grass in the path was extremely green near the barn becoming less so as he got nearer to the house and then blending into the rest of the lawn near the house. You could readily see the value of manure as a fertilizer. Walking up from the barn, the wet grass and snow would tend to clean your boots pretty well by the time you got home.
Jim had his Senior Prom so he had to take off early to get ready. He and his date came by the house for photos before they left for an enjoyable evening.
Sunday, we took Mary out for Mother's Day. We had an excellent meal at a very nice restaurant on a lake. She left early Monday to fly to Florida to accompany her mother on her drive back North.
The good weather continued so we are right into planting. It has been very dry so I have set the seed drill to put the beans in a little deeper than usual to be sure of soil moisture. Our oats have appeared and everything looks fine. It is raining as I write this and it looks unsettled through Monday. We have lots of time to get the beans in so I am not worried. yet.
This afternoon, we have to deliver three cows to the western part of the state. It is about a two and a half hour ride. We have two of the three in the pen and the third is in the pasture. Hopefully, we will get them loaded with no difficulty.
One of our summer neighbors is in the process of having a well drilled. This is always a nervous time wondering whether you are going to hit water and if it will be of good quality. In our area there are lots of wells that produce salt water if you go too deep.
This should be a one or two day event but some well drillers tend to drag out the process by not regularly appearing. There was a locally famous incidence of this. Some years ago a man was building a new home and needed a well. He didn't want to start the house until he knew he would have water.
The driller would come and go and after several days there was little progress. The owner discovered that the driller liked to shoot clay pigeons. He went and bought a hand operated device that would throw out the clay targets. He told the driller that if he would keep drilling he would periodically throw some targets for him. The driller really liked the idea and so periodically the sound of drilling would stop and change to the sound of a shotgun. The well was drilled in short order.
The driller eventually decided to pan for gold in Alaska. For several years he would work here in the winter and pan in the summer. Needless to say his drilling business suffered. I never did hear whether he found any gold.
Saturday, we moved two cows and calves into a small pasture next to the barn where they could be by themselves. The cows naturally started eating the grass and the calves made no moves toward the fence. That made for a pleasant day.
We went over to Verne's and brought his herd bull over to our place so he could let his cattle out to pasture. Verne is an AI technician. He breeds both his and my cattle with AI. As a result our calves have superior genetics since we have purchased semen from a variety of top line bulls. Our bulls are only used for cleanup work. The rest of the time they stay in the bullpen sort of like being a relief pitcher in baseball.
He told me a story while I was there. After visiting one of his customer's barns, he had to walk up to the house. He followed the path through the lawn. The grass in the path was extremely green near the barn becoming less so as he got nearer to the house and then blending into the rest of the lawn near the house. You could readily see the value of manure as a fertilizer. Walking up from the barn, the wet grass and snow would tend to clean your boots pretty well by the time you got home.
Jim had his Senior Prom so he had to take off early to get ready. He and his date came by the house for photos before they left for an enjoyable evening.
Sunday, we took Mary out for Mother's Day. We had an excellent meal at a very nice restaurant on a lake. She left early Monday to fly to Florida to accompany her mother on her drive back North.
The good weather continued so we are right into planting. It has been very dry so I have set the seed drill to put the beans in a little deeper than usual to be sure of soil moisture. Our oats have appeared and everything looks fine. It is raining as I write this and it looks unsettled through Monday. We have lots of time to get the beans in so I am not worried. yet.
This afternoon, we have to deliver three cows to the western part of the state. It is about a two and a half hour ride. We have two of the three in the pen and the third is in the pasture. Hopefully, we will get them loaded with no difficulty.
One of our summer neighbors is in the process of having a well drilled. This is always a nervous time wondering whether you are going to hit water and if it will be of good quality. In our area there are lots of wells that produce salt water if you go too deep.
This should be a one or two day event but some well drillers tend to drag out the process by not regularly appearing. There was a locally famous incidence of this. Some years ago a man was building a new home and needed a well. He didn't want to start the house until he knew he would have water.
The driller would come and go and after several days there was little progress. The owner discovered that the driller liked to shoot clay pigeons. He went and bought a hand operated device that would throw out the clay targets. He told the driller that if he would keep drilling he would periodically throw some targets for him. The driller really liked the idea and so periodically the sound of drilling would stop and change to the sound of a shotgun. The well was drilled in short order.
The driller eventually decided to pan for gold in Alaska. For several years he would work here in the winter and pan in the summer. Needless to say his drilling business suffered. I never did hear whether he found any gold.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
We have been moving right along on our Spring work. We have installed some new drainage tiles to take care of some wet spots and fixed old tiles. All our bean fields have been chisel plowed and disced. Our soybean seed arrived yesterday so we are about ready to plant.
On Tuesday, one of our lowlines at Verne's had a nice heifer calf. I bought the mother at Denver two years ago. Last year she had a bull so this is her first heifer. Both the dam and the sire have outstanding genetics so we have great hopes for the calf. She is our 13th calf of 2009 and I'm not superstitious but I thought it best to call her W14. Sort of the way it's rumoured that there is no 13th floor in high rise hotels.
It rained today so I had some time to go to the diner. It's been quite dry and we could use the rain. Planting is well underway and the rain won't bother the schedule.
One of the diner regulars also has beef cattle. He was telling about how someone had abandoned a cat at his barn. It is not uncommon to find a cat that someone has dropped off. Since there is no ready source of milk from beef cattle for the cat, he drove it a way down the road to a dairy farmer who has lots of cats. He left it with the farmer and was quite surprised to see the cat back at the beef farm within a day. We all kidded that he should have blindfolded the cat. Apparently there is an old belief that if you put butter on a cats paws it can't smell its way back and will stay put. He has decided to forego the butter and keep the cat.
One of the other regulars let on that his children had given both him and his wife a gift certificate for a couples massage. As you might imagine in small town America there are not that many folks in the diner who know much about massages.
They apparently both went to the suburbs for the massage but it doesn't sound like he will be asking for another gift certificate for next year. He didn't offer many details but it didn't sound all that relaxing.
Along those lines my acupuncture treatment is still working. You wonder if the doctor actually did something or there is a strong power of suggestion.
When I was discing yesterday, I was able to stop for a bit and walk across the street to the high school. Jim's school was there for a track meet. He has managed to qualify for the Sectional Championships in both high jump and 800 meter race. I wonder where he got those genes. Those on my side of the family have never been thought of as fleet of foot or springy.
On Tuesday, one of our lowlines at Verne's had a nice heifer calf. I bought the mother at Denver two years ago. Last year she had a bull so this is her first heifer. Both the dam and the sire have outstanding genetics so we have great hopes for the calf. She is our 13th calf of 2009 and I'm not superstitious but I thought it best to call her W14. Sort of the way it's rumoured that there is no 13th floor in high rise hotels.
It rained today so I had some time to go to the diner. It's been quite dry and we could use the rain. Planting is well underway and the rain won't bother the schedule.
One of the diner regulars also has beef cattle. He was telling about how someone had abandoned a cat at his barn. It is not uncommon to find a cat that someone has dropped off. Since there is no ready source of milk from beef cattle for the cat, he drove it a way down the road to a dairy farmer who has lots of cats. He left it with the farmer and was quite surprised to see the cat back at the beef farm within a day. We all kidded that he should have blindfolded the cat. Apparently there is an old belief that if you put butter on a cats paws it can't smell its way back and will stay put. He has decided to forego the butter and keep the cat.
One of the other regulars let on that his children had given both him and his wife a gift certificate for a couples massage. As you might imagine in small town America there are not that many folks in the diner who know much about massages.
They apparently both went to the suburbs for the massage but it doesn't sound like he will be asking for another gift certificate for next year. He didn't offer many details but it didn't sound all that relaxing.
Along those lines my acupuncture treatment is still working. You wonder if the doctor actually did something or there is a strong power of suggestion.
When I was discing yesterday, I was able to stop for a bit and walk across the street to the high school. Jim's school was there for a track meet. He has managed to qualify for the Sectional Championships in both high jump and 800 meter race. I wonder where he got those genes. Those on my side of the family have never been thought of as fleet of foot or springy.
Monday, May 4, 2009
We flew home on Monday from Florida.. We are fairly close to the Syracuse Airport but flew from Buffalo about two hours distant. The flights to Florida include a non stop back and a considerable savings per ticket. Mary is originally from Buffalo. Part of our Buffalo routine is to stop and a hot dog stand which is a Buffalo institution located near the airport
Everything was fine when we got back to the farm. It is amazing how quickly the first promises of Spring in April have become early May. The calf born while we were away is excellent.
Tuesday morning we were right back into the swing. We continued to chisel plow our fields. Our hay supply is dwindling nicely so we should just have the right amount to last until the animals are all on pasture.
It's been pretty quiet at the diner. It looks like the swimmers have changed into golfers. The barber is an excellent golfer and needless to say quite competitive.
The good weather continued throughout the week with only one rainy evening. Our oats and grass seeding are all in and packed. When you do a seeding, you always wonder how it's going to look. You worry about whether the grain drill was working correctly or if all the seed was dropping. You get to find out in about ten days to two weeks depending upon the weather.
A friend of mine has an annual consignment auction of farm machinery in conjunction with another friend the auctioneer. Farmers from miles around bring over their surplus goods. It can be anything from an antique tractor part to a chicken coop with lots of other good serviceable equipment thrown in. I sent over a good hay rake that we no longer need.
I stopped at the auction on Saturday for a bit. There was a big crowd and everything was selling well. I decided to bid on a feeder wagon and wound up taking it home. Our hay rake sold well so we just sort of swapped pieces. It's a great rural outing to go to this type of auction. Lots of auctions are because of illness, injury or death with resultant sadness. This one is just fun.
Sunday we went to church then the pancake breakfast at the American Legion. This is a monthly event that we rarely miss. Not only is there lots of camaraderie but also real maple syrup. Both of which are becoming harder to find in modern day America.
There are no days off this time of year as we've got to get the crops planted. When we went up to the barn, Jim looked out into the field and saw a calf nursing with the mother silhouetted against the hill side. It turned out to be a nice bull calf. We went out with the tractor loader to fetch the calf. Jim grabbed him and sat in the bucket with the calf. The mother and Peter the steer accompanied us back to the barn. We got mother and calf all settled in a pen.
I finished plowing and we all had had a late supper of hamburgers from one of our animals. It is nice to know that we have a good reliable supply of our own grass fed beef.Around ten we all went to the Syracuse airport to pick up Eileen who was returning home after finishing her sophomore year at college. It's good to have her home.
I had an early start this morning when I was called to assist at an ATV accident and resultant transport of the victim to the hospital by helicopter. I hope it all turns out okay.
When I got home, it was just daylight. Standing in the barnyard was another new mother and calf. I just picked up the calf and put it into a pen. The mother dutifully followed along with the seemingly ever present Peter the steer. He seems to provide an escort service for new calves sort of like a proud uncle or possibly god father. I got them settled in. I'll check the calf's sex and weigh it later this morning.
He turned out to be a bull and weighed fifty pounds. Today was extremely busy. We got a good sized field disced in preparation for planting soy beans. We went to the farm supply and picked up a hay wagon. One of their customers had switched to a self unloading hay wagon and traded in a bunch of good conventional wagons. We traded our old one for one of them.
When I got back, we started putting in drainage tile in one of our wet fields. This tile had to be installed by digging rather than pulling. A busy and productive day and week.
Everything was fine when we got back to the farm. It is amazing how quickly the first promises of Spring in April have become early May. The calf born while we were away is excellent.
Tuesday morning we were right back into the swing. We continued to chisel plow our fields. Our hay supply is dwindling nicely so we should just have the right amount to last until the animals are all on pasture.
It's been pretty quiet at the diner. It looks like the swimmers have changed into golfers. The barber is an excellent golfer and needless to say quite competitive.
The good weather continued throughout the week with only one rainy evening. Our oats and grass seeding are all in and packed. When you do a seeding, you always wonder how it's going to look. You worry about whether the grain drill was working correctly or if all the seed was dropping. You get to find out in about ten days to two weeks depending upon the weather.
A friend of mine has an annual consignment auction of farm machinery in conjunction with another friend the auctioneer. Farmers from miles around bring over their surplus goods. It can be anything from an antique tractor part to a chicken coop with lots of other good serviceable equipment thrown in. I sent over a good hay rake that we no longer need.
I stopped at the auction on Saturday for a bit. There was a big crowd and everything was selling well. I decided to bid on a feeder wagon and wound up taking it home. Our hay rake sold well so we just sort of swapped pieces. It's a great rural outing to go to this type of auction. Lots of auctions are because of illness, injury or death with resultant sadness. This one is just fun.
Sunday we went to church then the pancake breakfast at the American Legion. This is a monthly event that we rarely miss. Not only is there lots of camaraderie but also real maple syrup. Both of which are becoming harder to find in modern day America.
There are no days off this time of year as we've got to get the crops planted. When we went up to the barn, Jim looked out into the field and saw a calf nursing with the mother silhouetted against the hill side. It turned out to be a nice bull calf. We went out with the tractor loader to fetch the calf. Jim grabbed him and sat in the bucket with the calf. The mother and Peter the steer accompanied us back to the barn. We got mother and calf all settled in a pen.
I finished plowing and we all had had a late supper of hamburgers from one of our animals. It is nice to know that we have a good reliable supply of our own grass fed beef.Around ten we all went to the Syracuse airport to pick up Eileen who was returning home after finishing her sophomore year at college. It's good to have her home.
I had an early start this morning when I was called to assist at an ATV accident and resultant transport of the victim to the hospital by helicopter. I hope it all turns out okay.
When I got home, it was just daylight. Standing in the barnyard was another new mother and calf. I just picked up the calf and put it into a pen. The mother dutifully followed along with the seemingly ever present Peter the steer. He seems to provide an escort service for new calves sort of like a proud uncle or possibly god father. I got them settled in. I'll check the calf's sex and weigh it later this morning.
He turned out to be a bull and weighed fifty pounds. Today was extremely busy. We got a good sized field disced in preparation for planting soy beans. We went to the farm supply and picked up a hay wagon. One of their customers had switched to a self unloading hay wagon and traded in a bunch of good conventional wagons. We traded our old one for one of them.
When I got back, we started putting in drainage tile in one of our wet fields. This tile had to be installed by digging rather than pulling. A busy and productive day and week.
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