Do you see Dirt or Potential?

It’s planting season again in Minnesota.  It’s so amazing to see the tractors rolling day and night putting in the crop!  I am often amazed at the hard work of all farmers, but even more so by their ability to be optimists.  When they look at a barren field; black and empty, they see a canvas waiting to be worked, cared for, tended, seeded, nurtured and harvested.  They look at that field and see potential, not dirt, but life giving soil, which they are responsible for.

Soil, not dirt, is a delicate ecosystem of macronutrients, micronutrients, soil bacteria, soil insects and organic matter (decomposing plant material).  Dirt doesn’t give life, but soil is filled with potential to give and support life!  Farmers carefully till the soil, working it to the right conditions for seeds.  Some farmers do no-till, some do deep tilling, some do shallow, each type specific for the type of soil they have.

As you drive by a field you may see sprayers and other agronomy equipment cruising through.  I’ll bet most of you will jump to the conclusion that these farmers are applying dangerous chemicals to their fields to control weeds and pests.  I’ll bet you would be surprised that these farmers are actually applying fertilizers, micronutrients, seed treatments, and yes some herbicides and pesticides.  Farmers work with agronomists to make the best choices for their soils.  I’ll be you didn’t know what farmers often take soil samples each fall to determine specifically which fertilizers will be needed.  In fact, with GPS technology we can even apply specific fertilizers in certain places in a field so we don’t waste resources and produce a more consistent crop. 

Some farmers will apply herbicide (weed killer) at the beginning of the season to give the crop a head start without competition for resources (sun, rain and soil nutrients) from weeds.  Once the crop canopies over (the point where the foliage covers the soil below the plant) sunshine is prevented from reaching weeds below. That means for some fields, one application is all they will ever get of herbicide, and they will grow chemical free for the remainder of the season.  You see, farmers are very wise with their choices.   Herbicides and pesticides are expensive, farmers work on very tight budgets and can’t afford to overdo it.  They have to use a smart combination of tillage practices, crop rotations and seed selection to help them control pests, weeds, use their resources wisely and take care of their soil. 

Most farmers are the product of multiple generations of farmers and they have hopes of passing their farm onto the next generation, their sons and daughters.  It’s in their best interest to care for their soil the best they can because it has the “potential” to support the next generation of America’s farmers.  Farmers don’t see dirt, they see Potential!

Moving forward on our lagoon...

Success!  Today we received our final approval from the county board of commissioners for our manure lagoon!  Now all we need to do is secure financing and we can call the contractors to move forward with this project.  It's been another long and busy road to reach this point.  The process started over 3 months ago, when we finalized the design of our lagoon.  Our lagoon will store enough manure, waste water, run off water, and rain water for our 240 milking cows, a future additional 160 more cows, and 50 dry cows, plus an additional 8% extra....so basically, we're prepared for anything!  This lagoon design had to be approved by an engineer, which we hired, and then sent to the county feedlot inspector for approval.  After a number of changes to meet specs for the engineer and the laws of our county, we finally had plan.  Then we had to revise our manure management for the additional "future" storage.  That manure management plan had to be presented to the commissioners as well as the plans for the lagoon.  We had a hearing last week with our county board, and then today we had final approval for the plans.  Thankfully, we were not opposed by any neighbors, but we've been talking to all of them about this project for over a year.  Only one commissioner had a handful of questions for Jon, so basically pain-free. 
Now we are excited to move forward, in hopes that this winter we can enjoy the convenience of not having to haul manure, and the ability to only have to apply manure to our fields in the fall, when we can maximize those nutrients as a natural fertilizer!

Picking out the Right Color Carpet....

I'm sure many of you can relate to picking out the right color carpeting for a home, the colors of paint for the walls, the types of counter tops, and the new light fixtures.  Each of these major decisions holds importance in the overall theme of your home and the goals of your family.  Are you fun or formal?  Are you going to be worried about guests or kids?  I bet you believe designing a home is one of the hardest tasks you will do.  Now...imagine trying to plan our a barn for a herd of cows!!!!!  Sure it looks easy but I would bet that it's even harder than designing a home! 

We've been planning our new barn for the past 4 years, and it's taken multiple trips to many different farms, research into new technologies, and lots of paperwork to make this all possible.  Our decisions were so much more complicated that picking out the right color paint....well we had to do that as well (trying to match the original red of our 2005 barn).  Things we had to decide on....

• What type and style of stalls we would have?
• What type of bedding we would use?
• How would be move and handle manure?
• How would these changes impact overall cow comfort and health?
• Are we able to better handle and care for cows?
• Can we improve cow health and handling?
• Is it safe for the people who care for our cows?
• What's the environmental impact?
• What technologies can we afford to make managing our cows easier?
• What technologies can we afford to make our cows more comfortable?
• What type of lighting will we have...is it energy efficient?
• What type of ventilation will we have? Will it help our cows in July, in the heat?
• Ultimately we asked......How can we make life better for our cows????

In the next few months I hope to blog more & post videos and pics to help explain all that is going  into our barn to make it a great place for cows....but for now, here's a sneak peak of a farm we visited in 2009 and 2010...and when we are done, our farm will look very similar!!!!!

Please don't litter, it's not only a farm but our office too!

Well, spring is here!  Currently it is thundering outside, with a forecast of snow and cold to follow...welcome to Minnesota in March!  With the warmer temps came a rapid thaw of our snow banks and drifts...the problem is the garbage that is left behind.  It never ceases to amazing me, that in our environmentally conscience society we still have problems with people littering! 
The snow left behind pop cans, plastic water bottles, fast food wrappers, cigarettes, papers, magazines, and so much more!  It appears that since we live on a major paved county road and that we operate a dairy farm, that means that we are an acceptable dumping spot for other peoples' trash.  Each spring I spend at about 2-4 days walking ditches, cow yards and tree lines, looking for this trash.  It seems simple to throw your garbage out the window at that dairy farm, but it turns out there are grave consequences for us. 
For example, each summer we bale our road ditches (grass and alfalfa mix) for our heifers and dry cows.  There's nothing more irritating than finding crushed pop cans in a bale of hay.  The bigger problem comes if a cow decided to eat that pop can.  Metal in a cow's rumen causes all kinds of problems, but if they are not caught and treated....the cow will die.  This is a serious issue.  Just today I watched one of my cows try to eat a soft drink cup from McDonald's...this is not safe for her! 
Secondly, we value the image of our farm.  Garbage in the ditches makes our farm appear "trashy" to passer-bys.  We work hard already, caring for our cows, calves and land, in addition to making the farm look presentable, we don't need more trash to pick up during our free time. 
Finally, it's just not nice to spread your garbage in someone else's office.  I don't think most people would enjoy it if I brought some of our trash to their offices and left it on their desk.  Please keep that in mind when it comes to dairy farmers...our farm is our office...we like keeping it neat, and we hope you will too!  So before you throw that trash out your window, please think twice for the dairy farmers who have to pick up after you...thanks!

What's YOUR dream job?

Last week, while I worked to bed in my little calves, I was listening to our local radio station.  The radio announcer was discussing a survey of the general public, answering the question "what's your dream job?"  Surprisingly, the top answer was to be a movie star/TV star/rock star and the second highest answer was a successful professional athelete.  I pondered that question....what would my dream job be?  I didn't have to think too long, as I knew without a doubt I would want to be a dairy farmer.  Nope, I am not interested in being a celebrity, but instead a noble dairy farmer.

There have been many times in the past 5 years that I have been offered jobs that require less physical labor, less hours, and would pay so much more, but dairy farming offers me so much more than a living wage.  The past 3 years we have barely made a living dairy farming (we hope to make a reasonable salary soon). We started farming well aware that we better not expect to be millionaires while dairying farming.  So if it isn't the money, what could possibly make me say that dairy farming is my dream job???

• I LOVE my cows! Everyday I get to work with awesome animals, which I have great respect for.
• There's nothing more rewarding that a newborn heifer calf!  Every time we have a new calf I am reminded of how so much of our lives is out of our control but how so much of it is also a great blessing!
• Rising to the challenges!  I enjoy challenges, I always have.  As a dairy farmer each day has its own set of unique challenges....and I strive to meet them, it's very rewarding to save a cow, solve a problem, or help the herd be in their best health, etc.
• Nature rocks! I complain a little about the heat and the cold in Minnesota, but at the end of the day I love the seasons, the weather changes, the wildlife, and the natural wonders that surround us...a great blessing!  Who needs an office when you have the great outdoors???
• Feeding the world, one milk drinker at a time!  I am proud to know that we produce a nutritious and wholesome product that can help consumers of all ages maintain good health.  I feed the World and I am proud of it!
• Protecting the environment.  We strive each year to be better stewards of our land, water and resources.  Each year we make changes to help us improve and sustain the environment around us for future generations and that's a great feeling!
• Sharing our story!  I LOVE this blog and my SM activities which allow me to share our story with others who may never see a farm in their lifetimes.  How awesome of privilege it is to share how milk is produced and how families like ours care for our cows each day.....so please feel free to ask questions, I love to answer them!

So...What's your dream job???  Would you consider being a dairy farmer instead of a celebrity?  I would in a heartbeat!!!

Flash Flooding!

2 days ago it started raining at about 1pm, stopping all farm field activities, and it continued to rain for almost 24 hours producing almost 4 inches of rain onto of already saturated soils.  As a result, we experienced a Flash Flood and we are currently still in a Flood Warning.  Some MN communities to the south of us had even more rain!  It was reported that over 10 inches fell in less than 24 hours southeast of here.  Want to check out what that looks like?  See fellow dairy farmer Merri Post's pictures to give you an idea what the flood looking like.  At Orange Patch Dairy, we had a LOT of standing water in the cows and heifer yards, as well as flowing over field roads to the south of our farm.  It was amazing to see so much rain fall in such a short time period.  Corn and soybeans in the field are now standing in water, in some places the water is almost as high as the ears of corn and soybeans are completely submerged.  This flood will be delaying what was going to be an early harvest, but that's how it goes in nature and agriculture.

All of this water reminded me why it is so important to work to protect our farm environments.  With this much water, we did experience runoff from our cow yards, and yes that runoff water did contain cow manure (fast moving rain water will pick up cow manure and wash it away).  BUT....when we built our new barn, we had to develop a plan for an event just like this!!!!  When we built our barn 5 years ago, our county required us to build a drainage ditch with a natural grass filter strip and a sediment catch.  This ditch works to collect runoff water from the cow yards, stop top soil from running away, and stops cow manure from floating into the area rivers via our drain tiles & ditches.  It's a really simple design; yesterday we got to see it work.  The runoff water (complete with cow manure) runs into a large zig/zagged deep dug ditch.  This ditch is filled with naturally growing grasses and native plants from our area.  These plants slow the flow of the water, allowing the soil  and manure particles to drop out of the water solution.  The plants also use nutrients in the water to grow.  By the time the water flows to the sediment catch, the water is pretty much free of manure.  This water now flows into the drainage tile and to the drainage ditch. 

We were able to build our ditch with funds from NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program).  This federally funded program gives grants to farmers who apply, to improve their livestock operations to better protect the natural environment that surrounds their farms and the animals that make their farms habitats.  Rest assured that the dollars that we received went straight to the engineering and construction costs of our ditch.  We worked hard to design a system that would be able to handle most heavy rainfall events for our area while conserving the amount of space that it uses.  I know that this ditch is working well for our environment as well as providing habitat for a number of ducks and geese that like to stop buy for a swim.  So, at times like this I would like to thank the NRCS for the funds to protect our environment and our farm for generations to come!

Caught with Our Pants Down

I guess I could say that we gave been "caught with our pants down", at the farm.  Typically spring doesn't officially arrive in our part of MN until early May.  This year we have been treated with some awesome temperatures (in the 70's) for more than a couple days!  These warm days have really pushed the plants along.  Our alfalfa fields are currently on track to need harvesting almost 2 weeks earlier than scheduled.  Our neighbors have been planting corn all week.  Last year (2009) we would have been laughing at them, since we still had snow in some fields at this time!  (last spring was abnormally cold and wet)  Today I had to start mowing the lawn around the dairy barn~which I normally don't do until May 1st, but the grass REALLY needed.  I love the smell of cut grass though, it was amazing!  Since it appears that we have lost 2 weeks of time we are "caught with our pants down". 

We would have used those 2 weeks to do some many other tasks.  I have so much trash to pick up in the ditch that goes past our farm...apparently people have yet to learn NOT to litter!  Makes me so mad, when we work so hard to have a nice farm site and take care of our environment and others just throw their trash in our ditches.  Oh well...I will get to trash later in the coming weeks.  I need to pick up the AgBag (plastic that we use to store our silages) plastic that blew away during the winter storms and hid in the snow drifts.  We need to finish up last minute touches in the parlor before the milk inspector comes~I am almost there but not quite.  I have also been working on doing some much needed fixing in the parlor on the milking equipment.  It works just fine, but there are some parts that need to be replaced.  New works just a little bit better than used.  We have a couple of lots with manure in that need to be hauled out quick before the corn and beans go into the soil...and  FINALLY we have fields to work also to get started planting our own corn....phew I am getting tired just thinking about it.  So...here we go, trying to fit in 2 extra weeks of work into as few of days as possible....one thing you learn on the farm is to always be "flexible"!!!!

Manure Management Meetings on Friday

It's been a busy weekend, but I wanted to take some time to recap some of the things that we worked on Friday.  We had a BUNCH of meetings on Monday at the farm with the various professional that we work with to help us make good choices for our land and resources.  This year we are planning to grow our 1st crop of corn!  Previously Jonathan and I purchased all of the feed that we feed our cows from my father in law.  Growing our own crops (at least part of our feed needs) will allow us to save money as we can work to grow feed at a lower cost than we can purchase it...not that my father in law ripped us off, but now we can use our own labor instead of paying him and our own manure instead of giving it away to neighbors. 

We work with our local cooperative's agronomy department, which helps us mange our soils and crops. We pulled soil samples a few weeks ago to determine the quality of the soil in our field.  The good news is that with the management of manure in the previous years resulted in some very fertile soils that will only require a small amount of commercial fertilizer to get the corn started.  The remaining nutrients are already in the soil thanks to cow manure from last fall!  Another excellent bonus is that this lower level of commercial fertilizer will not only reduce the total cost of growing corn but increase the biological activity of the soil microbes (bacteria) which break down cow manure and crop residue (leaves and stalks left over from last year).  We were excited to hear this news and even more excited to get into the fields to get that corn planted!

We also work with a private practice agronomist/manure management specialist.  His name is Al, and he helps us keep track of so many things on our farm regarding manure.  Al has been sampling our manure for the past few years, making sure that we don't over or under apply manure to our soils.  This insures that we will always apply our cow manure at the appropriate rate.  We have even calibrated all of our manure spreaders so we know how many pounds/tons of manure we apply per acre.  One project that we have our friend Al working on right now, is recalculating our manure management plan.  Our manure management plan is a document of many pages which accounts for the amount of manure that our cows produce each year and how many acres that are required in order to apply that manure.  A series of manure samples, soil samples, and calculations are included and used to determine those acres.  As our herd has grown this past winter, we have to re-calcualte the manure management plan, making sure yet again that we do not over apply manure. 

Maintaining our soils is our number one goal.  Manure is not a pollutant when used properly, but instead a GREAT fertilizer which grows some of the best corn in the area!  I even use manure to grow my flowers, fruits and vegetables....and I have an amazing crop each year!

Steaming Manure?

A short video from November 2009, explaining why our compost pack barn manure is steaming and other fun facts!

Manure for Fertilizer

Removing the Manure from the compost barn-Fall 2009 Check out my latest post to YouTube.  While its old it is relevant as we are prepping to plant our first field of corn this year.  Learn more about how dairy farmers care about the environment at Dairy Farming Today!

Why do you farm?

I went to a great speaker yesterday at the Midwest Dairy Expo. She inspired me to write this post. She posed a very thought provoking question to us in the audience.....

"Why do YOU farm?"

Hmm, I guarantee you that I don't farm because I enjoy working in the winter time. Today we had to wear over 4 layers of clothing just to go outside, shovel the snow before we could get into the barn, move the snow before we could get to the silage bags, and bed in everyone of the animals so they can stay warm and dry all day. Farming is hard. Not everyone can farm, but a number of smart people do farm. These farmers are smart enough that they could be excellent employees for any other company, but they run their own family business instead. When I left my job in January to come home and farm, I had 3 different jobs where I could work a 5 day week, making a sizable salary, but I chose to farm instead. Some would say that this would be an unwise choice, but it was the best choice for me-it just felt right.

I farm because I enjoy working with and in nature. I enjoy working with cows, one of the best creatures that God ever created. I enjoy the satisfaction of learning to do a new task, learning a new idea, starting a new project. I hope that some day that when Jon and I have children that we can use this farm to teach our kids how important life lessons like: respect for the environment, responsibility, strong work ethic, patience and passion. I farm, because at the end of the day I want be proud of the job that I did, the best possible job possible taking care of my cows and producing a tasty, wholesome, nutritious product for my family and yours.

Just so you know.....THAT'S WHY I FARM!

Some great comments from Sen. Johanns!!!

"Today is a good opportunity to urge the Administration not to let their fervor for organic production cloud their judgment regarding the production methods for traditional crops. Traditional farming and ranching operations are the backbone of agriculture in the United States. Fertilizers, pesticides, and modern plant and animal genetics help our farmers and ranchers fight disease, attack insects and pests, ensuring a safe and abundant food supply. These hard-working Americans literally feed the world, and play an increasing role in our energy security." Sen. Johanns, Nebraska

It's great to see Sen. Johanns supporting all of agriculture, in a fair way. I especially enjoy his comments about trade, the importance of conventional agriculture, and environmental issues.

"I'm as tempted as anyone to hearken back to the days of the farm I grew up on, a quarter section. A dozen sows farrowed at a time, thirty cows, bottled calves. Train them how to drink out of a bucket. I have a little statue on my coffee table in my office of a young farm boy feeding a calf with a bottle. Man, what a life. What a great way to grow up.
"But the world does change, and farming has gotten better, and better, and better. No-till farming, integrated pest management, and field buffers are not foreign concepts to our farmers. According to one report, farmers currently use reduced tillage practices to prevent soil erosion on 72 million acres, and they maintain over 1.3 million acres of grassland.

"We do agriculture the best of any place in the world, and I've been around the world many times. We cannot afford to enact policies or neglect agriculture in a way that minimizes the importance of this very important piece of our economy, and its importance in feeding the world.

"If you take any message home with you, take this: The agriculture community must pay attention. During these difficult economic times, costs matter. We must work to prevent policies that will cripple and crush agricultural producers with counterproductive, overreaching, and economically inhibiting policies and regulations.

Thanks again for your support Sen. Johanns, agriculture thanks you!

Happy Earth from Orange Patch Dairy!

Well, it's technically not Earth Day anymore, since it's past midnight, but after a busy day at the farm, this was the first time I had all day to get my thought out on the keyboard. I am sure all of you heard the buzz words of the day "carbon foot print" "pollution" "protect the environment" "do your part".....I like the last one the best "do your part"....

Dairy farmers have been "doing their part" for many years. Here at Orange Patch Dairy, we have been enjoying some great technologies since we built our new barn to make our dairy more efficient and environmentally friendly. The following are some of those things:

• Plate Cooler: We have a great piece of equipment called a plate cooler. It's job is to pre-cool milk before it reaches the bulk tank to reduce the amount of electricity needed to cool milk from 100 degrees to 40 degrees. The plate cooler works much like a radiator. Cold water runs through the plate cooler, as the milk flows through the "fins" the water cools the milk to about 60-70 degrees. The water is warmed as it flows through the plate cooler and is returned to the cow barn...where the cows enjoy warm water to drink. Interestingly, cow prefer warm water to drink, even in the hot summer months. Cold water will "shock" the bacteria in the rumen of a cow.
• Variable Speed Milk Pump: The pump we use to milk cows has a variable speed drive. This means that as we milk cows and put a load on the pump, it adjusts. As the load lightens, the pump works to save electricity. Our utility bills are much lower as a result!
• Collecting of Wash Water to Reuse: Water we use to wash the milking system out every day twice a day, is collected in the parlor. This water is then used to wash down the floors and walls of the parlor-thereby we use the water twice before it goes down the drain!
• Manure Management Plan: We have been working on and using a manure management plan for years. When we built our new barn 4 years ago we were required by the state to have a Manure Management Plan in place. This plan, in writing, declares the acres that we will use for manure application, based on the amount of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous that will be applies. We use this plan under the advisement of an agronomist, who is always working to help us do what's best for our land.
• Buffer Strips: When we built our barn we also had to update our manure management in our heifer yards. As a result we constructed and planted grass buffer/filter strips that help to capture rain run off from our heifer yards and filter the water BEFORE if reaches the ground water. This method of filtering allows the grass to get nutrients naturally while protecting our ground water for the farm.
• Grazing: We graze our heifers in the summertime. This helps to reduce feed costs while reducing the weeds in the pastures. We also are able to use land that would not have been able to produce row crops like corn, soybeans, or alfalfa.
• Alfalfa: Alfalfa makes a great cover crop, while putting nitrogen back into the ground. Alfalfa also helps to maintain top soils since fields planting in alfalfa will not be tilled for 3 or more years.
• Wildlife Habitats: We have lots of spaces where we host wildlife. Places in the landscape where we can't grow crops but can support wildlife like squirrels, deer, and pheasants.
• Crop Production: By using our soils to produce the most amount of food for our cows per acre helps the environment....thereby reducing the amount of acres we need to feed our cows. Technology such as new seed hybrids, correct use of fertilizers, and weed control all contribute to better production per acre.

Some new technologies that we are looking forward to in the future include the following:

• Plastic Recycling: Right now we have no good way to dispose of the plastic bags that we use to store our feed. We look forward to the addition of an Agricultural Plastic Program in our county, much like ones in other neighboring counties. What a great way to help out the environment!
• Methane Digesters: We have been excited about this technology for years! We love the idea of turning cow manure into a bio gas which can be used to generate electricity for our farm and many more homes in our neighborhood. Digesters help to reduce the odor of manure as well as producing a very good fertilizer which can be used in the fields. What a great renewable energy source!!!! We visited a farm in Minnesota which has been in inspiration for us. Haubenschild Dairy Farm Digester

So as you can see, dairy farms have been working on celebrating Earth Day EVERYDAY of the Year!