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!

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!!!!!

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"!!!!