Well, it's been another series of crazy weeks for us at the farm. Beside the usual hussel and bussel of fall field work and running a dairy farm...we've been working hard on pushing forward our fall project for our cows. Since we are young, starting dairy farmers, we have limited resources to use as collateral for the bank. As a solution to help us better our farm, our banker suggested working with a branch of the government to secure financing for the riskiest portion of our barn project. Sounds like a good plan, BUT just when we thought we met the criteria of the government agency, we only learn we have more hoops to jump through. First, it was the need of an appraisal of our current farm, then it was forms that we had signed in early September that were now outdated and needed to be resigned, and now we needed to get "official" quotes for ALL work scheduled to be done on our barn project! Oh good grief!
If you've ever built anything, you know timing is everything and the longer this process continues, the farther into the fall we get, thereby increasing the risk of...oh that dreaded "s" word, SNOW! We desperately need to make these changes to our farm for the betterment of our cows, so we can only hope that we are done jumping through hoops~!
Showing posts with label fall season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall season. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Sunday, November 14, 2010
And then Winter Came...
We were enjoying such a great fall. Temperatures were above normal, precipitation was below normal, and field work was coming along nicely. And then....WINTER CAME! So, if you know and love a dairy farmer then you know that dairy farmers almost always wait until the last minute for everything. Dairy farmers also try to cram as much work into a day as possible. Sticking to those two traits, we have been trying to do SO MANY different projects at the farm and in the field. Last night those projects came to a screeching halt. Jon and I worked so hard yesterday hauling manure before and after evening chores, all the way until we had so much snow on the ground that the skid loader was unable to move. So at 12:30 we headed home from the farm, snow was falling but it wasn't serious.
When we woke up this morning, it was SERIOUS! We had about 4 inches of snow on the ground, covering everything! We drove the truck to the farm to be safe, and for good reason, there were a number of cars and trucks in the ditches already, early in the day. The wet, slushy snow pulled the truck all over the road. Once we made it to the farm, we went about our usual schedule. I loaded the cows into the parlor and Jon got ready to milk. We fired up the milk pump, put on the first 12 milking units and then the power went out! Then it came back on!! Then it went out! Then is came back on!!! And then back out!!! So after getting annoyed with putting on milking units and watching them fall so many times, we decided it would be best to get the generator and milk with that instead. So, after a 30 minute delay, we finally got milking cows, but at least we had a constant power source! Turns out wet and heavy snow doesn't mix well with power lines.
We continued on with the rest of our chores, in the sloppy, wet, muddy, and cold conditions. It was mostly miserable not because of the moisture but because all of the wind blowing the snow. The warm soil was able to melt most of the snow. We only have about 2-3 inches of snow left, thank goodness! I am hoping that melting continues, and we can continue our quest to finish our fall season work. So to help you understand the difference, please check out some pictures of the BEFORE and AFTER of our first snow storm of the winter....
When we woke up this morning, it was SERIOUS! We had about 4 inches of snow on the ground, covering everything! We drove the truck to the farm to be safe, and for good reason, there were a number of cars and trucks in the ditches already, early in the day. The wet, slushy snow pulled the truck all over the road. Once we made it to the farm, we went about our usual schedule. I loaded the cows into the parlor and Jon got ready to milk. We fired up the milk pump, put on the first 12 milking units and then the power went out! Then it came back on!! Then it went out! Then is came back on!!! And then back out!!! So after getting annoyed with putting on milking units and watching them fall so many times, we decided it would be best to get the generator and milk with that instead. So, after a 30 minute delay, we finally got milking cows, but at least we had a constant power source! Turns out wet and heavy snow doesn't mix well with power lines.
We continued on with the rest of our chores, in the sloppy, wet, muddy, and cold conditions. It was mostly miserable not because of the moisture but because all of the wind blowing the snow. The warm soil was able to melt most of the snow. We only have about 2-3 inches of snow left, thank goodness! I am hoping that melting continues, and we can continue our quest to finish our fall season work. So to help you understand the difference, please check out some pictures of the BEFORE and AFTER of our first snow storm of the winter....
Last little glimpse of summer....
I still had snapdragons all the way through yesterday, I will miss them, until spring!
Snow in the heifer yard, covered everything!
An icy coating on all of my plants and flowers in front of the milking parlor.
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Tale of Two Harvests...
In Minnesota we have been enjoying some AMAZING weather! It's been a record breaking week! We had 90's for 2 days this week, and 80's for 4 days. Last year at this time we had 2 inches of snow on the ground, 20's and most of the crops were in the field. This year most of the crops have been harvested, bedding is being made, and tillage will start in a few days. We have been so blessed this growing season with ample rain and heat. Our soybeans and corn have produced quite the bounty!
We are looking forward to the next few days to make more bedding for our cows, heifers and calves. Dry bedding helps us keep our cows clean and dry, in addition to keeping them healthy. Winter months and wet weather require literally tons of dry bedding to allow us to do a good job caring for our cows. After we wrap up bedding, we will work right into manure hauling. We have a few storage units holding months worth of cow, heifer and calf manure. We can't haul all of our manure in the growing season, so we store it until the fall when we can hit the fields hard. By applying the manure to fields, according to our agronomist's recommendations, we utilize all of our farm nutrients and reduce our need for commercial fertilizer. We also apply manure on some of our neighbors' fields to help make sure that we don't over apply manure on our farm. We use manure as a trading item with our neighbors. In exchange for valuable nutrients and organic matter, we get the opportunity to make bedding from our neighbors' corn and soybean fields. So it's a win/win for everyone. So...hopefully I will get some pictures up soon.
We are looking forward to the next few days to make more bedding for our cows, heifers and calves. Dry bedding helps us keep our cows clean and dry, in addition to keeping them healthy. Winter months and wet weather require literally tons of dry bedding to allow us to do a good job caring for our cows. After we wrap up bedding, we will work right into manure hauling. We have a few storage units holding months worth of cow, heifer and calf manure. We can't haul all of our manure in the growing season, so we store it until the fall when we can hit the fields hard. By applying the manure to fields, according to our agronomist's recommendations, we utilize all of our farm nutrients and reduce our need for commercial fertilizer. We also apply manure on some of our neighbors' fields to help make sure that we don't over apply manure on our farm. We use manure as a trading item with our neighbors. In exchange for valuable nutrients and organic matter, we get the opportunity to make bedding from our neighbors' corn and soybean fields. So it's a win/win for everyone. So...hopefully I will get some pictures up soon.
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