Uuufda!

Uuufda! A phrase used in Minnesota-kinda like a sigh.

This is the best way to describe the last 2 weeks at the farm. Uuufda! We have been so busy making hay. We thought we were done last week and then the neighbor came over on Monday night to offer his alfalfa to us. We took it, so yesterday we were busy in the fields again, chopping another 30 acres of alfalfa. We have been dealing with the 3rd driest May in history in Minnesota, and a windy one at that. Last week were making hay with 50 mph winds and 97 degrees...this week it was 80 degrees and NO WIND. As a result we cut alfalfa yesterday morning at 8 am, and we were not able to start chopping it until 10 pm. We finished at 2 am this morning. We are finding that 4 hours of sleep is not enough to function well...so nap time was taken today ;) Uuufda! Makes for a long night and an even earlier morning.

We are looking forward to working on some summer time project tomorrow...getting our sprinkler system up and running for the lactating cows and hauling out the last of the calf manure in the calf barn.

Also an update on Joey...she's growing so well! I hope to have pictures up soon....she's eating about 1.5 pounds of calf starter (calf feed which contains corn, oats, and a protein pellet, all coated with mollasses for a special treat) a day.

1st cutting Alfalfa Video! FINALLY!!!!

Seifert Farms making 1st cutting hay (alfalfa) on May 20th, 2009 in Southern MN. We cut 100 acres of hay and chopped it as alfalfa haylage in less than 36 hours, at about 355 tons in a 250 ft. silage bag. Definitely a little windy though, up to 50 mph winds, amazingly the moisture, which is critical, never got any lower than 55%, most averaging 60%. Alfalfa was about 175 RFV (Relative Feed Value) a measure of the quality of a forage.