October | 2011 | Curiousfarmer

Stories: Hal, the Holstein Bull, and Babe

October 28, 2011

The bull had scurs, stubby horns which Hal held onto as the yearling Holstein bull tried to push Hal into the soft spring mud. Hal felt ribs breaking every time the bull pushed into him, but he figured if he let go, and the bull was able to get a head of steam, it would be all over.

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Hal’s bull started out life like most dairy calves. Separated from his mom shortly after birth and placed in a calf hut with a circle of wire panel in front of the hut. The bull spent its first months socializing only with its human caretaker, who fed it milk replacer.

Hal’s bull was further socialized with humans because he was chosen to be a show calf by a local 4-H member. The bull was taught to lead with a halter, washed and combed, fed and watered. The bull grew to enjoy the attention from humans, and would even approach them to get his head scratched.

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When the bull lifted his head, Hal called for Babe, the Blue Heeler dog he had received as a puppy in exchange for filling his neighbor’s silo.

Babe didn’t slow as she approached Hal, and attacked the bull’s heels with fury. Hal let go as the bull bounded over him. Babe didn’t stop to check on Hal, but kept the bull on the run, through the fence, and into the next pasture.

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Just about every living dairy farmer has a story about a close call with a bull. Most farm animals are dangerous, but dairy bulls are killers, and they can flip into killer mode in a moment.

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Autumn for Square-Foot Saturday

October 21, 2011

We had a short, yet brilliant, season of fall colors.

I’m going to give Square-Foot Saturdays a rest, checking in occasionally if anything changes. We are expecting a hard frost tonight, so the growing season is pretty much over.

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Square-Foot Saturday 25, October 15, 2011

October 16, 2011

My friend Mark came over on Tuesday and helped me sort the cows away from the calves. Then we ran them through the chute and gave them their second round of vaccinations.

We like to leave them in the corral for a couple of days until the bawling slows. If you move them right away, the cows will go through about any fence just to stand next to their calf. It’s probably driven by milk hormones. After three days the cows are ready to go to greener pastures.

Unfortunately we received two inches of rain on Wednesday. The corral dirt turned into slop, and Dad and I had to slog through the mud to sort and move the calves. The steers are now at my farm, and the heifers are at my parent’s farm.

We still haven’t had a hard frost. The light frost of a few weeks ago only browned the pumpkin and squash leaves.

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Forage Testing

October 13, 2011

I took three cutting off this hay field, and it’s ready to be cut or grazed again at the end of September. I’ll wait until after a hard frost, but before the snow gets deep, to graze this field with cattle.

If I grazed this field now, the alfalfa may use most of its root reserves to initiate regrowth. If a hard frost shuts down the alfalfa at this point, it may have a difficult time surviving the winter because its root reserves are too low. Grazing or cutting after the plant has gone dormant has little effect. The time I avoid cutting or grazing is from about September 15th to October 15th, for this climate.

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Justin, formerly of Midwestern Bio-Ag, took two forage samples, one from first cutting, and one from second cutting. The samples were taken from square bales, stored in the barn. First cutting was baled June 1st. Second cutting was baled July 8th. The alfalfa was full-bloom both times.

I don’t understand forage testing very well. If you want an in-depth explanation, check out this excellent article from the University of Kentucky.

These were the first forage tests I’ve ever taken on my farm. I’ll share some of what I learned.

Even though both cuttings were taken when the alfalfa was full-bloom, 2nd cutting was considerably higher in quality than 1st cutting. The cattle’s preference confirms this. 2nd cutting was higher in protein, (17.28 to 16.58), lower in ADF fiber, (31.96 to 37.23), higher in TDN total digestible nutrients, (57.06% to 51.13%), and higher in RFQ relative feed quality, (143.91 to 108.68).

I’ll summarize what these numbers mean to me. Cattle can maintain their weight eating the first cutting hay, and gain some weight eating the second cutting hay.

Some other interesting findings, calcium was low, lending credence to the importance of added calcium, which I have not done. Manganese was fine, which is strange because my soil tests show low manganese. Potassium was high, which is also strange because I didn’t add any potassium in the spring, eliminating the theory of luxury consumption, and the soil tests show medium potassium.

If you have any thoughts about this, please share.

3 Comments | Curious crops, Curious fertilizer, Curious forage | Permalink
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Square-Foot Saturday 24, October 8, 2011

October 9, 2011

We buried a family friend yesterday. Sgt. Jakob J. Roelli was killed in action in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He was 24.

I remember talking to a friend in the late 80’s. He had joined the National Guard to help pay for his college. We thought there was no way he would ever see active duty, because the US was done with war. Vietnam was still fresh, and the Soviet Union was collapsing. He ended up seeing active duty in the first Iraq war.

Now this young man who I’ve known since he was a baby is dead. We’ve been in Afghanistan for ten years. The original intent as I understood it, was to oust the Taliban and bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. I don’t know what our goal is now. I’m sad.