Curiousfarmer

I’m Stuck

February 1, 2011

School started two hours late today, let out an hour early. My 4-wheel drive SUV made it half-way down my quarter-mile lane before the snow proved too deep. My Dad pulled me out with the tractor, and pulled us back in. It’s supposed to start snowing again tonight, with wind. If you want to visit, and you don’t have a snowmobile, you’re going to be walking. We’re stuck.

I’m stuck with this blog, and having trouble getting restarted. There is a reason I post every week, and it’s not because of popular demand. It’s how I’m wired. I like starting every day with chores.

And so, I’m publicly announcing my intention to post every week, even though I still feel stuck.

I think this blog works best when I’m answering a question. Some questions I want to answer:

How much wood does my outdoor wood boiler use?

How much fuel does my farm use?

What is the feed efficiency of my hogs from 250 to 300 lbs.?

Why can hogs digest acorns without processing?

How long did the “wild west” last? Side note: I think a major contributor to the wild west was post-traumatic stress disorder from the civil war veterans.

Another thing I want to look at more closely is how a square foot of land changes throughout the year. I think I know, but forcing myself to look every week, and take a picture, may prove eye-opening.

Until next week, stay warm.

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Taking a Break, Making the Best of…

December 18, 2010

Red clover hay field. This field is an example of making the best of a bad situation.

The cowherd winters on cropland, walking into the woods for shelter, and water out of springs. We feed the cows by unrolling round bales of hay on the harvested corn fields. This is a way to spread the fertility from the cows’ manure, and the damage from the cows’ hooves if the ground is not frozen.

The hayfield above was exposed to the cows, and even though we never fed them hay on it, they chose to stand on it often. When the ground thawed, the cows did considerable damage to the alfalfa plants.

We monitored the field as everything started to green up in the spring. We could see most of the alfalfa had been killed and it would not be a productive field. We had three choices: 1. Do nothing and accept the reduced yield. 2. Till it and plant corn. 3. Plant another forage crop.

We didn’t need the corn acres, and it would mess up our rotation if we put it in corn this year. It wasn’t slated to be a corn field until 2011.

We decided to plant another forage crop. There are some grasses which people plant in this type of emergency: Italian Ryegrass, Teff grass. We wanted a legume, though, which would fix nitrogen for next year’s corn crop, which is what the alfalfa would have done.

We chose Red Clover. There are disadvantages to Red Clover. It is short-lived, and it doesn’t dry well for hay. The first reason didn’t matter in this case, and we decided to try to find dry times to make the Red Clover hay to take care of the second disadavantage.

The main advantage to Red Clover is it’s very easy to plant. We broadcasted the seed with a small spreader from the back of a tractor, and pulled a chain harrow to cover the seed with a little bit of dirt. We planted four pounds per acre.

It worked great! Look at how thick the reddish flowers are in the picture. We made the best of a bad situation.

And so, I can no longer put off addressing the title of this post.

I’m taking a break from blogging. I’ve posted consistently for nearly two years. I’ve met people, made friends, learned, shared, in short, it’s been a blast! Thank you for visiting, commenting, and sharing. Without you, a blog is a journal. With you, a blog is a conversation. Thank you for your conversation!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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First Snow

December 7, 2010

The first snow is met with enthusiasm by children, snow-plow drivers, and snowmobilers.

The beauty of snow on the farm is tempered by the extra work.

As soon as it stops falling, we push it, pile it, and shape it to our will.

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Outdoor Wood Boiler III

November 24, 2010

The firepit. I haven’t let the fire go out since I started it about a month ago. I’ve gone 14 hours between fills.

The hot water goes to a heat exchanger above the water heater, first. I’m hoping this will save on my electric bill.

The hot water then travels to a radiator which was placed in the plenum of my original furnace. The fan from the furnace blows air across the radiator when heat is needed.

The blue pipe is something which is new to me, Pex pipe. I appreciated how fast and easy it is to work with.

Now I just need more of this! Happy Thanksgiving!

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Outdoor Wood Boiler II

November 23, 2010

Outdoor wood boiler, ready to unload. Mel uses his bobcat to set it into place. At the front of the bobcat is the water line in black, plastic pipe.

There are two water lines within the black pipe. Incoming in red, and outgoing in blue. The hot water continually circulates via a pump. The water lines are also covered in insulation within the black pipe. It was a real pain to drill through the basement wall.

The water pump is on the left. Bottom center is the fan, which kicks in when the temperature of the water decreases to a certain level. I can adjust the temperature of the water. Right now, the fan shuts off when the water temperature reaches 145 degrees F.

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Outdoor Wood Boiler I

November 22, 2010

I purchased and helped install an outdoor wood boiler to heat our house. I purchased the 250 gallon model from Nature’s Comfort, mainly due to the sales and service of Mel Flogel. It wasn’t cheap. The basic unit was $6500, but including everything pushes the cost close to $10,000. It will take a few years to pay back over the heating oil I used before, but I’ll feel better, keeping the house warmer for my family.

First I had to pour a pad of concrete.

Then I had to dig a four foot deep trench for the water lines. I rented a bobcat with a trencher attatchment from K&L Bobcat.

Citygirlfriend said, “Why didn’t you ask for a person to run it? They have to deliver it right? It probably wouldn’t have been much more expensive.”

“Because I want to run it.”

I figure if they are willing to turn me loose on a $50,000+ machine with very little instruction, I better take advantage. When will I get another opportunity to run this bad boy?

It was tough-going by the house. I think they backfilled with rock along the foundation. After I got farther away from the house, though, it was easy. Rich, black dirt, all the way down.

The one thing the trencher doesn’t do well, is turn. So I had to lift the trencher, and manuever the bobcat on the curves. Unfortunately, I found the trench on one of my manuevers and got the bobcat stuck. No worries, Dad got a tractor and pulled me out.

I’ll have a couple more posts on this subject.

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Artificial Insemination of Swine II

November 12, 2010

I wrote about how we use Artificial Insemination to bring new genetics into our swineherd in one of my very first posts, “Artificial Insemination of Swine.” Click on the link if you want to read about our AI protocol.

I didn’t use any pictures in the beginning, because I didn’t have access to a camera. My sister bought us a digital camera, and I’ve loved it. So easy. When we AI’d some sows in October, I snapped a few photos.

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Final Harvest

November 6, 2010

Cows harvesting the standing hay and cornstalks on my contour strips. Here is a picture taken right before corn harvest.

The cows above are the ones the vet. confirmed pregnant when we pregnancy checked at the end of October. I wrote about my expectations, and the problems we faced this breeding season. 90% of the cows and heifers ended up being bred with a 60 day breeding season for the cows, and a 45 day breeding season for the heifers. 10% open is normal for us and acceptable. We have an excellent market for hamburger, so the cows that didn’t breed end up as beef. We have appointments with our butcher over the next month.

Below is a cow which didn’t breed, and Wilma, of course. The open cows are grazing one of our best remaining pastures. I was thinking about the life they lead. I think it’s pretty good. They get to be in a herd of peers, eating quality forage, moving weekly, breeding, raising young. Up until the bolt-gun shatters their brain, it’s not a bad life.

We took the boys to a city-wide Halloween party. A friend gave me the low-down on the best place to go trick-or-treating: the manor, or old-folks-home. The residents are seated in a semi-circle, each holding a bucket of candy. It’s funny, because whatever aversion a child has to old people is overcome by the lure of easy candy.

I don’t know what kind of life each person has had, but the ending can be difficult. We all want to live a good life and die in our sleep.

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Weaned Calves

October 21, 2010

Calves in the corral, separated from their mothers. We weaned all of the calves, October 14th.

After sorting the cows away from the calves, we run the calves into the catch-chute one at a time to administer a couple of vaccine cocktails. We use what our vet. recommends, and what is common in the industry. Ultrabac 7/Somnubac is $1/dose. Vira Shield 6 + Somnus is $2/dose.

The vaccines cover about a dozen diseases, or strains of a disease. I have a difficult time believing one can get a good immune response to all. But in the vaccine’s defense, we have lost a calf from Blackleg, but never after vaccinating.

Below is a view down the alleyway leading to the catch-chute.

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Finished Corn Harvest

October 13, 2010

Contour strips before corn harvest. Other pictures of these strips are here, here, and here.

We finished harvesting corn, October 7th. We think that is an early record. It was dry, 16% moisture. That is also a record.

What a difference a year makes. Last growing season was so cool, the corn never dried below 23% in the field.

Every year is different. If I live to a typical age, I probably only have about 50 growing seasons. Each is special.

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