I had an early afternoon off work a week ago so I drove up to get a keg of Sam Adams for the holidays. It is a 1.5 hr trip one way to get there so I do not do very often. I was over half way home when I realized they gave me the wrong keg of beer. I turned around and drove back to get the correct one. When I got back they offered me a gift for the mistake.
My very own Sam Adams Lager Tap Handle!!!!
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| Sam Adams Tap Handle |
I started my annual winter vacation from work on Christmas Day. There is a very long list of projects that need completed and I know I will not get them all done but here are some I have completed so far.
First up was building a bench table to hold the mini fridge for the new building. This is where I am going to store medicine for the animals and Beer for the shop. The table is also a nice spot for the radio and to set things while working on something to keep them off of the floor.
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| Rough sawed lumber bench. |
Next is a project I was supposed to be completing for the last two years. My wife got tired of waiting and decided to go ahead and get it started herself. The screen door and old house doors I used when I built the pig shed finally fell apart. I have had them tied shut and been putting this off for a while.
My wife did the first door and then I helped with the second one. It was dark and raining when I remembered to take the pic so please excuse the bad picture!
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| Rough sawed lumber barn door. |
Both doors were made using leftover lumber from the cow and pig shed construction projects. They were both very simple to build and work perfectly. I should have done this a long time ago!
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| Rough Sawed lumber barn door inside. |
I didn't take a picture of the outside of the second door. One thing we realized already was that we cannot tightly attach the Plexiglas. It expands and contracts a lot with temperature changes. When we put them on it was near freezing. With the 60 degree temps the last couple of days they are all warped. I will be adjusting this tomorrow so they do not do that any more.
I wanted to attach a picture showing the effectiveness of the buffer strip we installed last year. The fields in the background of the picture below are next door at my Dad's farm. You will notice it is light in color and dormant for the winter. It is also very short.
In the foreground of the picture is the buffer strip. It is very green and still growing. I let the cows eat it off at thanksgiving. It was very short when I pulled them off and has grown back another 6-8" already. If the weather stays mild all winter I fully expect to be able to let them eat it off at least once and possibly twice this winter.
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| Riparian buffer strip collecting nutrient runoff from the feed lot. |
I also noticed another very cool thing this week. I have covered my pastures with the composted manure from the feedlot this fall. I also coated them with the extra buttermilk that I am getting from the dairy. Currently my pastures make my buffer strip look like it is not growing. They are very dark green, very healthy and growing very well. I am quite excited to see how well they produce in the coming year.
I am still looking for some help researching land application of buttermilk. There is literally no information on the topic and I would like to know more about the details of all the little interactions in the soil after I apply the milk to the fields. If you or anyone you know can help with this please send me an email and we can go from there. I have done some small scale testing and the results are promising but I still want to know more!
I haven't had a calf born on Christmas day since I was a child on the dairy farm. I thought I was going to have my first one born on my own farm this year and we did. However, it was not what I expected. Beef cake was in labor when I went out to check everyone on Christmas morning. I noticed immediately that something was not right and got some help. The calf ended up being still born. The umbilical cord got broken at some point and the because the calf was not alive the cow didn't go into labor correctly. We ended up having to put the calf by hand and Momma is pretty sore but she looks like she will be ok. After everything was done and I let her back out with the other cows last night, her daughter came over to console her. Today she seems to be doing better. Hopefully she pulls through it without any internal damage and goes on to have more calves.
Other than the disappointment from the still born calf, we all had a great Christmas together as a family. The winter had been extremely mild and this is the first winter since I have had children that I have been able to spend the holidays with them without worry of having to go to work for snow removal.
On my "TO DO" list is finishing the plumbing in the new building, finishing the weaning pen for the pigs, getting the neighbors tractor completed and out of the building, getting my next project in the building and started!
I wish everyone the best for the holiday season and hopefully you all get to spend some time with your families!
I will be doing my annual New Years eve post this week so keep tuned in!!!
Goodnight everyone!
Kenny
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