I know it has been a while since I have posted. As the year is winding down things got super crazy for a while. We had seeding work for winter cover/spring feed crops to get planted, final cutting of hay fields to make, and a lot of corn stubble to bale!
Good news we have enough bedding, bad news is we are gonna be phenomenally tight on hay! We are reducing the herd this fall to bring the numbers down going into winter. We are finally at a point where we can be selective on who we keep based on production rather than solely if they are female and bred!
I want to update everyone on our puppy Zeus....whom, while still a puppy, doesn't look like one! He still likes to sit on my lap but has to do a good job of balancing to stay there.
He is 71 lbs. already and is only 8 months old. He is tall enough to see the table top without getting on my lap and when he stands on his back feet he can touch my face with his nose!
He is also outgrowing his dining spot. I wish I had a recent picture of him in the tractor with me but I didn't get one the other day when we were out. Needless to say he fills the new tractor cab more than Daisy filled the old tractor cab. When he lies down in the cab he literally covers the entire floor space accept for exactly where my feet are at!
He does enjoy going with me in the tractor and is getting much better at listening when we are out in the field. However, I can tell when he wants to go home and play because after about 2-3 hrs he will start getting rambunctious in the cab and I either have to send him home with my wife or let him out to run in the field for a little bit. Hopefully my wife will be able to get him into some cattle herding training this winter so he can help with that in the spring.
As most of you know we installed a buffer strip for the heavy use pad to catch any run off from the feeding area. After the first winter we found that it was not adequately stopping the runoff. So, to fix this and get the containment that we needed I decided to re-engineer the area to get the control we need. I installed two reverse swales, to catch and slow any runoff from the pad. At the bottom is a small settlement pond for all particulates to settle out of the water in. Literally an hour after I finished installing we had a massive downpour that filled the pond overfull and a hole washed out in the bottom berm. The good thing is it did not drain all the pond, just some of it. So, I have decided that after the seeding establishes I will put the overflow for the pond in where the washout occurred. Furthermore I will be adding an additional buffer area in the flat bottom to catch anything that gets past the settlement pond and restrict access from the cattle to this area as well so it remains fully functional. As you can see in the picture below the oats are providing an excellent quick cover crop. The alfalfa, clover, and grasses I planted are well protected right now below all of the oats. Even though I would love to let the cows out to eat this off right now I have to wait for it to freeze so that they do not tear up the freshly graded soil and the tender young seedlings.
We also finally had another litter of piglets. Even though she only had five, they were all born healthy and have been doing great. They are almost three times this size already and are continuing to grow quickly since they have milk for 10-14 piglets to divide between the five of them!
The interesting part about this is the fact that for two years and four litters in a row this sow refuses to have her piglets in the pig shed. She nested in the pig shed for 4 days before she had the piglets and the night she gave birth she destroyed another gate to get out of the pig shed and went over to the cow shed to make a final nest and give birth. So, since having them she has been sharing the entire cow shed with only two other residents who are in there due to sore feet.
Each year I get two alumni tickets to a home football game for the buckeyes. My wife and I were excited to have perfect football weather for our annual date night at the Horse Shoe where we had our first date.
To wrap up this post I wanted to share information on another interview I got to do about the EPRI/AFT nutrient trading project we have here on the farm. A reporter for The Allegheny Front based out of Pittsburgh PA. asked to interview us for a news report she was doing on this new program. If you click on the link you will find the report she posted about it. This story is also airing on NPR and has started to gain some more attention. As I have stated before I am excited to be on the front edge of a new way of thinking and I am happy to see this gaining attention and bringing the topic up for more discussion. Coming from my background I know that, for the most part, farmers around the world want to do the right thing. The only thing holding them back is finances. This type of program allows them to make a change that not only benefits the local community but the entire world. Furthermore, I know that as a whole, most farmers want to be involved and be a part of what needs to change, they do not like to be told what to do. So, this gives an opportunity for the farming community to regulate itself rather than be regulated by someone else!
For more information please visit the following;
As I type this post I am looking out the window at approx. 3" of snow on the ground. Yesterday morning at 8 am it was 65 degrees and windy, Friday was 74 degrees and beautifully sunny. Now begins the long wait for spring and a new calving and growing season! In the mean time the animals and I will be bedded down and waiting out the cold trying to stay warm!
Have a great day everyone! Thanksgiving is coming fast. It will be nice to have a break in the craziness that has been as of late!
Kenny
