This is the craziest spring for planting crops. I bet you have seen pictures and heard stories from friends, or in the media, about how difficult it is for farmers to get their crops planted this year. Too much rain equals muddy fields which means waiting until they are dry enough to plant. If planted too early the seeds don't sprout properly and planting in wet ground can cause the seeds to rot. We finished planting our final crops on June 1st, about 2 weeks later than usual. We now have to hope that Fall doesn't come early so the corn has enough time to mature. Our farm consists of nearly 300 acres. Each year,
before Spring planting begins, we determine how much of each crop to plant. The
decision is based on what we need for our herd, the weather
conditions, and how much, if any feed we have left from the previous season.
Because we have so few acres, we feed everything we grow to our animals.
Fall corn harvest
The bulk of our
acreage, about 200 acres, is planted into corn. Some is planted and later
picked to feed as corn mixed with other grains. The stalks are then baled to
use as bedding. The remaining corn is chopped in the fall for silage to feed to
the cows.
Silage
Nearly 30 acres of
our cropland is planted into grains, primarily oats.
Oats
The oat kernel is fed,
while the plant stalk is baled for bedding, called straw.
Straw bales ready for bedding
Finally, about 50
acres of our cropland is alfalfa hay. We feed a lot of hay, since every animal
on our farm is treated to hay each day. Hay must be cut and dried before it can
be made into bales. If we baled wet hay, it would mold, and we only
serve our animals top quality feed. Just like your lawn, alfalfa can be cut several times each season. Typically we can cut and bale hay from each field four times each summer. Hay can also be blown into a feed wagon, to be fed immediately
to the cows.
Alfalfa hay cut, ready to bale
Two thirds of our
cropland is irrigated land, allowing us to be assured of a good crop even if we
do not receive adequate rainfall. Since we have to pay for the electricity to
power our irrigation, we pray that Mother Nature will provide the rain we need!
Bremer Farms is a family affair. Farming takes all of us working as a team to get the jobs done. While Farmer John and I are baling hay, Sara and Michael were feeding and milking the cows.
This is the tractor that I drive. I am pulling the baler which makes square bales.
This
is my view while driving the tractor. The light colored stripes on the
field is the hay (alfalfa) which has already been cut down into rows.
The hay typically lays for a couple days to dry before being baled.
While
I am driving the baler, John is picking up the bales using a New
Holland Automatic Bale Wagon. Watch the video below to see how it works.
I think it is amazing and it sure beats handling all those hay bales by
hand like we used to do when John and I were kids!
After
the bales are picked up from the hay field, John drives the bale wagon
into the hay shed where the bales, with the flip of a lever, are
automatically unloaded into a neat pile.
These
square bales are fed to our calves and younger cattle. Square bales,
which are 16" x 16" x 32" are more convenient and easier for us to bring
to the barns where these animals live. We feed about 75 square bales
per week. We also make large round bales.
Round bales are 4 feet by 4 feet, and are used to feed our cows. Because of their size, they are brought in from the field in a different way. Take a look.
We use about 20 round bales per week. They are stored in another hay barn until they are used.
We
can typically harvest our hay crop 3-4 times during its growing
season. It takes about 30 days for alfalfa to grow to be ready for
another cutting. It is a really satisfying feeling knowing that when we
are finished we will have quality feed for our animals.
Okay, before you go all "spelling police" on me, I know I spelled hay wrong. I know it should be hey, but there is a reason for my spelling error.
I love Farmer John, and I love spending time with him. We spend a lot of time together each day on the farm, but time together away from the farm is a lot less frequent. So when John invited me to ride along to pickup our seed order, I considered it a date and hopped in the pick-up!
Our first stop was the Stein Haus, a local bar/restaurant with delicious food and friendly servers. Our fish dinners were yummy. It's a perfect lunch spot for a farmer and his wife who are dressed in their clean, but patched, barn clothes.
Then it was off to Werner Farm Seed where we stood among rows and rows and stacks and stacks of all kinds of seeds. There were two buildings full of seed bags packed nearly to the ceiling. We were literally standing in a gold mine, with thousands of dollars of seeds surrounding us.
We first loaded the peas and barley mix. We purchased 20, 50 pound bags. The barley and peas are a fast growing crop and will be ready to feed to our cows in early June. You can learn more by reading Pass The Peas Please.
We next moved on to the alfalfa shed. Alfalfa (hay) can typically be harvested for 3-5 years, but each year we plant a few new fields so we constantly have new crops just beginning. Every animal on Bremer Farms gets hay every single day, so we use a lot!
So what does all this seed cost?
Now we patiently wait for the weather to warm so we can begin preparing the soil for planting. I will be helping with much of the planting this year, so soon I'll be inviting you to go on a "ride-along." Perhaps in the mean time, Farmer John and I will fit in a few more dates...John?...Dear?
This may not have been the kind of date you were expecting, but if you are the wife of a farmer, I'll bet your dates are similar. Am I right ladies?
When the hay is ready and the weather is cooperating, it's all hands on deck to get the crop in.
This is the tractor that I drive. I am pulling the baler which makes square bales.
This is my view while driving the tractor. The light colored stripes on the field is the hay (alfalfa) which has already been cut down into rows. The hay typically lays for a couple days to dry before being baled.
While I am driving the baler, John is picking up the bales using a New Holland Automatic Bale Wagon. Watch the video below to see how it works. I think it is amazing and it sure beats handling all those hay bales by hand like we used to do when John and I were kids!
After the bales are picked up from the hay field, John drives the bale wagon into the hay shed where the bales, with the flip of a lever, are automatically unloaded into a neat pile.
These square bales are fed to our calves and younger cattle. Square bales, which are 16" x 16" x 32" are more convenient and easier for us to bring to the barns where these animals live. We feed about 75 square bales per week. We also make large round bales.
Round bales are 4 feet by 4 feet, and are used to feed our cows. Because of their size, they are brought in from the field in a different way. Take a look.
We use about 20 round bales per week. They are stored in another hay barn until they are used.
We are in the process of completing our third crop of hay. We can typically harvest our hay crop 3-4 times during its growing season. It takes about 30 days for alfalfa to grow to be ready for another cutting. It is a really satisfying feeling knowing that when we are finished we will have quality feed for our animals. When we are not making hay, milking cows, or doing other farm chores, we are counting down to the Minnesota State Fair. Only 3 more days! See you there!
We have had a lot of rain here in Minnesota...and I mean a lot! Rain can be a farmers best friend, or worst enemy. Yes, crops need rain to grow, but farmers also need dry weather to get those crops out of the field.Besides the weather being a bit uncooperative, perhaps you remember that we are going through quite a few transitions lately due to some serious health issues of my in-laws, who are also our farming partners. You can learn about our changes "in the blink of an eye".
Farmers are like a community. We are united. We look out for each other. We come to each others rescue when someone is in need. You may know the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." The same is true of farming. It takes a community to raise a farm. With the help of our neighbors, the Sorg family, while Sara, Michael, and I miked the cows and did chores- Farmer John, 4 men, 4 tractors, 2 choppers, 4 wagons, and a payloader put up 40 acres of haylage.
Haylage is green, freshly cut alfalfa that is cut a few days earlier, then chopped to be served to our cows later. Since we have had so much rain lately, this is a good alternative to baling hay which requires that the alfalfa be drier.This video shows the chopping process. You will also see a second tractor, chopper, and wagon pass in front of the camera, as we were able to have two choppers going at the same time (thanks neighbors)!
Once the haylage leaves the field it is stored in a concrete bunker until it is fed to our cows. The haylage is tightly packed, using a tractor, or, in this video, a payloader. This reduces the air from causing the haylage to rot. The end of this video shows unloading the wagon that just came from the field. After it is unloaded, the payloader adds the haylage to the pile which is being packed.
*Typically when we do not have our neighbors help, and equipment, unloading is done slightly different. Usually we use a blower to unload the wagons, and our tractor to pack the haylage tightly in the bunker.
The final step is to cover the fresh haylage with a plastic sheet, weighed down with discarded tires. This is again to keep the haylage from rotting. We only serve healthy food for our cows!
John is starting to unroll the plastic. Yep, I'm supposed to be helping.
Thanks to our neighborhood of "united" farmers, we were able to finish our 40 acres of haylage in about six hours. Without additional help, this project would have taken days...weather permitting.
Farmer John is a happy guy this week as he added a new "work-horse" to the farm.
This is how we brought newly baled alfalfa bales in from the fields, last week. Large bales were carefully placed on a wagon, holding eight bales. Driving through bumpy field roads, and traffic on the highway, we prayed each bale would stay in its assigned seat.
The "before" photo.
And this is how we bring newly baled alfalfa bales in from the fields, this week. This wagon holds twelve bales. Each bale is neatly nestled in its "seat" enjoying its ride to the hay barn, where it will wait for its turn to be fed to our cattle. Farmer John says our $7,000 wagon was worth every cent!
The "after" photo.
Room for 4 more.
Don't forget to enter my giveaway- 4 MN State Fair Admissions and 4 malt coupons.
I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z through the land of dairy!
There's no need to pack your bags, just come along!
U Is For Unexpected
I am a list maker. Are you? I make grocery lists, guest lists, to-do lists, honey-do lists (Farmer John loves that one) blog idea lists, farm goal lists, etc.etc.etc. If it is something to do, buy, or remember- it goes on a list. One thing that did not go on a list was for us to buy hay for the cattle.
If you remember my post Hey, Where's the Hay? you know that about one half of our hay crop was affected by winterkill, thus reducing our amount of feed for our animals. Also, the newly planted hay (alfalfa) which replaced the winterkill hay, will not be ready to cut until fall. As if this wasn't a big enough reduction in our food supply to our cattle, something else reared its ugly head...too much rain! We here in our area of Minnesota have experienced rain nearly every day therefore we have been unable to cut and bale hay. You can learn about this at A Is For Acre. I'm sure Farmer John had "find hay supply" on the top of his to-do list, since the health and care of our cattle is a farmers top priority. Just like a knight in shining armor riding in on a white horse, our neighbor came to our rescue! Farmer John received a phone call from our neighbor telling us that they do not have cattle at this time and may switch over to cash-crop farming. "Do you want to buy some hay?" said our life-saving knight. Farmer John jumped at the chance, and after more than 35 years of NOT purchasing hay, the sale was complete. Expect the Unexpected. Now, back to my list making...bridal shower guests, bridal shower food, bridal shower games. My niece Dena and her boyfriend fiance Aaren are getting married (NOT unexpected) and I'm hosting a shower!
I am making a commitment
to share as much as I can with you each day this month, about the life
of our dairy farm family including what we do, how we share our passion
for dairy, and dairy foods we enjoy. See you here tomorrow...V Is For Veterinarian
Unlike many farms, we do not have any pasture land, so all our animal feed has to be grown and harvested. The cattle on our farm rely on hay (alfalfa) as part of their daily diet. Alfalfa provides them with protein and vitamins for a healthy balanced diet necessary to produce milk. After touring our fields in preparation for the start of Spring planting, we discovered that our alfalfa fields were hit hard this past winter. What does this mean? To better explain, perhaps it's time for a little "haymaking 101" class.
This field should be all green. The bare spots are the result of winterkill.
Alfalfa is planted and typically can be harvested for 3-5 years before it needs to be replanted. Because of our recent harsh winter, about one half of our hay fields suffered winterkill. A common cause of winterkill is heavy snow-fall, and fluctuating, subzero winter temperatures. Ice forms as the snow melts and then refreezes. This ice generally penetrates into the soil surface and completely encases the upper part of the alfalfa root and the crown which does not allow the plant to "breath." This can kill the plants very quickly.
So why not just re-plant the bare areas in the alfalfa field? Alfalfa plants produce toxins which reduce the germination and the growth of new alfalfa plants. This can occur when alfalfa is reseeded into an old alfalfa
field rather than being rotated, or when alfalfa is seeded into an
existing alfalfa field to thicken it.
Alfalfa seed is about $150 per 50 pound bag. We have purchased 22 bags so far.
We have chosen to add barley and protein-rich peas to our new alfalfa fields. The barley and peas will be ready for harvest in early June, thus helping to replenish our feed supply which is dwindling fast. The newly planted alfalfa will not be ready until September allowing us only one cutting of this new hay planting. Typically we can cut three or four crops from a mature hay field.
As Farmer John prepares for another day of alfalfa planting, he is thinking ahead to when he can begin corn planting. But HAY, it's all in a Farmers day!
