C is for Crops

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!

One of 3 irrigators on Bremer Farms

Spring Planting (and panting) Has Begun!

Here's the first step in filling our pantry, our cows pantry, that is! 

(Planting day April 16, 2016)

Since we grow all the food that is fed to our animals, Spring planting is a busy time. In our nearly 33 years of marriage I have never helped with planting. It has always been a task my father-in-law, Grandpa Roy, eagerly accepted. Since he was "forced" due to health reasons, to retire from his planting duties, it is now my turn.

There are a few things that need to be done before I head to the field to plant oats. Farmer John helps out by washing the windows on my tractor. Here's proof that men do windows...as long as the windows are on farm equipment!

The next task is to fill the grain drill (planter) with seed. John takes care of this. I know...he spoils me!

Alfalfa seed is also planted along with the oats. Since alfalfa (hay) seeds are so tiny and fragile, the oats are planted as a "cover crop". Cover crops protect the soil and may be used to reduce soil erosion, suppress weeds, and increase soil organic matter. 

 Then it's off to the field. 

I think fieldwork is really fun. Weird, huh?  I like that I can be outdoors, surrounded by beautiful scenery. I like that I'm helping to start a new crop that will eventually be fed to our cows, which will produce milk, that goes to your grocery aisles, and then appears on your dinner table! And just think, I helped get the whole process started by planting these little seeds!

After a quick morning of planting, it was time to refill the grain drill with seeds, and have lunch. While Farmer John refilled the seeds, I changed clothes in the clothes washer and made a gourmet lunch. Multitasking...

 Okay. Maybe it wasn't gourmet but all the food groups were represented, including milk, of course! Then it was back to planting. Twenty-eight acres were soon complete, and then I moved on to planting a peas and barley mix. 

 

 

While John added the peas and barley seeds, I ran to the house and did a bit more laundry. A woman's work is never done (tee-hee). Twelve acres of peas and barley are safely planted in the ground, and now it is time for Michael to take over.

Michael used a drag pulled behind his tractor to go over the fields that I just planted. This is done to smooth the fields. And now we wait. They will be popping their heads through the soil before we know it. We have been having several rainy days since planting, so it won't take long. When early July hits, we will reap the benefits of our planting. You can learn about that process in Pass the Peas, Please.

Today was a really productive day...oats planted, peas and barley planted, laundry done, and family fed. Whew! Now do you know why it's planting and panting? Life is good!

Next project- planting corn. Stay tuned!

Follow-Up Friday 1

My Minnesota State Fair giveaway posted on Dooby Dooby Moo and A Giveway Too ended at midnight and the winner is...

HEATHER

 

Heather will be receiving 4 admission tickets and 4 malt coupons to be used at the Minnesota State fair. Have fun Heather, and don't forget to visit the All-You-Can-Drink Milk Stand.

Thanks to everyone who entered and welcome to my new Twitter followers!

In other news...

Remember back in June... K Is For Kitten Meet some of the newest additions to Bremer Farms. Sara and I both noticed an offer we couldn't refuse in our school email. "10 kittens. Free to a good home." 

Here they are two months later.

All ten...

are still...

going and...

growing strong,

even Rebel (on the right) is behaving!

More news...

This past week we also completed combining oats. The oats are now safely tucked in the grain bin.

They are stored here until they are mixed with corn and minerals and then fed to our cattle.

And finally the last bit of news for this week... 

Sara and I had fun off the farm as we were invited to compete on a new game show on Hastings Community TV Go For The Dough.

Watch Go For The Dough here.

Only 6 more days until the Great Minnesota Get-together!

See you there!

Pass The Peas, Please

Farmer John spent much of this past week working in the "kitchen." No, he wasn't preparing our family breakfast, or lunch, or dinner either. 

He was making meals for our cows.

The oats, peas, and barley that were planted in early May are now 

ready to be made into "meals."

Oats ready to be cut.

The oats are cut into rows and ready to be chopped.

This is what the oats look like when cut down, waiting to be chopped.

The barley and peas are planted together, and are cut into rows also.

Now in rows, the barley and peas are waiting to be chopped.

 

The oats, barley, and peas are all chopped and blown into a wagon like this which is pulled behind the forage chopper.

You can watch a video of chopping haylage here. It is the same procedure as the oats, barley and peas chopping, only done with alfalfa hay. It will help you get the idea though.

And lastly it is stored in our bunker (kind of a cow-food pantry) until it is time to be served.

We have two 24' x 75' concrete bunkers to store our haylage, oats, barley, and peas.

After several days (and nights) of Farmer John's meal preps, there are many meals prepared. So ring the dinner bell. Let's get another meal on the table.

We take meal prep very seriously, since dairy cows must be healthy and well cared for in order to produce high-quality milk.