Our Annual Date Day

 It's that time again. Time to prepare for planting, getting the equipement checked over, and our annual date... to pick up the seed!

Yes, John and I have been laughingly calling this our "date day" for years. It typically begins with a trip to our seed dealer to pick up the oats and barley seed.

On busy days like today, you pay, and then wait your turn.

Before we know it, the seed bags are piled in our truck. After a bit of conversation, of course.

The next stop is almost always Dairy Queen. A hot dog and malt never tasted so good! I didn't have to cook, and you can never go wrong with ice cream!

Next stop- our John Deere dealer to pick up a few filters for the tractors. We always keep a few on hand. I, of course peruse the toys. Did you know they make Lego sets so you can build a John Deere tractor? I begged, but didn't get one. :(

Our last stop is our local grain elevator to buy calf feed. With all the calves born lately, we are really going to go through it in a hurry. 

So there you have it, a typical, annual, farmer-style date, with my favorite farmer by my side!

Anywhere Farm

We grow all the food for our animals on Bremer Farms. We also grow much of the food we eat!

This book shows all the places and all the ways you could have an Anywhere Farm.

The farmers in this book need the same things Bremer Farms need to start growing food.

Whether it's growing food for people,

or growing food for animals,

it all starts the same way. Feeding animals just takes a lot more seeds and a lot more soil!

Eve And Smithy

It's Spring and that means planting season on the farm. Farmer John is busy planting the crops on Bremer Farms. Corn, oats, and alfalfa seeds are already in the ground. Let's see what Eve and Smithy are planting in the garden and the surprise Smithy has for Eve.

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See you tomorrow!

Q is for Quiz

Remember when you were in school and your teacher announced, today we're having a pop quiz?  Well good news, today's quiz is not going to be graded. Shown below are close-ups of photos from some of my previous blog posts. Let's see if you can identify what they are.

You can find the answer HERE.

You can find the answer HERE.

You can find the answer HERE.

You can find the answer HERE.

You can find the answer HERE.

How did you do? Did you pass the quiz?

Road Trip, And A Date!

With oats, barley, and peas poking their heads through the soil, Farmer John has moved on to planting corn, with only a few hiccups along the way. There is a lot to know, and do, during Spring planting season.

Last week, while applying fertilizer to the soil before planting, Farmer John phoned me, "Janet, bring that roll of tubing over to the field by the County Park." Without question, because I know I have a somewhat frustrated, slightly impatient Farmer waiting in the field, I grabbed the tubing and the needed tools and headed down the road. Some of the property we farm was purchased from John's Grandpa when he retired, therefore it is about 5 miles from our home farm. This is always where break-downs occur, never directly behind our house. Go figure...

Within minutes the hose was fixed, Farmer John was back to work, and I was heading home to start calf chores.

Fast forward to today... Happy Memorial Day! The morning started with Michael and I milking cows so that Farmer John could get an early start on planting corn. "Trying to beat the rain", John said as he jumped into the tractor and started off toward the field. Yes, the same field I visited last week with the roll of tubing, however this time I got some advance warning that I would be making another excursion to that field. "About 1:30 I'll need lunch and more corn seed." "Will do," I said.

Packed and ready to go. Not everyone celebrates Memorial Day in a corn field, but many farmers do!

After lunch in the car (we farm wives call that a date) John was traveling down the field planting again, and I was heading back home to start chores, at least until the phone rings again..."I need more seed." Road trip for me!

Happy Memorial Day!

I love that our neighbor flies this huge flag every day.

Farmer John Says Yipee!

As of April 21st, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that only four percent of the corn crop was planted. This compares to 26% planted at this time last year and a five-year average of 16%. On April 21st, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin all had virtually no corn planted. Based on this statistic, it is no wonder that Farmer John is saying Yipee. Thanks to the temperature increase and the snow no longer falling, today is the beginning of spring field work! 

Farmer John and Grandpa Roy are working up the soil using a chisel plow.
Chisel plowing in the spring breaks up the soil, incorporates crop residue from last years crop, aerates the land and kills early sprouting weeds.The field they are working on today is 40 acres and will be planted with oats and alfalfa (hay) to feed to our cattle. It will take about 4 hours to plant this 40 acres after the chisel plowing is done.

So even though our fieldwork has gotten off to a late start, we are all excited for the beginning of a new growing season. Yipee!

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung,

the grass has riz,

I wonder where the flowers is?

I remember reciting this as a little girl, anxiously waiting for the warm weather of Spring. As I age, I still anxiously await the warmer weather, and never as eagerly as this year. As I write this post, it is a chilly 19 degrees with a 20 mph wind. I don't know about you, but that does not scream "First Day of Spring" to me!

As we enjoy our Winter weather a bit longer than usual on our Minnesota dairy farm, we are still keeping our animals warm and comfortable, despite the near-zero temperature. And we keep ourselves warm and comfortable by bundling up to do our outdoor chores. But I'd be lying if I said we aren't looking ahead to Spring.  

We are preparing for Spring on the farm in many ways. Farmer John has had the seed ordered for several months now, and it will soon be delivered. We plant corn, oats and alfalfa each year. Most of our crops are used to feed our animals, with some corn left-over to sell. Machinery for planting is being  looked at to make sure it is ready to hit the fields when the soil (and the weather) are ready for the next crop. This is also a good time to finish up any odd jobs around the farm. Whether it be re-organizing the repair shop, cleaning a shed, or giving the milking barn an extra helping of elbow-grease, we do whatever we can before the busy, long days of planting season are here. 

So the grass may not have riz and I still wonder where the flowers is, but I'm confident Spring will arrive...someday.