Idle land… a waste

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DSC_6046cdrI see it along gravel roads and interstates alike. Idle land becoming overgrown with cedar trees and goldenrod. Most certainly someone owns the land and it looks like a waste of good resources to me. I’m sure you can guess where I’m going with this entry. If asked, my advice to those landowners would be to plant some fence posts and rent to someone who needs a place for some dry cows to graze. Maybe scatter some grass seed, before they arrive, to be trampled into the ground and fertilized. Depending on the degree of overgrowth, the stocking time may be only as long as a few months, however given time and good management practices, grazing time will increase along with rent revenue. What can you do with the in-between grazing times? Maybe lease the land for hunting. Wildlife can benefit from the habitat disturbance and allow an opportunity for a more diverse wildlife population.

DSC_6049thstlAnother upside to putting idle land to use is the opportunity to be a good neighbor. Just two tenths of a mile down the road, from the overgrown lot I photographed, is open pasture being grazed. It won’t take long for the thistle from the neglected land to spread and become a nuisance if not managed.

How about increasing your property value as another incentive to put idle land to use? Land that can turn a profit is invariably more valuable that overgrown, unhealthy land.

Going back to being a good neighbor; how about allowing an up-and-coming cattleman the use of the land in exchange for some land maintenance. What a great opportunity to be a step up for someone just starting out and adding value to your land at the same time.

I believe being a landowner is a privilege and with privilege comes responsibility. To let such a privilege go to waste is just that – a waste.

…this heifer is no exception

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One of our purchased heifers calved today. Her herd is in a large area which we haven’t divided into lots yet. This is unfortunate because cows are excellent at placing their new calves where they are sure to not be found and this heifer is no exception. The grass in this particular lot is up to my waist so I’ll just have to wait her out and keep the scale at the ready.

Breeding season started August 28th and it is our hope that this heifer and another one, also due anytime, will quickly breed back and calve at the same time as the other girls in 2014.

… they did a delicious job

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DSC_5558blogDon and Elizabeth put our granite canner to good use these past few weeks. The last part of July, they canned peaches and made peach butter and peach jam. The following two weeks, Don and Elizabeth made blackberry jam. I must say, they did a delicious job.

We live thirty miles from the nearest farmers market but only six miles from an Amish community which serves a similar purpose. For instance every Wednesday in July, one of the Amish businesses has peaches trucked in from south Missouri. People line up bright and early to purchase peaches by the box. A choice is given between the number one peaches which are uniform in size with pretty peals and the other option, number twos, which are of varied sizes and have a few blemishes. Number twos are by far the better buy, however there are those folks who can’t resist a peach peal with pretty eye appeal. In the Bryan kitchen though, we peel, slice, cook down, pack and can the peaches therefore we aren’t seduced by a pretty peal. My tip for peaches: If they aren’t fully ripe, put them in a paper sack and sit them on the counter. Also, because we buy in large quantities, I break down the boxes that the peaches come in, place the peaches in a single layer on the broken down box, then slide them under a table out of the way until they ripen according to need.

The blackberries came from our garden. Again, we don’t let looks fool us. Just because the berry has turned from green to red to black doesn’t mean its ready to be picked. I typically walk along the trellis gently pulling on the clusters. If the berries come off easily in my hand, they’re ready to be picked.

Three feet deep and dry

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Last week, we dug post holes to install more infrastructure and each hole was three feet deep and dry all the way down. I feared another hot, dry summer here in Missouri and until these past few days, my fears were not unfounded. Spotty showers and temperatures in the 80s have brought a welcome reprieve and a boost to gardens, pastures and fields however, the water levels of ponds and lakes remain low.

Folks, this is just gross

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Within the span of five days, the same story, from two different publications, came before me. It appears that a test tube burger has been created. Folks, this is just gross. The meat, described as grey and slippery in texture, has been grown from the stem cells of a cow and minced together with “lab-grown animal fat” to form the burger. Because the article mentions attempts at making mouse burger, I’m wondering where that animal fat is coming from. So, just what qualities does this burger have? Not taste or nutrition. One article goes on to say that “it is possible to add fatty tissue and nutrients to it, changing the taste and making it more palatable”. In other words, the meat being grown isn’t nutritious and tastes bad therefore it requires more processing. Will these nutrients also be grown in test tubes? Sarcasm implied. What’s more, is that the mostly unspecified materials used to produce future cell-grown burgers will be replaced by materials “not originating from animals”. What will these replacement materials be? Plants? Man-made substances?

The idea behind this is to feed a growing population and keep the cost of meat down. One question I have is, does the growing population really want more cheap, processed, un-nutritions food? I believe we already have it in the refrigerated meat isle and it comes in bun length.

I have a confession

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DSC_5208bgI have a confession to make. My skills are lacking when it comes to pruning and training our blackberry plants. It seems that the brambles grow faster and faster each year. I usually end up bending them around in large loops and tying them to the trellis. You know what? Now that I have voiced my burden, I have been inspired. I will square off my shoulders, walk out to the garden and pick myself some sweet, ripe berries. After all, does it really matter if the plants aren’t perfectly manicured? It’s the end result that matters.

I do have one useful tip for training blackberry plants along a trellis though. Don’t purchase string, save the string from dog food, cat food and mineral bags instead.

Baling the yard

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DSC_5035fbMost folks mow their lawns to make attractive landscaping for their home. Don, however, mowed ours with the intent of raking and baling the grass. Our yard area is roughly two acres and looks really nice when mowed to an even height, however about five years ago when gas prices hit $4.00 a gallon, we stopped mowing and starting grazing. My first thought was to get a couple of sheep to graze the area in lieu of mowing. The sheep would then be butchered in the fall along with hogs. This idea required the purchase of some type of fencing though. Either woven or multiple strands of electrified wire would be needed for a perimeter. We had reels of poly wire on hand but I didn’t want to use them all to fence in a couple of sheep. Instead, a single poly wire was set up as a perimeter, the yard was sectioned off and the cattle were turned in. For the last five years, the cattle have trampled and fertilized this area making a it good candidate for some square bales. What on-farm resources have you tapped and cut down costs for your efforts?

Parasite Control

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We were recently contacted by an upstate South Carolina rancher about our use of Ecto-phyte and Neem oil for external parasite control. He asked what type of oil we mix with the Ecto-phyte and water, do we mix Neem oil and Ecto-phyte together, do we rotate the use of these topicals, is Neem used exclusively for lice and mite control and what mixing ratio do we use for the Neem oil spray.

My answers to him were as follows. We dissolved all natural liquid soap flakes in water and added it to the Ecto-phyte mix. Most of the time though, Don just shook the spray canister as he sprayed the cattle. We did mix the Neem oil and Ecto-phyte a few times, however now we just use the Neem for lice. If we notice a cow has hair loss due to lice, we put Neem on a disposable cloth and rub it on the affected area. This clears up the problem very quickly. We did rotate the use of these topicals, however we rarely use either now. Instead, we rely on our salt mix. As mentioned above, Neem oil is occasionally used for lice, however we did use it for flies as well by putting it on a cloth and making a swipe down the face. I couldn’t remember the mixing ratio of the Neem spray since we now douse a cloth straight out of the jug and apply it, however if we used it more often, we would mix it with water to make the oil last longer.

Now days, we mostly rely on our salt and mineral mixes for external and internal parasite control in conjunction with rotational grazing. The above topicals work until the animal sweats it off or it rains. I believe that the cattle do need access to the salt mix all the time for it to be effective though.

This rancher also asked about our mineral mix. He was adding diatomaceous earth to his mineral mix but was concerned that it would harm dung beetles, dung feeders and the fly predators that he applies to the manure piles so he asked about our experience adding diatomaceous earth to our salt mix. He also asked what role garlic powder played in our parasite control and how vinegar was administered in the mineral mix.

We use a custom salt mix that includes diatomaceous earth. Every once in a while, I scrape the top off of a manure pile and see that there are beetles/feeders in it. We seem to only have one type of dung beetle in the pasture, the dweller. The garlic is for external parasites and the sulfur of the garlic is secreted through the skin and eye fluids. The vinegar is in powder form, however I have heard from other producers that they pour vinegar directly in water tanks over a series of days.

Is this rancher’s concern about using diatomaceous earth in salt or mineral mixes unfounded? Diatomaceous earth is the fossilized remains of diatom shells. These shells are crushed and result in an abrasive, fine dust. Apparently this fine, abrasive dust pierces the bodies of internal parasites which makes them dehydrate and die. The concern is what does the dust do to the hosts internal organ linings and does the dust harm beneficial beetles living in, and off of, manure piles. If I understand correctly, diatomaceous earth comes in different grades and the lower grades can pass harmlessly through cattle. After passing through cattle or other animals, diatomaceous earth then becomes harmless to manure inhabitants. What are your thoughts? Do you use diatomaceous earth and also have a dung beetle population? If so, what type of beetle do you have? Dwellers, tunnelers or rollers? What other insects are inhabiting the manure in your pastures?

Grazing cull cattle

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Tuesday evening, Don and I attended a farm walk sponsored by the Boone County SWCD. The purpose was to view, first hand, the grazing program utilized by an area cattleman and his wife. This program was fairly standard. Forty percent grazed, 30% trampled, 30% left standing, daily moves, fly control, etc. Personally, I like to see what others are doing or not doing and how well their programs are working or not working. The most interesting facet of the entire operation though, is the type of animal being grazed. This cattleman purchases thin cattle headed for slaughter, fattens them on grass, then resells them for slaughter. All the while, he uses the cattle to managing his pastures. According to his wife, this is common practice in the United States and other countries. I didn’t realize this but can see some advantages. The practice seems basic and straight forward. No money is tied up in developing genetics or marketing and advertising.

The year 2012 was plagued with drought conditions here in Missouri and grazing cattle with little investment has some real flexibility. If a rancher has to sell out, he won’t be selling the hard work put into genetic development. He might take a hit selling in the ring, however when the rains come, he can easily pick up where he left off by purchasing more thin cattle at the sale barn that show potential.

Unfortunately, an internet search for forums on fattening cull cattle for slaughter was fruitless. It would be interesting to know how widely practiced it is. We have no plans to sell our registered Red Angus and buy into slaughter cattle though. I just find the concept interesting. What are your thoughts?

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