The calves are being weaned today. Weaning day always begins the same; two cups of coffee and a trip to the scales so mamas and calves can be weighed. Upon return to the farm, they are sorted and put on their respective sides of the fence. So simple. This year … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Hands in the dirt
Garden planted – check. A coworker once told me, “You just can’t wait to get your hands in the dirt”. Its true. I look forward to planting the garden each year. I usually plant produce that bears a lot, such as cantaloupe. My parents and grandparents always planted plenty to … Continue reading
All there is to say
My friend, Jon Angell, said all there is to say…. “By now you may have heard that the USDA has found a case of BSE in a California dairy cow. The beef supply is SAFE. Safe guards are in place to keep BSE infected cows out of the food supply … Continue reading
Looking for earthworm poo
At five o’clock Saturday afternoon I was kneeling in Dennis McDonald’s pasture looking for, and at, earthworm castings. This was just part of a farm walk sponsored by the Green Hills Farm Project. Interesting stuff really. Dennis started by giving an overview of his grazing and cattle management program then … Continue reading
Fodder for the guys at the local feed and seed
The boys at the local feed and seed store chuckled at me today. I asked if they carried crabgrass seed. The reply, “People would give their right arm to get rid of their crabgrass. You must be pulling my leg.” Well, in mid-March I attended a forage conference near Linneus, … Continue reading
Cowbirds are trailing the herd
The Brown-headed Cowbirds are back and trailing our small herd. I have mixed feelings about their presence though. Cowbirds are small blackbirds with brown heads, which walk the ground among grazing cattle, to forage on insects, beetles, spiders and seeds among other things. They can have all the flies they … Continue reading
Well, darn it…
We received a letter from our milk supplier yesterday; he is retiring from his farm-based dairy business. Darn it. I can’t recall how long we’ve been buying raw milk from Sam, however it’s been awhile. Sam is a local, honest, reliable business man, and we appreciate the service he gave … Continue reading
In hindsight, we should have let the grass rest
On March 30th I mentioned drought conditions in mid-Missouri. As the summer passed by, we grazed the pastures low in an effort to hold off on feeding hay and hoped for rain that didn’t come. We also sold a few cows. On September 24th of last year, we started feeding … Continue reading
Eyeballs, lips and whatever else is dropped and scraped up off the floor
“Pink slime” has made the news and false claims about it are hurting the beef industry. It has been exaggerated to be made of discarded meat scraps which are soaked in ammonia and mixed in with meat products such as hamburger. I like to keep in mind that reality cook … Continue reading
It’s official
Grazing season officially started today. Our daughter and I set up the first lot. I did something a little different in this area as opposed to last year. By running an extra polywire through the a small area of our woods, I hope to extend the grazing time by a … Continue reading