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Some days I blog w/o checking for errors - you'll know it when you read it

Nov 30, 2009 
- back from sister's house late

We're back home for Sister Amber's house.  We had a great Thanksgiving at her and her husband's house in the hills of Arkansas.  It was her first-time ever host a Holiday meal and she did great.  She had a little help from Carol (w/home-made buns & misc. cooking short-cuts) and from Mom (w/my grandmother's recipe for home-made pie crusts).  I think the rest was done by Sister Amber.  Carol was amazed that Amber didn't seem to need a clock to keep track of the time and at the end, it all came together.  It was good and it was hot.  Holiday food served cold is a pet peeve of Amber's - and mine.  I think Amber's hubby tried to put a little country into me.  He gave me sharp looking cowboy hat... (it even had a story that came with it) and a pair of boots.  At the end of our visit, I took the hat but left the boots.

There was little rest on the day of our return home.  After 17 hrs on the road (we did take a side-trip), it was back to the farm work.  I still needed to finish the trench work for our remote watering station.  I was into it for a couple of hours when I got a call from Farmer Mike.  He had a slight feed emergency.  His silo unloader quit working and needed it working before chores tonight.  Right after the call, I told Carol Mike needed my help and I had to go.  The silo unloader gear-box went out and at 2:30PM, we didn't have much daylight to get it repaired.  We removed the old gear-box, hoisted the new one up 30ft into the silo and got it working before it was too late.  Mike's cows would be happy to be back on their regular, nightly rations... and I think Mike was happy he didn't have to worry about it. Mike was kind enough to offer a few hours of his time to help me fill in the trench.  He told me he'd show up tomorrow - late morning.

After returning home after dark, I resumed back-filling the open trench with the track-hoe.  The weather was starting to 'turn' and in the next few days, we'd have sub-freezing temps until spring.  Time was of the essences.  I was able to get a few hours of work completed before the low-fuel light starting blinking, I was starting to get hungry AND I was freaking chilled to the bone (the track-hoe has an open cock-pit).

It was a busy day.

Nov 24, 2009 
- fall field work begins

Carol had to run a few errands before we take-off [tomorrow] for Sister Amber's house for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I decided to tag along.  I needed a haircut and some pipe fittings for our on-land plow.  Farmer Mike made-up two 8' lengths of hydraulic hoses for me because the hoses on the plow's cylinder were too short.  In order for them to reach the tractor, I needed two ½" pipe unions to join the new hoses to the shorter ones.  Once done, I attached the hoses to the remotes on the tractor.  The hoses didn't leak, the cylinder didn't leak and the plow went up and down when it was suppose to. 

With everything working, I decided to plow a few rounds before sunset.  In just a couple of hours, I was able to work approx. half of the field that had wheat in it earlier this year.  The tractor pulled harder than I thought it would, but nonetheless, it did a beautiful job turning the soil.  To say that I'm just a little excited about its performance would be an understatement.  It was a good farm purchase and next to the Oliver tractor, it was the 2nd most expensive equipment purchase to-date.

Nov 23, 2009 
- more corn going to town

This morning was an early one (especially w/o coffee).  At 6:30AM I hooked up the gravity boxes full of corn to the Oliver tractor and set off for town.  I arrived at the local farmer's elevator right at 7AM.  Although I arrived an hour earlier than I did on Sat. I left at the same time... getting home at 11:30AM.  It took 4½ hrs to get the wagons empty.  Sheesh!  To add insult to injury, the corn is in less than great shape.  The test weight is low and the moisture content is high, coming-in at 31% moisture.  What does that mean?  It means that I am getting paid $2.32/bu instead of the market price of $3.37/bu. - 16¢/bu for the low test weight and the rest is taken off for the high moisture content.

After a quick bite of left-over pizza, Carol and I had turkey butchering to do.  As we were getting ready, Carol's goat milk customer arrived.  She was here again, for a gallon of fresh raw milk.  She gave Carol some Kefir grains and a couple of Kefir recipes.  One of Carol's friend also arrived.  She was here to help/learn how to process a turkey.  She bought one of our Holiday turkeys for Thanksgiving and since she has aspirations of buying a farm/homestead someday, she wants to learn all she can about farm life, before doing so.

After Carol's milk customer left, we got the first turkey processed easy shmeezy.  When we went into the granary to catch the 2nd turkey, the lone bird looked up towards the open hatch in the roof.  With little effort, it flew up and out of the roof opening.  For the next 10 minutes we all chased the stupid thing around the barnyard, doing our best not to cause it injury.  Finally, Carol trapped it in a corner and we were able to hang him upside down on the 'killing tree.'  Within a few minutes it was dead and we were in full plucking mood.  After the plucking Carol processed it as she has done with so many birds before.  He'll make a fine looking Thanksgiving Day turkey.

Nov 22, 2009 
- getting ready for working the fields

With some advice from the old-timers at the farmer's grain elevator on Saturday and some short, but frank discussion with Farmer Mike, I decided to rethink my plans to do all of the plowing in the spring.  One of the guys in town told me that his dad use to say, "Even poor fall plowing is better than good spring plowing."  With that information, I figured I'd better get the farm's big tractor and plow ready for the upcoming deed.  I first located a hydraulic cylinder from an old field digger that was in the woods and put it on the plow.  It fit.  I then checked the fluids on the tractor before trying to start it.  Things looked pretty good.  With a little starting fluid the old beast started right up.  It needed air in one of the rear tires so I took-off for the garage.  Immediately I notice that the tractor was steering weird.  The tractor has steering up front and in the rear.  the back tires were turned... and stuck that way.  Instead of the tractor facing forward when driving it was pointed diagonal - to the right.

When Farmer Mike and his family came over to get a couple dozen eggs, I discussed my little tractor dilemma with him.  We didn't come up with any definitive solutions, but it did get me thinking. He later called, addressing the tractor... again nothing positive.  Then I started thinking about what his son mentioned.  He had an idea of unhooking the power-steering up front and the back until it lined up.  I took that idea and moved it to the back axle.  I loosened the rear power-steering lines and with another tractor, I pushed the tire.  With a few pushes, the tires were pointed in the correct direction.  I fixed it... it now drive straight.  The plow is now behind the tractor and waiting for hydraulic hose extensions.  Farmer Mike makes hoses so I gave him a call.  Soon I'll be set-up and ready to start plowing.  I will keep some of the harvested corn field un-worked.  I'm a big believer in making use of winter pasture for cattle.  Cornstalks will be like candy for our small fold of Scottish Highland cattle.

Nov 21, 2009 
- save our local business

click the above flyer to learn more.

Nov 20, 2009 
- corn harvest

Farmer Mike surprised us today.  He and his son came over with the combine and trailers.  They showed-up late afternoon to start harvesting the 40 acres of corn.  In a few short hours, the trailers were full and waiting.  I'll bring the corn into town tomorrow morning.  While we were out in the fields, I was more than eager to show-off my high-tensile fencing project.

Nov 19, 2009 
- our ewe is in labor

We have a Barbados ewe in labor tonight.  As soon as Madison got home from school today, she checked on the ewe in the barn.  Carol called me around 4PM telling me the Barbados ewe we had in the birthing pen was finally going to lamb today.  About 3 minutes later, she called again telling me that Madison saw a hoof coming out and that she might need help.  OK, I guess that wraps-up my project for today (I was backfilling the trench and laying in the electrical line for the heated winter waterer). 

When I got back to the place, Carol & Madison were in the barn.  It seems what Madison thought was a hoof was really just a part of the amniotic sack.  As of 6:30 tonight, the ewe has not given birth. 

- USDA backs rewarding schools serving healthy food

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - S

chools that serve more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to pupils should see higher federal support rates than those serving less-healthier meals loaded with high fats and sugar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Tuesday.

Child nutrition programs, which include school lunch and breakfast, are due for an overhaul but Congress is not expected to act before 2010. The government has targeted improving the nutritional quality and access to school meals amid rising child obesity rates.

"It is important for us to reward top performers," Vilsack told the Senate Agriculture Committee. "We would encourage this committee and the Congress to take a look at reimbursement rates that would be linked directly to increased nutritional values."

He did not suggest how large the bonus should be. Schools get $2.88 in cash and Agriculture Department-provided food for each lunch meal served for free to poor children this school year.

School meal programs provide an estimated 40 million meals daily and more than half the student's food intake during the school day. Students can receive free or subsidized meals if their family's income is low enough.

Some $16.9 billion was allotted for child nutrition in the fiscal year that opened on October 1, up $1.9 million from fiscal 2008.

Obesity rates among U.S. children have doubled in the last 20 years, and almost a third of American children are either overweight or obese. The epidemic of obesity is linked to a host of health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln told Vilsack she was willing to pay more to serve healthier foods.

"I'm certainly sympathetic to the concept of higher reimbursement rates. Common sense does tell us that as we improve that quality it also increases the cost," she said.

Officials at the USDA are updating the nutrition and meal requirements used for school meals. The framework, last updated in 1995, sets standards that must be met by school programs to qualify for cash reimbursements and food from the government.

A report from the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academies, recommended last month children should get more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in their school meals.

USDA oversees the contents of school lunches and bars the sale of foods with minimal nutritional value, such as soda, in the lunchroom. It does not control food sold in a la carte lines or school stores.

Vilsack and lawmakers on the committee said more attention must be paid to the nutritional content of these other venues.

"The concern is that we can do everything we need to do on the school lunch line and it could be counteracted by what we do or what we don't do in reference to vending machines and things that are sold in the school during the school day," he said.

Nov 18, 2009 
- our water project is improving the barn

We're getting closer to finishing the farm's remote watering project.  The project was/is designed to make water available all over the farm's acreage - no matter where the cattle, sheep or goats are pastured, they will have ready access to water - winter, spring summer or fall.  For weeks, I have been digging trenches, laying water pipe and installing remote hydrants.  Today, before starting to backfill the trench, I tied in an old water line to the barn.  The line was found by accident - I cut it with the excavator a few days ago.  It was about 20 ft from where I thought it should be.  After 15+ years without water in the barn or milk house, we now have it there.  It may not seem like much, but for us, it huge.  Hopefully, this winter we will be able get water from inside, instead of getting it from one of the hydrants outside, in the cold.  Dealing with frozen hoses gets old fast, as does bringing in water... pail after pail, after pail.  We want the farm to run more efficiently.

While I was dealing with the water project, Carol (and friend Kristine) butchered one of our many Thanksgiving turkeys and a couple of holiday ducks.  We have customers ordering and picking up their birds.  I guess it's the season.  This is the 3rd year we've custom raised and processed birds for folks.  We love hearing the feedback we get from folks who have tried our birds for the very first time.  It's almost like they discovered a secret and their sharing it with us.  The thing is, we've known the secret..  and that's why we do what we do.  Again, we love it.

Nov 15, 2009 
- hay feeder

Hey folks.  Here's a quick pic of my home-made round bale feeder that I made for the fall/winter goat/sheep pen.  It works pretty good - so far.  It's so light weight that I take it out of the pen and place it around the bale before bringing the bale into the pen.  I'm not real sure if I could easily get the feeder in place if the goats got unruly.  This way I don't have to worry about it.  Here the bale & feeder is setting on the bale fork, waiting to be brought to the goats & sheep.  Look closely... you can see where I made openings for the animals to stick their heads through - one up high and one a bit lower.  Click on the feeder openings so see a close-up.

my homemade round bale feeder made from a single cattle panel

Nov 14, 2009 
- ooooops!

Chuck, our Ayrshire bull calf, was found in the 7' deep, water line trench.  He was dirty, but in good shape.  I used the track hoe to dig an incline so we could walk him out of the trench.  It was too deep to try to lift him out.

Since the track hoe was running, I decided to do a little digging near the old milk house.  I was going to wait for help, but then thought better of it... dumb, dumb, dumb.  Thinking I could do this w/o an extra pair of eyes, I started to dig.  I wanted to locate the underground power lines... and I did.  After just minutes of scraping the dirt with the track-hoe bucket, I heard a loud snap... then saw a small wisp of smoke.  Crap, crap, crap!  This is what I found.

2 of the 3 underground cables were cut by the track hoe (by me)

I thought I was so careful.  I scraped a few inches, then dug with the hand shovel... then scraped some more... then shoveled.  My first reaction was, "OH CRAP!  Now what do I do?"  I quickly came to my senses and called Sis-in-law (our on-call resident licensed electrician).  She [calmly] told me to run to the local home improvement store and buy a couple butt-splices and electric wrap for underground conditions.  In less than an hour, I had the lines repaired and electricity back on in the barn.. Tah-dah!  It was easy.

Nov 13, 2009 
- friday the 13^th - not so bad

Of course we did chores... what's new right]  As I finished chores, our Spanish billy goat (aka Gorgeous George) ripped through the wire fencing we have around the pens, under the hayloft.  Just on the other side of the fence, we had hog panels.  All this to keep George from Carol's "un-wed" dairy goats.  We have a makeshift breeding pen for these girls, with Jessie James (a young LaMancha dairy buck) to service them all.  George, apparently, sensed Jessie needed some help in the breeding pen.  He ripped through the fencing and pushed the hog panel enough to get under it and into the estrogen filled area.  As soon as George got in... he got in (if you get my meaning).  This is not what we want.  Now, I'm not really not the close-minded, but on this farm we like to keep dairy mating with dairy and meat goats breeding with their kind.  George assaulting a dairy doe WAS NOT a goal of ours.  I gave Carol a quick call and together, we had George out of that pen and locked in the barn.  We turned him back into his regular pen once I had a cattle panel in place, 'protecting' our dairy does.

And then I had to tend to the cattle.  They were still on lock-down from the night before and w/o water for about 12 hrs.  I opened the gate for them so they could head home and get a little drink.  While they were trotting off I headed out east to see if I could tell where they got out last night.  Although there was no broken fence (this time) I did notice the hot wire was sagging close to the ground.  I tightened the wire and added another fencing rod and called it good.

As it was suppose to be a drizzly day, I tried to outline my day in my head.  I thought I should try a simple project for making the feeding of the goats easier and less labor intensive.  What we/I have been doing is feeding them small square bales... about 8-9/day.  It's starting to get old.  I heard or read somewhere, that nearly the easiest (and cheapest) small round bale feeder you can make is one made from a cattle panel.  On sale, you can get them for approx. $17.  I wasn't going to town just to buy a panel, so I grabbed one that Carol had in her garden (she uses it for her peas & beans to climb on).  I simply made the panel into a giant circle, over-lapping it about 6", and wiring it together.  I then took a bolt cutter and cut a few of the horizontal 4-gauge wires, making two squares into 1 bigger one.  This gives the goats and sheep enough room to get their heads in & out.  I made these openings about ½ up and another set of opening ⅓ up from the bottom (for shorter animals).  I figured the young/smaller critters could just eat though the smaller grids.  I put the new feeder over the round bale, while the strings were still on... I thought removing the twine after the feeder was in place would make things easier, incase the animals tried eating the hay before I got everything situated.  The twine was easy to remove, even with goats in the way.

Later, I did more trench work.  This time working from the far end.  I was able to get all the digging on that end done and even had time to connect the plumbing to the new, remote hydrant and water line for the winter waterer.  Before I backfill, I need to check it for leaks.  I hope to be able to get the water running through lines in the next few days.  So much to do... so little time.

Did you notice the odd punctuation mark at the end of the first sentence at the top of this day's blog entry?  It is called an interrobang.

Here is a look at the interrobangs in different common font collections.

One of the least heralded, but arguably most important newly discovered punctuation characters is the interrobang. This character was developed in 1962 by Martin Speckter with the intention of conveying additional information for advertising text.  Since few of us have the interrobang available to us, we often use "!?" or "?!" to convey a rhetorical or excited question to others.  As you see, many of us have had used it for years w/o really knowing it.

People have many different opinions on this character. The reactions have varied from, “You want to add what character to the fonts]” or “Cool, when will I be able to use it]”  My advice - use it sparingly.

Nov 12, 2009 
- it doesn't sound great

I went in to talk with the USDA gal about a loan to buy a house to set here on the farm.  Man!  Talk about paperwork - page after page... after page.  Well, when she ran through the requirements, it sounded less than great.  Trying to secure a loan on a farm with no debt is not any easier than if we were under a mountain of bills.  It sort of looks like we will have to agree to a lien filed against our personal stuff AND secure the home loan with 150% collateral.  That was the good news.  lol

When I returned home, Carol had me look at an email she got from a gentleman from the Schwans Organization (as in Schwan's Ice cream).  He inquired about buying several gallons of goat milk from the farm.  He's a transplanted cheese maker from Colorado.  We're hoping he's doing research for the Schwans Food Development Dept.  Can you imagine if Schwan's started making cheese?  Oh my gosh!  I bet it would be awesome tasting.

After lunch, I went back to digging the trench for our new waterline.  I was able to work a couple hours before we had 2 vehicles up to the place notifying us that the cattle were near the road.  CRAP! CRAP!! CRAP!!!  I had shut off the fencer so I could trench through some fence lines and wouldn't you know... the cattle figured it out.  After chasing them back onto the property, they found their way into one of the new paddocks.  There they will sit until morning.  It was too dark to fix/find the downed fence (if any).  I did have enough light to find the solar fencer north of the creek.  So I grabbed that and quickly hooked it up to the paddock that now housed the cattle.  With fingers crossed, I'm hoping they stay in... at least until morning.

Nov 11, 2009 
- meat processing

I was busy digging the trench for the remote winter watering station.  The farmer that was digging it for me hurt his shoulder.  In a nut shell, he told me that if I wanted the trench dug this year I would have to do it myself.  He gave me permission to use his shiny mini-excavator/track-hoe.  In doing so, he reminded me that whenever I needed to go into the trench to leave the bucket in there, incase the walls cave in.  I forgot to do this one time and wouldn't you know it, one of the sides fell in on me.  I wasn't injured or near death, but it was a reminder how dangerous this type of work is.  I was buried up to my waste and the shovel I had in my hand was buried as well.  I was able to reach my cell phone, but in the trench I had no signal.   Then I set my phone on speaker phone and held the it over my head, near the top of the trench - 1 bar of signal showed.  I called Carol, telling her to PLEASE come with a shovel and rescue me.  I mentioned that she didn't really need to hurry as I wasn't about to go anywhere.  The pic below shows how she found me.

yep... that's a smirk on my face.

On a more productive note - Carol tried grinding some chicken meat with her Kitchen Aid mixer.  Some time ago, she purchased the meat grinder/sausage stuffer attachment for it.  Today was the first time she tried it.  From what I heard... it worked perfectly.  The Kitchen Aid handled the grinding without so much as a whimper.  Carol said she used partially frozen chicken meat and it came out as one would expect it from a butcher.  She was VERY impressed with how easy it was.  The next new thing she wants to try is grinding seasoned sausage (like Italian sausage or some sort of breakfast sausage).  I can't wait.

Nov 10, 2009 
- what a waste of time

Carol and I set off to run errands today - she had hers and I had mine.  As it turned out, I was along more to drive her around than to get anything done.  My main purpose for going to town was to get to our local farm store to get more fencing supplies.  When we got there, the shelves were all but bare.  I try to do business locally, but sheesh... they make it very hard to do.  I needed high-tensile wire, splices (2 styles), T-posts and insulators.  If I don't have one of these elements, the others do me no good.  Guess what, they didn't have all the items and the items they had were a bit spendy, but hey... I would have spent more to get what I needed.  I ended up buying nothing.  I figured if I needed to spend 2+ hour on the road to get my fencing supplies, I was going to make it worth my while.  With the better pricing at a distant store I could easily pay for the fuel I used to get there.  Enough said.  I just need to speak with God to arrange a rain day.

Nov 09, 2009 
- the problems with banks/bankers

We had turned-in the necessary paper work to the bank sometime last week, but had not heard back from the loan officer.  If they won't call us, we'll call them.  When I finally connected with the banker we were dealing with, he told me that he had not had time to look at what Carol dropped-off, yet... he was able to tell me that we had not included our personal financial statement (which we won't give him) and he also mentioned that the farm lost $$$ last year, according to last year's tax forms.  He also told me that it didn't matter that the farm had no debt or the fact that the farm's assets increased by about $40k.  The only thing of interest was whether or not the farm showed a profit.  WTF?  I became somewhat disgusted with this Heritage Bank loan officer in Pennock, MN and told him just to send me a letter of refusal.

I then called my local FSA (Farm Service Agency) office.  I explained the situation, the bank's unwillingness to consider us for a loan and the farm income yet to come in (the corn crop & the federal grant).  He told me that as long as we had a letter of loan refusal, there is money out there... he just needs to find it.  The FSA guy wasn't sure if it should come directly from the FSA office or through the USDA Rural Development program.

I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with regards to my little fencing project.  Today, I finished the fence lines of the last of the paddocks.  The only fencing left to complete [this year] is the fencing of the lane which connects most of the pastures together.  This lane will allow the animals to come home every evening.  In most cases, paddocks would not have a permanent lane... the animals would typically remain in their designated areas until moved to the next paddock/pasture.  Since these grazing areas were designed for sheep and goats, we wanted them to have the ability for come home at the end of the day... the reason is simple - we have a heavy coyote population in our area and we need the small livestock to be safe at home, in the barn.

While I was out fencing, Carol had another new, raw goat milk customer.  This customer was from the Montevideo area and was quite excited about having us as her raw milk supplier.  We are quite happy to have her as a customer.  We love our customers and we always look forward to getting to know them better.  It's fun to know that folks appreciate what we are doing out here.

Nov 08, 2009 
- deer be gone prt 2

This morning, our neighbor left his deer post without firing a shot.  This evening, it was another story.  I was fencing (what else, right?) when I saw the neighbor's truck.  About 10 minutes later I heard the blast of a shotgun.  Hmmm.  I wondered if it was a hit or a miss.  About 10 seconds later I heard another.  In my mind that could only mean one thing.  He finish-off an injured deer - now it's dead.  As I walked to a nearby hilltop, I saw him driving towards me.  He said he had a fresh kill on the other side of the creek.  I told him that if he needed help, I'm the guy.  He explained the shot and the situation.  The deer is dead on the creek bank. 

He drove off the farm, up and around, then back towards the creek bank... there it was - in the water with it's head on the bank.  We both grabbed an antler and pulled.  Sheesh!  For a 6-point buck, it sure was heavy.  If I had to guess, I'd say it was near the 200lb mark.  With a little effort, we had the deer in his pickup and we were headed back to the farm - he needed to drop me off.  When we got there, Madison & Carol came to greet us.  They were impressed with our neighbor's deer.  As you can see, it was a nice lean shot.

The deer that was harvested from the farm's property on the 2nd day of the season.

- how do you like your beef?

Ban poultry litter in cattle feed.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, and the Food Animals Concern Trust (FACT), a Chicago-based animal welfare organization, presented a petition signed by 37,000 people to the US FDA asking the agency to ban the practice of feeding poultry waste to cattle.
 
Poultry waste, known as "poultry litter", is generally comprised of feces, sawdust, feathers, spilled feed, and anything else that might accumulate on the floor of a chicken or turkey coop. The byproduct is added to livestock feed because it has nutritional value and it is cheap.

The FDA estimates that cattle are fed between 1-2 million ton of poultry litter annually. The consumer's groups believe feeding poultry litter to cattle presents a serious risk to human and animal health.

Eleven national organizations endorsed the petition, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). McDonald's Corp., the nation's largest beef purchaser, also wants the FDA to ban the practice.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), a powerful trade group for the beef industry, said the ban is not necessary. "Science does not justify the ban, and the FDA has looked at this now many times," Elizabeth Parker, NCBA's chief veterinarian told the Los Angeles Times.

The FDA has until November 11, 2009 to respond to the petition
 

Nov 07, 2009 
- another section done

The hunters were out early this morning and then again this eve.  As I was finishing another section of fencing, our neighbor came marching though in his blaze orange hunting gear.  I quickly finished what I had started and headed home.  I didn't want to spook his deer or lessen his chances of bagging his buck.  I wished him luck.  Hopefully, he'll pull a deer out with him upon leaving.

Carol went to Clara City this afternoon.  A gal who bought some 4H project goats from us this spring, needed to get rid of her animals before winter.  Her husband said they were eating to much hay and he wanted to save the hay for his horses.  The goats had to go!  She bought 3 dairy does for a cheap price, earlier this year, and sold them to Carol for the same amount.  They are very nice looking animals.  We were glad we could help out.  As soon as they were unloaded, they went straight into the breeding pen with the other un-bred does.  We have a purebred LaMancha buck to service the gals.  We're hoping he gets the deed done ASAP.

Nov 06, 2009 
- deer be gone

Our old Barbados ram was put down today.  We knew was looking run-down since we got him (an old gentleman gave him and some ewes, as he could no longer car for them).  The wether was getting long in the tooth as they say.  He was thinner then the ewes when we got him and has steadily declined since then.  He was old and we just though his age was catching up to him, but this morning, I found him laying on his side... he was unable to get up on his own.  We decided to put him down.  Thinking there was too much meat on him to waste, Carol thought she could butcher him and salvage the meat for the dogs.  When she removed the lungs, she notice that one lung did not deflate.  So being the curious nurse she is, she cut into it.  Inside the lung there was a large mass of cream colored 'stuff', with the consistency of grainy, soft-serve ice-cream (as Carol put it).  He had cancer.  He never seemed as though he was suffering, but he did act tired.  Since he came to the farm, we referred to this sheep as our 'old man' sheep.  Age?  We think he was 9 or 10... older than our ewes.

Last night, while I was finishing the day's fencing, Madison and friend Anya met me in the pasture just to inform me that part of the old hot-wire was torn down.  Since the cattle were still in, it must have been deer.  When I went to look at it, the wire was broke and there were plenty of deer tracks.  Those dumb deer... we have way too many.  Tomorrow, deer hunting season begins.  Let there be a good harvest.  Our neighbor is hunting the farm again, this year.  Last year, his brother in law got a deer, but he missed his.  They only hunt bucks, but this year, a doe permit would have been nice.  We have at least 3 does and 2 bucks that have been seen on our prairies... WAY too many.

Nov 04, 2009 
- transition period

I know I sound like a broken record, but... I worked on the fencing again.  The cattle now have some new grazing available to them.  I closed off the pasture north of the creek and opened a paddock that runs parallel to the creek.  The grass is dormant but still lush.  I did experience a small error in the transitioning of the cattle from the north side to the south side.  I failed to check the old fencing that is/was still in place.  Half of the pasture perimeter has the 6 strands of new high-tensile fencing.  The other half has the single strand 14 gauge hot wire.  It seems I should have checked the old fence before letting the cattle graze.  As I was finishing the today's fencing, I realized that I hadn't seen the cattle for several hours... maybe 4 hours... maybe more.  I walked to the far side of the pasture - no cattle.  OH CRAP!  Then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted them.  They were along the creek eating grass... usually not a bad thing, but today they were about a ¼ mile into someone else's property.  As I walked closer to them, I wondered how I was going to get around them to chase them back home.  Then it occurred to me to try calling them.  "Come boss!  Come boss!"  Their heads went up, they looked at me... and started walking back home.  Cool!

They soon were back on the farm they belonged to and after a few minutes, they found there way back into their pen... thank you Carol, for opening the gate.  Cell phones are a wonderful thing.  Once in the cow yard, they headed to the stock tank to get their fill of water.  They then headed back out to the pasture.  CRAP!  I needed to fix the downed fence.  It seems the deer have knocked down about 500 feet of the hot wire.  I re-attached the wire to the posts and insulators and then checked it for spark.  Good, it snapped.  By this time, it was plenty dark.  The cattle looked like they were contained.  Let's hope they stay in tonight.  I seriously need to finish the fencing.

Carol sold out of eggs today, just to have another customer show up wanting some, but going home without.  I mentioned that they should try our neighbors to the north - their new chickens are starting to lay.

Another thing, we have been getting a couple emails each day asking about the Thanksgiving turkeys we have for sale.  If I've done my math right, we only have one bird left.  Last year we sold a handful of birds - this year we have twice as many turkeys sold and/or reserved for the holiday.  The Kentucky Red Bourbons that we sell has been a real hit... folks love them.  I know we do.

Nov 03, 2009 
- make hay when the sun shines

Although I wasn't making hay, the saying does have merit.  It was darn cold this morning, and the forecast showed rain for the early afternoon... I needed to get more fencing done.  So... I headed out with a hammer and a bucket of staples in hand.  Last night, I was able to nearly complete a fair amount of fencing.  I ran 6 strands of fence wire, with strainers and tension springs in place.  What I wasn't able to finish was the installation of the 1½" galvanized staples onto the wood posts, needed to secure the 2 non-hot wires of our new high-tensile fence.  It didn't take long at all the get that done.  I then headed towards the creek to fit those wooden posts with insulators (4 for each post).  There remains quite a bit of green grass down there and it would be nice to get the cattle down there to make use of it, before the snow and ice covers it. 

I was so glad I went out when I did, because... shortly after lunch, it started to rain.  With a full belly, I thought this would be a good time to catch a few Zzzzz's on the couch.  Then Carol had to mention the word 'snow'... OK, that woke me up.  Now she's gone to the vet with Candle, the farm's Aussie Shepherd and I'm here... depressed, unable to sleep.

Nov 02, 2009 
- survey

WANTED: Farmer Feedback on EQIP Organic Initiative

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) is seeking the input of conventional and organic farmers to help improve the 2010 Organic Initiative - a program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Offered first in 2009 as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the program provided $50 million for financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers wanting to improve their organic operations or transition land to organic production.  

OFRF wants to hear from conventional and organic producers; from producers who applied to the Organic Initiative and from those who didn't.  All survey responses are confidential and will be used to provide feedback to NRCS on how to improve the program.  Click here for more information and here to complete the survey.  And please distribute the link among your farmer friends or members and urge them to complete the survey by November 10th.

Nov 01, 2009 
- no cheese please

I guess this entry is more about the Vikings' football game than it is about anything else.  Weeks ago, our team hosted the Green Bay Packers and won.  This time it was their turn to show ex-Packer star (aka Brett Favre) and the other Vikings a good time.  And that they did.  They let the Vikes give them a beat-down in their own back yard, at Lambeau Field.  I guess one could say the cheese stunk in WI today.

Before the game, I did what?  More fencing?  Yepper.  It was such a nice day, I headed out to the pastures right away after chores.  I bumped a few more posts into the ground, brought more posts out and then put insulators on on the T-posts.  Each day I'm out there I can see the end of the project get closer and closer.  I think if I hit it hard, I'll be able to finish by week's end.

Sometime before next weekend, I hope to have Farmer Mike come out and combine the farm's corn.  On Mon. or Tues. I'll bring some corn into the elevator for testing.  I hear the moisture content is VERY high in this year's corn, but it still needs to come out of the fields.  I know the local farmer's elevator with charge us for drying the corn, but again... it will be better than nothing.  We've already experienced a 6 week drought and hail.  We need to cut our losses with this corn.