Another corn cap

Our boys have all taken a liking to seed corn caps. Here Simon shows the latest style from Golden Harvest. Do they have a fashion show, complete with runway, for these things?

New sweatshirt break in.

My in laws gave me a new sweatshirt for Christmas so I thought it's time to break it in, and the best way is with some mud. So our neighbor and local Dekalb salesman Mr. Kingdon (plug) brought his CAT and tile plow over. End of December is an odd time to tile but we will take it. As you can see farmers don't buy big tractors just for fun, sometimes you need horsepower and traction, it took all the traction of the CAT and 8470 to get it done. The end goal of this project will be a grass  waterway to control some erosion issues. Hopefully we don't need the big horsepower to move snow in a few weeks.

Run to freedom

We worked our fall calves this week. After being worked they go back to mama for a couple weeks to reduce stress. Here they are running to freedom, you might run too if somebody gave you a couple shots and put a tight rubberband around your boy parts.... Yikes!

Sale barn culture

The chief, Owen, and I hooked the Dodge up to the old stock trailer and had a great time at the Edgewood  sale barn recently at a feeder calf and bred cow auction. Owen got to experience the food, walk the pens before the sale, and try to understand the auctioneer. Sale barn culture is a unique aspect of rural America. Most folks are wearing work suit (thermal bibs, mucked up boots, etc.) as they squeeze the sale into a busy day. Be assured these buyers have amazing abilities to tell a sick or poor performing calf or cow verses an average or good performer, more than once I had to consult with the chief to figure out why a calf was bring little money. We picked up a handful of 550 lb heifers that fit in well in the feed lot as well as 3 older bred cows and 1 bred heifer all at prices we seemed happy with. Check out your local auction but be careful, those auction workers are pretty observant and in all the excitement you could drop $15,000 pretty fast at today prices.

Rogers Ag Education Day

For lunch we enjoyed a trip to a local grain handling system vendor in Aurora, Rogers Ag Service. The Sukop folks were there sharing the latest developments in their product line up. The whole family came along. You might notice the two smaller farmers in the picture, they listened intently to the presentation. When we left I said "what did you learn fellas?" Harrison said "Well, I know about everything they sell." Owen said "We need a tower dryer dad! The fan is inside". That kid should join the Sukop sales team. When I told him we could dry our entire corn harvest in less than 2 days with a big tower dryer he was not deterred in his desire, he needs a logistics lesson.

Thank you to Rogers Ag salesmen Joe for the invite.

Hard work pays...

If you save your birthday money for a long time, walk a lot of beans, and collect dozens and dozens of eggs you to can save up enough $ to purchase your first .22lr. The sweet rewards of diligence.

Last 5 registered RX3 cattle in the world.

There is good chance these were the last five RX3 cows in the world. These had some age to them, but have been great cows. This breed has kind of a been part of the family for many years. Still some of these genetics in the herd.

Did I mention some of these ladies have acquired some wisdom in their age? 2 of the 5 made the great escape past me and made their way back to the herd, so they are the last 2 RX3 cattle in the world.... for now....

Fertilizer physics...

The two photos show some major differences in defining the.physics of fertilizer. The first is potential fertilizer, or stored manure. Other examples of this could be a group of men preparing for a fishing or hunting trip, or maybe the campaign process for some of our politicians.  The second image is kinetic fertilizer or maybe active manure. This is exemplified by the fellas at hunting or fishing camp sitting around the fire, or maybe some of our politicians when they get to DC. Did I mention some of this fertilizer was produced by a bull?

Oh and did I fail to point out the shiny new fertilizer dispenser, when the floor of the old one fell out and started to go through the beater it interfered with optimum performance and we decided 25 years of use had allowed it to sufficiently.complete its service life.

Harvest went well

Finished up harvest a few weeks back and it went well, this pic.shows the last few rows of some NK53c. Now the pre snow preparations need to get done.

Soil sampling

The chief thought we could save some time this year if we did soil sampling with the combine... Actually the chief is a man of honor and takes the reins of the combine in problem areas such as this, he says he will take responsibility for the consequences, in this case just a few extra minutes to get pulled out. This area is Palms Muck, a Terric Medisaprist for all you soil geeks, not a soil you see very often. Around here it is known as "The Peat Bed" and has been a nemesis of the chief for many years. This is a unique area and is really "alive" in many ways, it grows and shrinks in size, it moves, it weeps, it belches forth ancient clay drainage tile from its bowels. If you grab a handful you see it is very organic, soil survey says around 17.5%. While alive it has no emotions or preferences, it will suck in the combine, devour a tillage tractor, or reach out and grab your last 3 planter units. It is one of the things that make our place unique to us and memorable. Do you have a similar area in a field?

Down corn

Here is Roger running the machine. And a picture of the.some  down corn we have had. I think some of the down areas we had went over 200 bpa which indicates Rogers prowess.

Employee update...

The work continues, and like all businesses our employees are our best asset. Roger has been doing an amazing job combining, we have had lots of down corn and he has run the majority of it, and a minimal amount of corn has been left behind. Owen has found you grab a nap when you can, maybe while riding in the combine, because you might have to shovel later. Others have been helping with pest control. Simon turned two which was a huge deal now he is freed from many OSHEA regulations, the main one being he can ride in the tractor seat by himself and not on a lap, he has been putting the hours in too. We also have a new woman hauling loads. She is doing a great job. I find her attractive and am a bit smitten, I am considering asking her out on Saturday night but need to talk to the chief to see if there is a policy on dating co workers. I hope she is not texting a cute guy in that photo but I bet she is.

Infrastructure improvements

It has been a busy fall on many levels.  We made some improvements to our power supply on the home place.  This will take us up to 400 amp 230v 3 phase, the big improvement was the amperage, this doubled our previous capacity. It was needed and will allow us to grow more as well as increase safety.  Thiswas partially spurred by a "new to us" dryer purchase, the system has been working well. It is not the.worlds largest but with good planning should be able to keep up with our production for a while.  The last photo is the burner running at night, I enjoy watching and listening to it roaring away, kind of like having a jet engine in your yard, the only thing that would improve it is if the music from "Top Gun" was blaring in the background.

Corn is king

I was teaching this  slogan to a child while working in the church nursery a few weeks ago. We were playing with  little people, the mommy little person said "Remember to brush your teeth".... The daddy little person said "Remember to do your chores"... And the farmer little person said "Corn is king!" Owen agrees, as he has needed to take a nap in the combine to keep up his energy level. Harvest has been going well.  Our yields vary depending on soil type and location but generally seem to be above average.

Finished beans

Finished beans today, average yield around 55 bu/acre. Had to move north of Maynard which is about a 20 mile trip so best to get all the wagons up there is one trip. The chief was back he had earned a few days with some friends. Things always go more smoothly when he is around. A few switches and odds and ends to tidy up on our end.... and some important visits from some dryer repair and installation outfits and we should be running corn tomorrow afternoon. I wonder if the Ferrari owner has to wait until the day she wants to drive to get the repairs and installs she requested months ago. Lots of farm equipment is in the ferrari price range, maybe that is why we go with the "sports car red" models.... Anybody ever seen a green Ferrari?

Harvesting and planting

Here Roger tops off a wagon at the end of the day. He is an expert doesn't drop 1 bean, that 's pretty impressive with a machine that unloads 4.5 bushels per second, that's about eight 5 gallon pails per second. We have not had very many super late nights, usually done around 7 pm. Not only are we harvesting, Harrison and I planted 25 acres of rye today which we will use to fill the silo next year. It is dry here lots of dust which can be dangerous and is a common culprit in combine fires. At one point when we turned around the dust was so bad we had to engage auto steering during the turn and have faith it would take us to the right spot, worked great. We hope to have beans all harvested by the end of the week. We'll have to move to some of our farms that are farther away, which takes some time but yields have been reasonably good so it will be interesting to see how those fields have done with different soil types and variable rainfall events.

Harvest begins

Harvest officially begin for us on september 30th, we poked in a few fields just to check moisture earlier. It is special here because it is our first year of the family on the farm. Everybody is participating. Owen has spent a lot of time in the tractor, even had a fever 1 day you can tell you didn't feel good. Lana got in on the action when we went to IAS to deliver some beans, she helped the guys shake the wagon. Things look good so far, yields averaging 50 to 60 bushels per acre for beans.

Discounted

I noticed this at the local K Mart this week after the U of I loss.to ISU. I think it is safe to assume the ISU items were all sold out. I don't think 20% is going to be enough to move all this before the Hawks next loss, I hate to see the local store take a hit like this.

Right out of a magazine ad

I don't think you would see this in the Mother Earth News advertisement for kawasaki. Full load on the rack and 20 bales on the mule. I drove this load a quarter mile through a waterway and then 1 mile on gravel and pavement to get home, not sure if the DOT would call this a legal load but I didn't drop a bale. I would have got them all but the chief baled 5 more right before he left the field and I just couldn't squeeze them on.

Since it was cooler today we did have our nice wool sweaters and goosedown vests on though, just like in the magazine ads...

Just the right size

While working at CAT they other day they used this to move material for us. Unless my math is wrong it has the power to lift at least 20 round bales at a time. Might be a bit much for our operation here at L & H.

Fancy help

Had a calf the other day born in the pasture. Fortunately I had this helper that was all done up for the occasion. She chased me in the Mule as I ran after the little bigger, it was fast for only being a few days old. Then she drove us to the yard while I wrangled the critter in back.

In case you can't see them all there are four buns in that stylish hair do... And the winter coat... I suppose dainty little princesses get cold when it is 67 degrees.

BTW that calf was born to run I was chasing it again today and it is almost as fast as the mule flat out.

The work continues....

We will be warm this winter with help of Owen. And every body gets greasy hands when you fix the knotter on the bailer.

Nice cows

Simon thinks our cows are cool. He says "A cow MMMM"  every time he sees or hears them.

Clean bins

Making sure the bean bins are clean before adding this years seed beans. Owen has high standards on how clean a bin should be so he is a big help.

Warmth

On a cool night the warmth radiating off this west facing wall can be felt a few feet away. If makes a great science lesson about heat transfer.

Hand feeding

It is nice when cows have a disposition such that a 35lb little girl can feed them.  That is "Puff Puff" the bull on the left. While pretty docile we never turn our backs on critters that weight well over half a ton.

Wetland

Have been doing some set aside ground maintenance, these areas need to be mowed to eliminate rogue trees and weeds. I drove up on this doe at an established wetland, looks like this   area is working. The flora and fauna diversity in this area is amazing, I need to get out the guide book but I know I saw bergamont, blacked eyed Susan, pale cone flower, various sedges, sunflower, many nativegrasses, compass plant and many more.

Owen is a busy guy

Owen stays busy. He has been learning to drive the mule, he just needs a little work on the brakes. Corn and tomato picking have been high on his task list. Trust me he is in the tomato patch if you look close.

Giant rags

These things must die.... It is a full time job trying to keep up.

Could you catch this guy?

Have you ever chased a guinea fowl? It is not simple. I caught a few with the help of rake in the background. Owen turned around and caught 2 when I was not looking, he has some pretty slick moves I guess. Fowl are now safe in their new permenant home.

Walkin beans

The crew stepped up to clear a few fields of seed beans. It went well despite the heat. Fields look good now and hopefully no red tags.