I have been doing a bit of study lately. This timely text from 1949 is my first reference. You may recognize that name Kildee if you are an ISU alum.... maybe I should say ISC. I think there is a building named after that person on campus. If you grow corn do you sell over 20% of the corn grain produced on your farm? And does NK sell Habaro soybean seed or should I call Monsanto for availability?
The sun is out and intense. I even took the garbage out in flip-flops and shorts. But is was pretty chilly in the shadow of the barn.t
Picked up a few new to us middle age bred commercial cows from Curt Steinbron down the road. The 3 looking at you in pic one are new as well as the ones in the other pics. I like the white faced one in the pic by herself. I think she is full simi, though i am not 100% sure. She definitely has a serious frame on her, maybe too much. I suppose you need that frame to pack on the monster weights the packers seem to want these days. I guess they are trying to increase pounds of product since cattle numbers are lower by making feeders feed more to get the bigger sizes. As my neighbor Steve says $7 corn turns to $6 corn in their mouths. I suppose with out alternative feed sources it is a great way to loss money.
Loading NK 25r3s this morn. 900 down, 12000 to go. 3 degrees 25 mph wind but all the machines are running so far. It almost looks like the sun is coming up in the photo. Trust me it isn't.
This guy helped out tonight. It has been a bit cold for him the last few months to be out much but he insisted on helping tonight. I REALLY hope he is thinking about painting that fence this summer.
Is not like the others. York bred hamp. Blue butts surround the little critter.
This bearcat mixer has been around the place for over 30 years I think. It may have been the one I remember seeing the chief shovel ear corn into scoop after scoop after scoop... It still grinds feed for our pigs and chickens and does a few custom mixes for neighbors. We think we have honed in on a recipe we like for the pigs so we can pull up to an auger or wagon and fill but on the custom mixes we load it 100 lbs in a tub at a time and add bagged supplements. The new equipment is that swell silage fork. We are feeding about 30 head of calves by hand now, buckets and tubs of silage, corn and ddg carried to the bunk. We got to thinking if our old silage fork broke everything would starve! So we got a back up. The entrepreneur in me thinks we can feed twice as many feeders now.
it is dirty in some spots from wind erosion. The first pic is next to a field of ours that we ran a shallow disc over in fall to size and anchor residue. Not much dirty snow. The next is just across the gravel road, note the tan lime dust blown on top. The third is a neighbors field that had the corn ground chiselled and bean ground harrowed. That is a bit more messy, especially the material coming off the bean ground. It will look even worse in a few days as the forecast is temps to hover around freezing. Topography may have played some part but it is not the driving factor in these images. This and over $4/gallon diesel fuel sure make no till look a bit more attractive.
I think the snow throws off the white balance in my camera. Makes the black cows all look like a big dark blob. Maybe we need more red or baldies for contrast. About 37 at the bunk in the first photo. The second 2 photos are the bigger ones on a bit more corn. That one with the horns would make a pretty a few good steak if your interested it is ready to go. That reminds me on the epic pepper crusted sirloin I made for supper tonight. I really hate this job!
Weaned the calves in the first photo today. Sorted pretty easy while the cows were at the bunk. The are getting silage, ryelage, corn, and ddg mix and alfalfa hay. Second shots are of some we weaned a couple months back and they are growing well. They got a few warts on their faces brought in by 2 we picked up at the sale barn. They are hard to keep clean with the snow, need to bed them a bit more going into the warmer days that will thaw snow. The last pic is a glamorous shot of the chiefs pet... Anybody guess how old it is?
