An Adventure in Pasture Reseeding

As anyone can see, our pasture is greatly lacking in superbness.  It is covered with weeds that no animal will eat and spotted with millions of those nasty, thorny hedge trees.  It works for the amount of animals that we have now, but will not support the animals we hope to have someday.  We were told of a program with the USDA that would assist us to improve our pastures by reseeding them.  Our main goal when this all began was to have great pastures for the animals without costing us a fortune.

We are a very small farm with no "farm operating" account to do all of this out of, so some help with the cost would be greatly appreciated.  The USDA people came out to take a look at what we wanted to do and give their advice on what we should do.  There was, of course, an application to fill out and some other paperwork and then we waited.  After a few weeks, we were very excited when we were approved for the money to do all of this.  We, then, received our contract that told generally what was to be done and what they would pay for each item.  There are, however, certain stipulations in how you go about doing all of the work and exactly, I mean exactly, what has to be planted, what type of fertilizer to be used and how much of each. 

It has been very dry in Iowa this year and we have been putting off doing this until this fall hoping the rain would pick up.  It is no use spending all that money if the seed doesn't grow! 

As time has gotten a little bit away from us being busy with everything else going on in our lives, I am now trying to get everything lined up for this to happen.  The ladies at the USDA office are very nice and helpful; the problem is knowing the right questions to ask.  The lady at the seed store has been indispensable to me!  I have spent countless hours on this project trying to figure out who is going to do each part, how much it will cost and when can they do it.  I am also "dumb" at this since until now I had no idea what to expect with any of those questions!  I am learning, though, and hopefully within the next week we will have the first 10 acres planted.  At least with the next round in 2013 I will know what I am doing! 

Hopefully everything goes as expected and everyone shows up when they are supposed to.  For a day or so I was ready to give up and just deal with what we have after talking with some unpleasant folks, but that wouldn't do anyone any good.  I do have a newly gained appreciation for the people that have to deal with all of this all the time and the ones who were very pleasant on the phone with me after finding out I didn't know anything about this kind of stuff and took the time to explain it.  Also, there were a couple people that were not that pleasant that will not be gaining our business!

Snowflake -A New Calf Story

I love having cows and calves!

I always watch craigslist for any good deals to increase our herd.  Last week I found my deal, but it was over two hours away.  The big question was whether it would be worth paying for her and all that gas?  I have always wanted a charolais cow to contrast all of our black cows.  I love their color and build and wanted one badly and have looked for one for quite a while.  It didn't take long for me to make up my mind that yes she was worth it.  It couldn't have been a worse week for it to happen as we had had a death in the family.  I did, however, have my mind made up that I would have her.  My wonderful husband and son took off one evening with trailer in tow to go pick her up. 

After a round about trip due to his GPS following instead of my directions, they dealt with a very nice gentleman who purchases calves to resell.  He had not had her long and she was doing well.  She wouldn't drink off his nurse cow and did eat some grain he told us.  She was also just over 6 weeks old.

They arrived home at 1:30am that night with her.  We unloaded her into the barn and she was so frightened.  She ran when we got close at all.  I gave her some hay, grain and water.  We quarantine new calves for 10-14 days when we get them just in case something is wrong with them.  Through the last week we have put a halter on her -which she hated tremendously.  She has nibbled on hay and grain, but not eaten a bunch by any means.  We did find out about day 2 that she would eat grass pretty well so we give her some each day.  She had loose stools, but not watery, when she came to us, which I watched closely so I would know if that worsened or if it was just due to stress and change in feed.  I made calls to the feed store and the vet to get their opinions on her and if they thought she still needed to be bottle fed.  Their concensus was not if she is eating enough otherwise.  Usually we get bottle calves a little younger that do need bottle fed and they don't usually eat grain very well at first.  They also don't usually eat grass at first either.

 

One week later, she is starting to tame down.  We left the halter on her and she is getting more used to that.  Her bm's have thickened up a bit and look like normal now.  In the afternoons we walk her and let her eat grass outside which she does very well.  She has been eating more hay and a little more grain.  She even let my husband and I pet her in the pen last night for quite a while before she decided she didn't want that anymore.  We also, well my husband, thought of a good name for her too --Snowflake.  I love it!  This morning I was very excited when I walked in to give her her daily ration of grain -expecting to dump the old uneaten grain and put in the new-  and for the first time her grain tub was empty!  She also let me pet her some while she ate some grass.  I finally feel like now she will be just fine.

I am always such a nervous ninny when it comes to the calves.  I am a worrier until I know they are ok and doing well.  It's almost like I was with our children when they were born!  I love having calves and raising them up to be great mommas.  The kids love them, too, and love to show them at the county fair.  Each cow we have is special to me.  I am looking forward to the calves next year, already!

Grass Fed vs. Grain Fed

In all my years of loving to eat steak I had never given any thought to what it was fed until recently.  I am a lover of lean, tender meat with lots of tastiness.  Steak is by far my favorite food.  I would say that most cattle around here are grain fed.  Lots of them spend much of their time in a feed lot.  Our cows, on the other hand, wander the pasture as they please eating grass.  They sometimes get some grain -as a treat more or less.  They also get apples, melon and carrots as treats.  This, to me, makes my cows happy cows!  I am not, however, trying to make a living with them.

As I spoke with the very nice lady at the locker, who answers all my questions about the meat and processing without complaint when we take a steer or buy one from someone else, she mentioned that they could tell our cow was grass fed due to the color of the fat layer and thickness.  This amazed me as I had no idea that it really made any difference.  I began my research into the difference and here is what I came up with:

Grain fed cattle grow faster and to promote this are sometimes given a growth hormone implant.  The meat contains more marbling that promotes tastiness (which can be debated).  The fat is thicker and white in color.  This beef is much more abundant and cheaper to buy.

Grass fed cattle may take a year longer to finish than grain fed.  The fat is yellow in color and the meat has much less marbling.  This meat is higher in omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins A & E and lower in calories.  It costs more and is much less abundant.  The quality of the meat can vary widely depending on the breed of cow.

This all being said, we raised our first grass fed cow and butchered him this year.  I was a little nervous that it wouldn't taste as good as the beef we purchased in the past, which was grain fed.  When we cooked our first steaks I was AMAZED!  This beef is exactly what I love to eat -tasty, lean and as tender as can be.  From what I have read we may have gotten lucky as to the cow, the breed or luck alone, but it tastes amazing.  We definately have no problems with raising our own grass fed beef again.  Also, I haven't crunched a bunch of numbers but it seems to me that it was cheaper for us to grass feed.  It took 2 years to grow him so we had to hay feed him through two winters.  We did not,however, have to buy grain for a year which seems like it would have been lots more expensive than letting him pasture eat.  The cost would be different, though, if we crop farmed and had our own grain so we wouldn't have to pay the higher prices of buying it. 

At the end of the day, we had a good experience and came out of it with a freezer full of great beef to eat that may be a little healthier than what we would have bought at the store and a lot less expensive! 

UPS AND DOWNS WITH CHICKENS


We have had our ups and downs with chickens over the past few years.  We have gone through a few periods with no chickens and periods with tons of chickens.  Right now we have a few bantams, a rhode island red rooster and a phoenix hen.  We did begin this spring, however, with all of last year's chicks that were all grown up and laying nicely and a buff orphington rooster that thought he ruled the roost.  My son was selling eggs to the neighbors and loving that.  There was a total of about 26 chickens.   

 We have a chicken house that has worked pretty well for us, minus a couple mishaps we had.  The building is about 14 x 24 or so.  We have roosting boxes on one end for them to lay in.  Just last week we put together an outdoor pen about 10 x 20 or so for them which they now love.  At first they wouldn't go outside for anything!  We put them in every night and it's nice they can get outside during the day.  They have, however, eaten some of the flowers I had planted there. 

The first year we had chickens we learned the hard way that you cannot let them outside at night.  We had a nice outdoor pen of chicken wire fence with a roof on it and thought through being purely farm naive that it would be ok.  Well, it didn't take the predators long to figure out how to get to all the tasty chickens!  Soon after the outdoor pen came down and remained gone til now.

This year we had a similar problem -chicken massacre!  Our chicken house is old and was in need of some repair but we haven't ever had a problem with it.  We believe it was a racoon that actually tore a board off the outside of the house and bam -in one night =half the chickens dead!  Some of them were just killed, some eaten and some dragged off into the night.  Our beautiful rhode island red rooster made it through but without his tail.  This all happened a few weeks before our county fair so he couldn't be shown and the kids had a lot less chickens to show.  Of course after the buffet he came back the very next night and found another spot to get in.  Since then we have sturdied the outside and put on a new metal roof.  No more predator problems.  After all of this I was looking for some new chickens for the kids to show and found this very nice gentleman who actually gave them the bantams we have.  They ended up showing a few of them and took a couple grand champions/reserve champion places with them! 

All of our chickens eat layer feed and occasionally scratch grains and fresh fruit.  In the past few years chicken feed has gotten a lot more expensive but it's still worth it.  We do keep a few of the show bantams in cages in the chicken house.  They have plenty of room along with layer feed and fresh water.  We also have 4 ducks that live with the chickens.  They may be a story of their own!  Through all of our chicken experiences I am still a little skiddish of the roosters with their intimidating size and fluffing up of the feathers they do.  I do, however, love to watch the chickens, hear the rooster crow and now I can watch them "play" outside.

Goat Research

With the rain off and on today and the slightly colder than I love weather I fed the animals and filled water tanks this morning as usual.  Much of the rest of my day has been about research.  I have been researching our new herd of goats in depth.  I believe that research is hugely important to any successful venture.  I have read everything from general care to vaccines to breeding to what body types do well in shows to everything else I could find. 

When we decided to start raising boer goats, I of course researched a few topics but the brunt of my learning has come after their purchase.  I do think it is important to learn everything you can about any animal species you want to raise in order for all to hopefully go well.  There is such a vast array of info on the internet that I am all too happy to take advantage of.  Thank you to all that post this info on their websites!  It also doesn't hurt to talk to your local vet for advice.  They can be a tremendous resource.

I have also been trying to find more goats to purchase, but am having some trouble with that.  I want more does, but everyone has bucks or wethers for sale.  I usually search craigslist for these inquiries.  There I get local results and can usually see a picture of any potential purchase. 

Well, back to a little research then some quality family time!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Raising Our Own Beef -Lesson Learned

This was the first year that we had our own beef butchered.  We bought a bottle calf two years ago, a steer, that was purchased for the sole purpose of being our first butcher calf.  He was also a 4H bottle calf for my son the first summer.  Everyone in our family knew that one day that is what would happen.  Well, this summer it finally did.  He was finally large enough to take to the locker -roughly 1000 lbs. 

There is something satisfying about raising your own animal that you will eventually eat.  We knew every single thing that he was fed -grass mostly.  We knew he didn't have any growth hormones or drugs.  When you purchase meat in the store there is a high likelyhood that it had at least a growth hormone implant as this is standard practice for many.  He was treated humanely -like a pet really.  It does take a little longer for a bottle calf who is grass fed to get to size but it would be worth the wait.  I was so tired of paying the high prices in the grocery store and the meat is just not as tasty as local farm raised beef. 

In the past we have purchased some grain fed beef from local farmers and had it processed at the local locker.  It is always better tasting than the beef at the store.  Not for sure why that is, but it is.  I do think it was somewhat cheaper to raise our own than to buy one from a local farmer.  Both ways is much cheaper than paying the high prices at the store for all those cuts of meat!  The great part about the expense from raising your own is that it is spread over time so it doesn't cost a huge chunk at once. 

I am a solid steak lover and while I was sure I could raise a calf from the bottle and then butcher it as I looked forward to all those tasty steaks, eating them is somewhat bittersweet.  I would suggest to anyone wanting to butcher their own meat - don't butcher a bottle calf.  I cannot stress that enough!  He was tame enough that if I yelled for him, he would come up from the pasture.  He was potentially dangerously tame at times, though.  The kids couldn't get in with him anymore unsupervised.  He was just too big to "play" with them anymore, but he didn't know that.  The day we took him to the locker I felt so bad for him.  It was hard on the kids too.  I kept telling them and myself that we all knew all along that this day would come and we have to eat.  I didn't know if I was even convincing myself, but it was the truth.  He was raised for this sole purpose.  Even now, a couple months later I still feel bad about the whole thing. 

All in all, we will be raising another calf to eat, but it will not be a bottle calf.  If we raise a bottle calf again I will be selling that one and either buying beef once again from a local farmer or purchasing a weened calf to raise and butcher.  I will chalk this up to a lesson learned well and won't make this mistake again. 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!   

Garden Pros and Woes -Part 2

Last year was the first time I tried bush beans.  I had tried green beans in the past and they always flopped.  These bush beans did amazing last year and I froze about 10 quarts in addition to the ones we ate fresh.  This was all off 2 rows.  This year I planted them again and once again they are doing amazing.  They did have a rocky start that I am still not quite sure what happened.  The seedlings sprouted and only about half of them came up.  The others died, I imagine, due to the extreme heat/dryness.  Almost all of them that came up had no leaves on them?  I haven't ever had this happen before.  I quickly replanted them and now have a bountiful harvest for the past couple months.  We all love to have garden green beans in the winter!

The potatoes were not so wonderful this year.  They had never done well in our garden so last year my husband tilled me a potato patch in a different area.  Last year we had tons of potatoes and nice sizes too.  This year I believe the weather got to them and the plants died very early.  The potatoes we did get were mainly tiny ones with a few that were nice sized.  No big ones like I like to use, though.  The potatoes are a lot of work to have the harvest so dissappointing!  Next year I am seriously thinking about turning the potato patch into a pumpkin patch. 

This year was my second year attempting broccoli after a wonderful first year.  Again this year we had plenty to freeze from our 4 plants.  I love broccoli plants -they are low maintenance and it tastes so much better than store bought broccoli.  I planted 4 more plants hoping to get even more into the freezer.

Another crop that excites me early each spring is our asparagus.  I never realized I liked it so well, but when we moved here we noticed there were patches everywhere!  It was in all the pastures -a patch here and a patch there.  Every spring I harvest as much as I can and either eat it or freeze it.  This year I planted some new plants up close to the house.  We will see how they end up doing.  Every time we go asparagus "hunting" it's a long hike to get it, which provides all of us our daily exercise.  

One of my favorite things about gardening and living in such a wide open place is that I can do just about whatever I want to with the garden.  I can plant anything I want to and wherever I want to.  The other great thing is that it gets the kids involved and teaches them about planting and growing your own healthy foods.  They love to help plant everything and watch it grow.  They also love to help pick everything and of course help eat everything!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

 

Garden Pros and Woes- Part 1

One of the things I love in the summer is my garden.  In the spring I cannot wait until it's time to plant.  The anticipation just about drives me crazy.  I usually plant the same items every year.  Those items are: zucchini, tomatoes, bush beans, cucumbers, broccoli and green peppers.  I also have a separate potato patch where I always plant red potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes.  I periodically try pumpkins and other veggies.

This year was no different.  I waited and waited with the unseasonably nice weather late last winter to plant my garden.  I did plant a little earlier than usual and all was going well.  This year I was persuaded to try another tomato variety besides my beloved beefsteak.  I was told if I tried an heirloom variety that I would never go back.  I planted some brandywine tomatoes along with a couple beefsteak plants (I had to in case the brandywine were horrible).  After a whole season picking, eating and canning, I have to say that I love both of them.  The beefsteak are medium to large tomatoes with dark red insides that taste amazing and work well for canning tomato juice.  The brandywine tomatoes got amazingly huge.  The color on the outside is a lighter/different color of red, but the insides were equally dark red and amazing to eat.  The brandywine also were a little sweeter.  They reminded me of the tomatoes from grandma's garden when I was a kid.  I used both for canning juice and what we have had so far has been great. Next year I may plant both again! 

In June we started having some very hot/dry weather.  My zucchini, cucumbers and melons started to turn brown after having a great start and looking amazing in the beginning.  I assumed it was the heat and lack of rain that was causing this.  There were some insects I noticed in the garden, so I applied the seven dust as usual when I have this problem. I started watering the garden more than usual and while all the other plants were doing great these continued to look worse and worse.  By mid-July all of them were dead.  I attributed it to the heat and thought "next year I will do better at watering".  Only recently did I begin to research this problem that has bothered me since my plants died.  I have never had a problem keeping the garden alive!  Especially the cukes and zucchini -usually I have more than I know what to do with. 

What I found in my research was that my bugs were squash bugs that can wreak holy havoc on young plants.  They have a hard shell and are gray and flat.  They are hard to kill and harder to get rid of completely.  They winter under plant debris and rocks.  Pesticides don't kill them very well. I have never had a problem with these before and hopefully can get rid of them before next spring. 

If anyone knows of a way to get rid of these things please comment to this post. 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!