Oat carpet
Iowa State University is doing an oat trial on a few acres. It’s a beautiful green carpet right now. And it’s surrounded by just emerging corn or grass waterway. Hopefully we get some good data out of it. It is a long-term study and a first at this location.
Dry as a desert
We started our 2016 planting of corn today and after getting out all the kinks between the machines and I, we are gliding along smoothly. We haven’t had a spring rain for weeks and we are planting about 10-12 days earlier than we “usually” do. According to my records, the average date is April 27. […]
Beginning Farmer Mistake #1,677
If you’re driving down a field to test how a disc is pulverizing clods while you have a pallet fork hooked on the front of the tractor and then drive over a furrow made by a plow, make sure the pallet fork is either attached properly or leave it at home. A picture would tell […]
This makes it real
There has always been a turning back point in my organic transition years where I could just leave it in hay for another year. The hay keeps the weeds down and the work comes during the summer as to not interrupt planting or harvesting of the conventional crops. Hay is a weed suppressor and a […]
Jack-the end of an era
We live in my grandparents home. The home and farmstead that they rented when they were a young couple first starting out as farmers. When my grandfather died in 2000, my grandmother wanted a housecat to fill the void. She brought in a barn cat and named her Amber for her orange/red coloring. But Amber […]
Before and After
Our pig barn before… And 30 minutes later… Thanks to the wonderful use of a skid loader and a seasoned operator. We usually do this job by hand and it would take us hours if not 2 days. Notice the line down the middle of the “full bedded” barn? They decided that half of the […]
Spring is here! I think…
Today felt like the first day of spring in Northern Iowa. Our snow drifts melted away today as the temperatures rose to 60 degrees F. It was a perfect day to shear sheep. It usually takes us most of the morning. It’s a great exercise, because we get to look over the ewes before they […]